Expo Reciclador Reveals a Promising South American Market
- By Jaime Buerger
- Oct 01, 2004
There’s been a lot of buzz recently about the globalization of the remanufacturing
industry. So it was with heightened interest and keen curiosity that I attended
Expo Reciclador 2004 in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from Aug. 26-28. And while more
global attention has focused on China in particular and Asia in general, the trade
show in Argentina was the second big exposition held in South America just this
past summer alone, following Brazil’s ReciclaMaisExpo in June.
Of course, most of Reciclador’s 45 exhibitors and more than 2,300 attendees
hailed from the host country. And while my Spanish-speaking skills are limited
at best, there was no mistaking that the products showcased and the services demonstrated
spoke a universal language. Namely, that the up-and-coming South American market
is becoming more professional and more competitive as remanufacturing businesses
sprout up at an unprecedented pace. So much so, that one exhibitor confided that
after seeing the industry grow 10 to 20 percent in Argentina just in the past
two years, he fears the market could become oversaturated in the near future.
For the time being, though, Argentinean companies seem most focused on inkjet
cleaning and refilling for such familiar OEMs as HP, Lexmark and Epson. Other
services were represented on the show floor as well, such as packaging, multimedia
and Web site design (debunking the stereotype that South America is sorely lacking
in technological innovation and services).
Like every trade show, participants at Expo Reciclador were busy buying, selling
and networking. Several of the exhibitors represented Argentinean bases of familiar
U.S. companies, including UniNet, Static Control, Future Graphics and American
Ink Jet Corp. There was also a strong Brazilian presence, too, backing up claims
by several of the exhibitors I talked to that, of all the South American countries,
Brazil is emerging as the clear leader in the industry. In any case, as trade
shows in South America continue to elicit interest from the United States and
other foreign countries, the industry there will only become more solid and, of
course, more global.
This article originally appeared in the October 2004 issue of Recharger.