Interview with Bruno Zanet, President of Marmi Bruno Zanet

Firstly, could you give us your opinion on the global market?

Brazil is a wonderful country. The climate is good, we have our forests, our mountains, our beaches, we have everything. However, Brazil is a new country and needs many technologies, to achieve the country's full potential.

In Espírito Santo for instance, if you think of the stone exploration, it is possible to say that we did not discover what we have here. Here you can find a yellow stone near a green stone, with a red stone near it... You don't find it everywhere. The mineralogy in Brazil has a big potential. That potential could be explored, but the country is in need of roads, railroads, because it is a huge country. The good thing is that there are many companies interested in investing in the country, not as many as necessary, but the country is growing.

Brazil needs investment, because with investment the country will develop faster. I remember that 15 years ago, it was impossible to find a place to have lunch on Sunday, the restaurants where all closed. Today there are many options, because the country is growing, we have more money, we are doing more business and that is because of the exploration. When I arrived here, many cities simply did not exist. Now we are building more, exploring more, but we have a long way to go. Investment is the key to success. Brazil is in a position to offer a lot for investors, the country has roads, ports, airports, has the potential for a bright future.

What are some of the challenges you are facing?

We have many challenges here in Espírito Santo. Freight is a big issue because it is very expensive. If you work with stone, you will spend a lot of money with freight, and even more if your deposit is far from the big cities. I have a deposit, which is very far, and because the deposit is far it is very difficult to be competitive. The deposits cannot be more than 250-300 kilometres from the port. Because if they are more distant than that you will pay a lot to bring your product to the port.

What is happening with the trade of marble all over the world?

A few years ago, Italy was making a lot of money selling stones. They were an empire, but nowadays they are not anymore. There are countries like Brazil for instance, that is exporting now a million tons of stones. Nevertheless, Brazil also has a huge internal market, which is very important because the products can be sold domestically. Besides Brazil, with a million tones, South Africa, India and Norway are making a lot of money.

What are the advantages when working in Brazil?

There are many advantages. A long time ago I came from Italy to Brazil because here I could find products to export to Italy and from there to the rest of the world. But, today the big consumer is China. 60% of my products are sold to China, China is buying a lot, they buy 60% and 40% are sold around the world.

The United States is another big buyer of natural stones, but it is a difficult market. Personally, I cannot complain because I have some good customers in the United States.

Another thing to consider is that Brazil is a relatively new exporter of stones. We have been doing it for 25 years, while other countries like Italy, France, Portugal and Greece have been working with stones historically. If you want to start selling perfumes for instance, it is very difficult, because France was the first to create perfumes, so they have a tradition. Tradition is important and we have to respect it, but Brazil is growing because the country has everything.

There are problems as well, bureaucracy is a big problem, but that is because the country is very large and it is difficult to manage. But the country is good for business, the people are hospitable, and these things are helping Brazil to grow. The country has the tools for success and without a doubt it will keep growing.

Let us talk now about your company, what kind of products do you work with and what are the features of these products?

I have my own products, my own deposits. One of them is called "Ouro Brasil", there is also "Giallo SF Real ". These are products made of yellow granite with excellent quality. The products, I work with, are sold all over the world and people want them because the colour can be used in all sorts of things. There are colours that can be used in other things, brown; blue that can be used in banks, palaces. There are several options, but the clear colours are sold faster.

Who are your customers?

Industries. Mostly from China. They buy the stones to use them in their projects. We call them transformation industries, they buy the stones in blocks to "transform" it and apply it to the projects. There are many companies, which work with it in China, many countries are interested in it, but the process for them is expensive. China is in a very good position geographically, and for them the process is cheaper, therefore, countries like Japan for instance cannot compete, it is so expensive that they come here, buy the stones in blocks and take it to China to transform the blocks. As far as I know, that will not change for many years. Because China has cheap labour and is in a very good position, the people know how to work and are willing to work.

In countries in Europe and in Brazil, the problem is the salary. I understand that the Brazilian population does not have a good salary, but if you increase the salaries, you cannot keep the low price.

When you buy a machine, the importation fee is a very big problem. You are importing a machine to use it here, but you have to pay many taxes. That is a very difficult problem because you will sometimes pay 80% more to import a machine. There are countries like Italy for instance, that have the best machines, but it is very difficult to buy these machines here. You have to buy the machines in Brazil, but these machines are not good, so these things must change.

How do you find your customers?

In the old days the companies had to find the architects, you had to knock on their doors to offer your products. Today it is not necessary, the architects know the companies, and they know where to find what they need. The architects have their meetings, their conferences, so they talk to each other and recommend the companies. It is easier to find the information, with a computer you can search for what you are looking for and contact companies from all over the world.

We visit prospects, we contact the companies as well, to offer our products, but nowadays it is much easier. For instance, for the airport in Mumbai, there were 24 companies, all of them with samples, in the first stage they excluded 12 companies, during the second meeting they excluded 4, then 4 again and at the end there were only 4 companies. They chose my company, but there were many other companies offering their products, so that will depend on many things. The architect needs to like the product, but if the company's owner chooses another product, you are out of the project.

I have a Chinese customer for instance, whenever he builds a palace, he will buy Ouro Brasil, because he loves the colour. We have customers in many countries. In U.A.E for instance, they are not building as they were before, but we are selling more to them today, because to use stone you need more time, you need to slow down the process, but you will gain in beauty. It is a very good market.

Our customers are changing with the economy. As I said, 60% of the products will go to China, but before, France and Spain were big customers, but it is not the same anymore, they are not buying and we are working with other markets.

What are the challenges for your company?

Technology. We need to find a way to have the necessary technology to lower the prices, but it's very difficult, because in the country you cannot find the necessary technology and if you want to export it you will pay a lot for the machines. We do not work with the Brazilian market, because our product is in blocks, we only work with big projects, with customers that will buy the stone to work it.

What are the plans for the development of your company?

Many things need to be done. The most important thing is the contact with the investors. That is a task for Brazil, we need to contact the people that are building, contact the entrepreneurs and offer them the products. Europe is in crisis, but there are people with money, looking for a good investment. However, when you are an entrepreneur you do not want to waste your money, you want a safe investment.

There are things to be done, Brazil needs to help the companies to make money, needs to create mechanisms that can improve the structure, perhaps create Chambers of Commerce to help the companies, because even if the country is growing we have along way to go.

I have friends that are interested in investing in Brazil, but bureaucracy is a big issue. I think that Lula did many important things to Brazil, he managed to show the country to the investors, to show them what the country has to offer, now the challenge is to really bring these investors and help them to work here. The investors need the support to work and help the country to develop, because the investors have the money and the country has the products.

What are your goals for the coming years?

Brazil is growing while Europe is not. The country will keep the development, but there are many things to be done, the roads, railroads, the infrastructure must be improved, if we wish to keep the development. The good thing is that the potential is huge, Brazil has many possibilities, it has a bright future. I am 74 years old and I will keep investing in Brazil because I can see the potential, I just wish that Brazil would help the investors, because we pay many taxes and that is terrible for business.