Dorset company aiming to reduce companies’ emissions breaks into Brazilian market

A company which provides emission reduction and energy efficient combustion related solutions to the refinery and petrochemical market has launched in Brazil market with the support of the Department for International Trade (DIT).

Greens Combustion was established in 2012 and in 2015 joined the HS Group of companies which expanded its in-house engineering resources to over 100 engineers. 

The company began exporting to Brazil in 2017 and has experienced 5% growth to the market in the last year. Its most recent project was creating equipment for a Green Ethylene project in Triunfo. The company expects Latin America will make up at least 10% of its  business by 2026, which the company’s Managing Director Richard Withnall says: “may not have happened without the support of DIT.”

Richard continues:

“Brazil is a significant market in the refinery and petrochemical industries but has suffered in the past five to 10 years which meant there were little immediate opportunities there. 

“However, knowing the size of the market, we knew this slump could not last forever and it was just a question of finding the right time to approach it.”

The company already had good experience of successfully doing business in Brazil, and knew how difficult market entry could be, especially in regard to vendor registration so Richard approached DIT for support. 

Richard says:

“As DIT know the market inside out, they felt the timing was right for us to consider this as a new export venture.

“To do this on our own may have been possible with our old connections but by having the security of DIT we felt we would have more credibility approaching clients and possible partners. Having immediate access to DIT’s resources was invaluable.”

Richard has three pieces of advice to companies looking to export to Brazil:

“Local partners are key, and you must trust them and take time to build strong relationships with them.

“You should be prepared for much of the business and project execution to be carried out in the local language. 

“Finally, be aware of the taxation and complex commercial terms that are present - DIT can support you to navigate these.”

Start or boost your exports with DIT’s Export Academy

The Export Academy has been introduced as part of the UK Government’s levelling-up agenda, equipping small and micro businesses in the South West of England with the know-how to sell to customers around the world with confidence. 

The latest edition of the free 10-part events programme started on 25th October 2021 and will run until end of March 2022. Businesses can join the programme at any time and a full list of the sessions and the link to apply can be found here.

To discuss your own export development options and find out more about the support available from DIT,  call 01275 370944, email ditsw@mobile.trade.gov.uk or visit www.great.gov.uk/advice.

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