The Brazilian subsidiary of Reintjes in Brazil, a German manufacturer of marine reversers and gearboxes, expanded its presence in the northern region of the country this year. After opening a commercial office four years ago in Manaus (Amazônia), the company invested in 2018 an own workshop for the maintenance of equipment. The decision was influenced by the growing demand of vessels, such as barges and river pushers, which is keeping the naval sector warm in the region.

Reintjes supplies equipment for the vessel propulsion system, mainly marine reversers for continuous duty application. In mid-2013, the company had only one branch in Rio de Janeiro, but with the retraction of the Rio market, the search for a new location began.

"We noticed the increasing demand for vessels in the north of the country, especially those that transport cargoes by the waterways and decided to invest in a commercial branch in Manaus, where we sold 20 marine reversors in 2016 to 50 in 2017. In Rio January, like many companies in the industry, we are waiting for the market to demand again, "explains the director of the Brazilian branch of Reintjes, Antoine Reymondon.

He points out that the strategy of setting up a self-service workshop with the aim of also offering the reverse cash handling service was successful. "In addition to dealing with the existing demand, the physical presence with products coming directly from the factory inspires confidence in customers and new prospects," says Reymondon.

As for the Rio de Janeiro market, the executive says he is optimistic with some signs like the price of a barrel of oil rising, which has motivated new prices with intentions of new purchases. "We expect the resumption of the offshore market in Rio and southern Brazil, with an improvement for the second half or at least towards the end of the year," he says.

Confidence in the recovery of the naval sector is one of the reasons that led Reintjes to confirm its presence once again at Marintec South America, South America's main event dedicated to the shipbuilding, maintenance and operations sectors. The company is one of the 80 exhibiting brands of the event that will take place from August 14 to 16, from 13:00 to 20:00, at the SulAmérica Convention Center, Rio de Janeiro (RJ).

Water transport - Inland navigation continues to be high in the country, which explains the increase in the demand of the vessels that transport cargoes. And it is in the northern region, where the two waterways are concentrated - the 12 basins that make up the Brazilian water network - most important for the flow of cargoes of solid and liquid bulk: the Amazon and Tocantins-Araguaia.

According to the 1st Quarter 2018 Waterway Newsletter, recently released by the Statistical and Performance Evaluation Agency of the National Agency for Waterway Transportation (ANTAQ), the port traffic, via inland navigation, corresponded to 14.5 million tons, representing growth 20.6% compared to the first quarter of 2017.

The good performance is due to the growth, according to the publication, of 422.7% in the movement of bauxite, increase of 52.8% in cellulose pulp, as well as to the good performance of the soybean - main commodity operated in this type of navigation - an increase of 11.7% in relation to the first quarter of 2017.