Brazil's aeronautics and aerospace industries are to receive extra support in the two upcoming years for the promotion of their business, products and services abroad.An agreement signed Thursday (Jul 17) between Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency ("Apex-Brasil") and the Center for Competitiveness and Innovation in the Cone Leste Paulista (“Cecompi”) is expected to encourage the participation of companies in leading fairs and events around the world.

The industrial aerospace complex is the fourth largest one in the world, with 100 companies. According to Cecompi Executive Director Marcelo Sáfadi Alvares, this sector is also crucial from the geopolitical standpoint, since Brazilian technology is highly renowned among South American countries.

The deal is part of the project entitled Brazilian Aerospace Cluster, which so far includes 45 organizations. The project has been in existence since 2012 and previously gave more focus to companies from the São José dos Campos region, an important industrial center in São Paulo, where several major enterprises in the sector are based, Apex-Brasil manager Maurício Manfré pointed out. “It's been a good pilot project. The institution contributes with knowledge about the industry and Apex applies technology and knowledge to the creation of business opportunities.”

Their goal now is to consolidate Brazil's image as a major center for the development of technology as well as sophisticated products and services for the sector. “When we started our work, we had two or three exporters in the chain. Now we have 15 product exporters alongside 18 service exporters, which have generated $120 million,” Alvares said. In his view, the aerospace sector should improve in several arenas, but is nonetheless competitive on the international market.

The new stage of the project also entails companies from Minas Gerais, Santa Catarina, Paraná and Rio de Janeiro—states which have improved key centers for the aeronautics and aerospace industries.

“We've ascertained that some sectors are given the great opportunities in global events and industry fairs. In the next two years, we'll be taking part in fairs in the US, Europe and the Middle East, in events that put the aerospace and the aeronautics branches together,” Manfré said. The group, for instance, is to participate in Airtec, in Frankfurt, Germany.