Marine technology service firm Nautronix said yesterday that the business potential for it in Brazil in the years ahead would run to tens of millions of pounds.
The Scottish firm, which will be accompanying trade envoy Ken Clarke on next week’s mission to the South American country, has invested nearly £1million over three years setting up offices in Rio and Macae.
Mr Clarke, who visited the company’s Aberdeen headquarters yesterday, said: “I am here to sit down and hear what the (UK) Government and UK Trade and Investment (UKTI) can add.”
Nautronix chief executive Mark Patterson said doing business in Brazil was challenging and frustrating at times, but represented a huge opportunity for British firms; in particular the development of massive offshore oil reserves.
Next week’s trade mission will meet government ministers and Maria das Gracas Silva Foster, president of Petrobras: Brazil’s national oil company.
The trip, the first of two to take place early this year, aims to raise the profile of UK companies and act as a catalyst for deals.
Mr Patterson said: “The (oil and gas) market for the next five years is phenomenal and Aberdeen has become a global player.”
He added that the UKTI team in Rio had provided excellent market intelligence and advice on how things work locally.
Nautronix’s first steps in Brazil three years ago were through an agent who assisted in setting up a company.
The Aberdeen firm, which hired 30 people last year, expects its 2012 turnover to have increased by 30% to around £16million and is recruiting 15 extra staff.
The company has offices in Houston, Brazil and Norway, and now employs more than 100 staff.