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| Paint&pintura | Junho2014
America, with the country’s largest cargo terminal, and
RodoviaAyrtonSenna,oneofthemostmodernhighways
inBrazil,whichprovidesSãoPaulowithadirect linktothe
airportand is108kilometersawayfromthePortofSantos.
It iscurrentlyconsidered the8thwealthiest city inBrazil,
and its production representmore than 1 percent of the
country’sgrossdomesticproduct.
Chemical Distribution - Professionalization
ofthe Industry
Increasinglypervasive inthechemicaldistributionmarket
isa trend towards specializedanddedicateddistributors
in terms of not only supplyingqualityproducts, but also
providingtechnicalservices,soastomeettheircustomers’
everypossibleneed.
Therehavebeen lotsofchanges,advancesandexpansions
in thechemical distributionmarketover thepast several
years. Also,mergers and acquisitions are still ubiquitous
in thismarket.
In a globalized economywith extremely fierce competi-
tion,companiesfoundthemselvesfacedwiththechallen-
geofgainingscaletostay inbusinessandstaycompetitive
intheirrespectivemarketsegments.Theywaytheyfound
toachieve thesegoalswithin theshortestperiodof time
and in an efficient manner was to engage in a series of
mergers and acquisitions. “In our industry specifically,
thesemergers and acquisitions had already been taking
placefora longtime intheEuropeanandUSmarkets,and
theyhaverecentlyextendedtoemergingmarketsasanor-
mal,naturalphenomenonarising intheordinarycourseof
business. Inmyview, the trends thatmay result from this
processarepositive. Theprocesscreatessynergies invol-
vingknowledgeandworkingmethodsasexperiencesare
shared, aswell asnewmanagementmodels, resulting in
productivity improvementandbenefitsacrossthesupply
chain,” says RubensMedrano, president of Associquim-
-Sincoquim (short inPortuguese forBrazilianAssociation
ofChemical andPetrochemicalDistributorsandUnionof
SãoPauloStateChemicalandPetrochemicalWholesalers).
Inadditiontotheabove,thechemicaldistribution industry
has innovated itsway to servingpartnerswithefficiency
andcreativity.“Notonlyhas the industry invested innew
facilities, it has also increased the importance of its role
by adding a vast range of services, such as analysis and
application laboratories,reductionsof logisticscostsefficiently
coveringtheentireBrazilianterritory,andsomanyotherservi-
ces inherent inourbusiness,”saysMedrano.
The industryhasalsomadegreatstrides inthe importantfields
ofsustainabilityandenvironment.“Inthisregard,wearemost
perfectlycomfortableaboutourdutyandresponsibilitytofoster
sustainabilityandprotect theenvironment. TheProdir (short
inPortugueseforResponsibleDistributionProcess), implemen-
tedandmanagedbyAssociquim for the chemical distribution
industry, has been fully accomplishing itsmissionof ensuring
thatwe, as businessmen, performour dutyof actingas good
citizens,particularlywhen itcomestosuch importanttopicsas
environmentalprotection,occupational safety, transportation
andstorage,therebyhelpingushaveabetterplanet,”Medrano
pointsout.
Difficulties
In spiteof everything that is goingwell, chemical distribution
doeshavetheusualdifficulties,whichaffectallofBrazil’sother
industries,arisingoutofthecountry’scomplexandburdensome
fiscal and taxpolicies. “Weare regulatedbyanoverwhelming
numberofgovernmentalagencies, inallfederal,stateand local
spheres,dictatingwhatrulesapplytoouractivities,which leads
us to incur veryhigh costs in connectionwithour compliance
with their rules,”Medranocomplains.
Sincoquim and Associquim has been sparing no efforts and
using their connectionswith themost variedofofficials. “Not
onlytoweshowthemourconcerns,wealsomakesuggestions
towardsmitigatingor eliminating the adverseeffects of their
action.Weareaware thesolutionscannotbe reachedwithina
shortperiodoftime,betweneedtoworkconsistently inpursuit
ofourgoals,”saysMedrano.
MainActionsbyAssociquim
Associquim takes twokindsof actions: proactiveand reactive
ones.“Weactreactively inresponsetotherequirementsofour
members, inourcapacityastheirofficial representativebefore
governmentalagencies inallspheres.Ontheproactivesideare
numerousactions thataresponsoredby theentity.Ourboard
ofdirectorshavebeenmaking theirbestefforts toaccomplish
theirmissionofefficientlyearningthetrusttheirmembershave
put in it,”saysMedrano.
The entity’s actions are not limited to the domestic environ-
ment,butextendabroadbecauseBrazil’sdistribution industry
