MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Blindage industry booming with Iraq .

With an industry that has prospered in the midst of a violent and crime ridden society, Brazil has become the main supplier of armoured vehicles for civilian use in Iraq.

Building customized armoured cars is a business which began in Brazil in the middle of the nineties and rapidly became an industry as the number of vehicles demanded by the rich and powerful who feared attacks and kidnapping skyrocketed.

In 1995 a total of 388 bomb and bullet proof vehicles were manufactured and with booming crime the number rapidly reached 4,681 by 2001, turning Brazil into the world's leader in the industry, ahead of Mexico and Colombia, two other countries plagued by kidnapping and attacks.

However a slower economy meant sales dropped to 3,123 in 2003 with very modest growth prospects for 2004, in the range of 5%.

But all changed when orders from the Middle East, particularly Iraq began arriving.

"Suddenly the Middle East has become a promising market for us", said Eduardo Rodrigues, chief engineer of Inbrafiltro which besides manufacturing armoured civilian vehicles builds bullet proof pieces for the Brazilian air industry.

Mr. Rodrigues revealed that during a recent show in Miami he was contacted by several American corporations linked to construction and energy, all of them interested in vehicles for Iraq.

"We've closed our two first deals involving sixty sports vehicles with prices ranging 100,000 US dollars", said Mr. Rodrigues.

Other companies involved in the Iraq business are Central Brasileira e Seguranca from Sao Paulo and International Armoring Corporation do Brasil a subsidiary of High Protection Company from Atlanta.

"Every day there are explosions and killings in Iraq so we shouldn't be surprised demand for armoured vehicles is so strong", said Franco Giaffone president of Abrablin an association of over thirty manufacturers and salesmen of bomb and bullet proof vehicles.

"Since the US industry is fully booked for months, many buyers are looking into Brazil", said Mr. Giaffone who revealed that the second most important market is Eastern Europe.