Brazil's low impact construction supplies market set to mature in five years as demand grows

"There needs to be a market", he said, adding that Brazilian researchers are innovating all the time. "But if I opened up a factory today, I would go bankrupt".

However, Dudzevich believes that demand for low environmental impact products is growing, and that within five or six years, Brazilian businesses should start to supply equipment for rainwater reuse, photovoltaic panels and solar water-heating systems, for example.

Dudzevich also said that this comes from the growing awareness of the population about the impacts caused to the environment.

"All social classes are concerned about saving water, electricity or in doing something to spend less", he said. "This is sustainability".

SuperGreen imports equipment and buys installation parts and connections locally.

The company trains its workers so they can install and service the imported equipment, guaranteeing demand, since most Brazilian consumers still look for the lowest price when they buy a product, without taking into account long-term benefits and despite environmental awareness.

SuperGreen also captivates its clients by guaranteeing that imported equipement and products are adapted to local conditions. Overcoming even such cultural factors such as the lack of central heating in Brazil.

"If a client wants a hot water through his sink tap, we will give them an integrated solution", he said.

To improve the relationship with its clients, the company inaugurated a centre for showcasing technologies in 2009, investing up to R$80,000 (US$44,000) which should be expanded to meet the growing demand for its products and services.

SuperGreen sells to residential clients, but also to large corporations such as the Brazilian banks Itaú, Bradesco, Real and Siemens, Scania and Peugeot.

According to its director, the contracts in place this year for the sale and installation of solar heaters should raise their monthly revenue to R$500,000 in 2010, up from R$100,000 currently.

When Dudzevich founded the business in 2002 he noticed that other companies were only importing equipment without bothering about how they worked.

His vision has evolved and in 2006 he started to focus his work on solar heating, rain water reuse and photovoltaic module equipments, so as to provide their clients with a clear understanding about the return on the money invested.

"These are products which produce a saving in water and electricity bills" said Dudzevich, who noted that consumers are more and more concerned with the efficiency and the financial return of an equipment and not only the price.

In his opinion, low environment impact systems can be based on high technology and on what he calls backyard technology.

"Backyard technology refers solar heating coming from painting a garden hose black or by a system using recycled plastic bottles. In his opinion, these projects offer very low efficiency and little guarantee of financial return.

But high technology systems, he said, increase efficiency and guarantee financial return for the client. He gave the example of a system made of glass in a vacuum, produced in China, used for heating water with 90% efficiency and sophisticated technology.

SuperGreen imports products from Germany and the United States as well as China.

"I am responsible for researching new products anywhere in the world, either at national or international fairs, or through the internet", said Dudzevich.

* This story was originally published in Portuguese in Revista Sustentabilidade on 27?07/2009