USD$7 million in related goods were sold by Colombian participants in IEEE 2012

After four days at the 2012 IEEE Power & Energy Society Transmission and Distribution Conference and Exposition, six Colombian companies managed to negotiate business agreements for USD$7 million.

Supported by PROCOLOMBIA, the entrepreneurs held 665 business meetings with entrepreneurs from various countries from the American continents, especially from the United States, among which were various representatives from public and private companies, consultation and engineering, and construction and services firms, as well as energy producers.

Simelca, Electroporcelana Gamma, Fibratore and CELSA participated from Medellín, and Comensa and Eléctricos Internacional were present from Bogota, all offering related goods for the electric sector, and also traveled to explore new business opportunities after the signing of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States.

Buyers, attracted by the Colombian supply, were met by the national participants at the first stand that the country has ever had at the North American fair, which took place at the Orlando Convention Center in the United States. "Colombia is the only country along with China, that had its own space, which was very good because in addition to selling out products, we also promoted the country," said Fernando Bernal, general manager of Melec.

He assured that, "with the FTA, we saw a marked interest. I had many meetings, we did not stop for one second, and especially with companies to which we could not have had access if we had not attended the fair."

In turn, Mauricio Yepes, general manager of Gamma (Grupo Corona), stated that his experience at the fair, "was excellent in general. We have had a presence here for some years now and well it was a good opportunity to strengthen our contacts and obtain new ones."

According to information from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Tourism, with data from the DANE, in 2011, Colombian exports in the electrical energy and related goods sector reached USD$246.5 million, showing a growth of 37.7 percent when compared to 2010.

The main destination was Ecuador (USD$125.8 million), followed by Venezuela (USD$46 million), Peru (USD$16.2 million) and the United States (USD$10.1 million).