Brazil Mining 2011 - GBR

BRAZIL MINING
SEW Eurodrive has invested significantly in expanding its Brazilian manufacturing capability. (Photo courtesy of SEW
Eurodrive)
key point of competition for equipment
suppliers to be successful in the
Brazilian mining industry.”
The growing physical presence of
suppliers on mine sites, directly interacting,
and working in partnership with
their clients to understand their needs,
is testament to the services available.
While Brazilian equipment suppliers
are under significant price pressures
from international competitors competing
on price differential, their service
offering has grown exponentially in
importance in terms of maintaining
competitiveness over the entire product
life-cycle for major capital goods such
as plant infrastructure. “Polysius provides
a range of complementary services
such as spare parts supply, erection,
commissioning and start up supervision
for plants. Besides that we also do
training on issues such as safety, efficiency
as well as many of the technical
aspects of our equipment. Being prepared
to offer a full range of services to
our customers provides our business
with a significantly more attractive
proposition to the Brazilian mining market.
Polysius is prepared to embed staff
within operations in order to ensure our
products are used to their maximum
potential,” said Flavio Hanek of
Polysius Thyssen Krupp.
As with many of the world’s most
mature mining markets, the increasing
focus of Brazil’s suppliers is to provide
an all-encompassing end-to-end service
to its customer base. Given forecast
growth in Brazil’s mining industry over
the course of the next five years at least,
there is huge potential for established
players to expand their operations and
for new entrants to join the market.
Brazil’s 2030 industrial plan also provides
plenty of opportunity for specialist
firms able to deliver advanced processing
plants to sustain the strategic move
downstream for Brazil’s mining industry.
“Mining in the short term can give
you an enormous return on investment,”
said Dante De Matos of Outotec. “I
believe in the long run, the Brazilian
mining industry should capitalize to sell
more manufactured products. For that
the engagement of both federal and
state governments together with the
local industry executives is of paramount
importance in order to secure a
smooth balance between demand, local
development and participation of foreign
suppliers in the industrial goods
chain of Brazil. We truly believe the
market is strong and big enough to
accommodate demands and aspirations
of all these players.”
Brazil as a
Manufacturing Base
Both domestic firms and international
investors are gearing up their productive
capacities for huge growth expectations
over the course of the next five years. In
this context, there are tremendous
opportunities for new players to develop
successful franchises or stand alone
businesses. The key strategic decision
for international equipment suppliers
with an interest in the Brazilian mining
market is whether or not to locate their
manufacturing bases in the country.
Present market conditions with the
over-valued local currency, high input
86 E&MJ • JANUARY/FEBRUARY 2011 www.e-mj.com