Meet the Market International Conference
Meet the Market International Conference – With a record audience of 394 participants, the XIII International Meet the Market – South America Conference, promoted by Editora Onze, also producer of Lubes em Foco magazine, presented, on June 20 and 21, at the Hotel Windsor Florida, Rio de Janeiro, 21 speakers with different topics on Economy, market, technology and general perspectives for lubricants. The event also brought participants from several countries from different continents and, together with an exhibition space for stands, offered great business and networking opportunities.
In the opening lecture, Firjan Economist, Dr. Janine Pessanha summarized the most recent impacts of some aspects of the global economy and the Brazilian Automotive Industry, recalling that the short-term situation is encouraging, but there is still uncertainty and old challenges to be overcome. She said that “the way out of the Brazilian situation necessarily involves structural reforms, such as tax and administrative reforms, to make fiscal balance viable. Compliance with the new fiscal rules will be decisive for reducing risk perception, restoring confidence and solidly resuming economic growth”.
The figures for the Brazilian lubricants market were presented by the Editor of Lubes em Foco magazine, Pedro Nelson Belmiro, showing a growth of 1.9% in the first four months of 2023, compared to the same period last year. Base oil imports reached 203,743 m3, representing an increase of more than 22% compared to the first four months of 2022.
The CEO of Raízen Lubrificantes, Sandro Brito, showed aspects that both challenge and bring opportunities to the lubricant producer, from the energy transformation underway worldwide, to the importance of brand differentiation, through quality and technology, passing through all the value chain to the final consumer. Brito pointed out that something around 40% of the main problems in the market are related to quality, with the remainder linked to tax issues such as sales without an invoice or the use of lower values for taxation.
The market panel brought together the main entities of the sector, such as IBP, Simepetro and Sindilub, which listed important points and some actions that these entities are already carrying out for the mature and sustainable development of the Brazilian lubricants market.
I.C.I.S. representative Amanda Hay showed that the company has a more conservative outlook on global base oil demand, mainly due to economic factors such as China’s slow recovery speed, some countries with threats of recession, and a weakness in macroeconomic factors that will weigh on the market.
The representative of Chevron Base Oil, Chris Castanien, on the other hand, raised a great question about the speed at which electric cars are entering the market, remembering that currently there are more than 1 billion vehicles in the world and all but a tiny fraction have Internal Combustion Engines. He said that the electrification of this fleet brings a huge challenge in terms of infrastructure. In the United Kingdom alone, between 300,000 and 720,000 recharge points will be needed by 2030, which means an average of more than 100 points added per day, while the current average is around 23. Chris also recalls that Germany refused EU efforts to ban all ICE by 2035 (e-fuel waiver) and also believes that these engines will move the world for a few more decades.
The panel of base oils was also quite enlightening, with the presence of national producers, Petrobras, Acelen and Lwart, who, together with the importer Iconic Base Oil, spoke about important points such as the capacity of refineries to supply the country with group I, production of group II by re-refining and also the project already underway at the Polo Gaslub in Rio de Janeiro to also produce group II in the former Comperj facilities and the facilities for importing any type of basics that the market may demand.
Still on the first day, a welcome cocktail was offered on the terrace of the Hotel Windsor Florida, when participants were able to expand their network and talk animatedly about future plans and amenities.
The second day was marked by technical lectures, involving the technologies used both for the development of industrial and automotive lubricants, meeting the latest engine specifications. Also, important technical concepts about materials and equipment for the manufacture of labels and packaging were presented to a great number of large and small producers at the event.
The main points of these technical presentations will soon be taken to readers of the fortnightly newsletters published on Portal Lubes, through summaries and specific news. A more detailed report on the XIII International Meet the Market – South America Conference can also be found in the next edition of Lubes em Foco magazine.
The exhibition space received national and foreign companies, becoming a bustling vehicle for exchanging information, company and product presentations and business opportunities.
According to the director of Editora Onze, Gustavo Zamboni, this event is on a growing path. “The public’s great interest and the demand for stands, with the presence of foreign companies that came for the first time, show us that the trend of the event is for growth and the possibility of more events in specific areas, such as greases and industrial oils”, Zamboni said.
