Soprassub representatives came to DEMA Show 2010 this year to tout their new distribution facility in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The 1,800-square-foot warehouse will serve all of the Western Hemisphere, according to Soprassub General Manager Dario Ricci.
“I chose Florida because Florida is the best location to serve the Caribbean as well and South America,” Ricci told DeeperBlue.com. He added that his Brazilian clients import their goods through Miami.
“Even if the goods are of Italian origin, they prefer to bring it via Miami for some customs reasons. . . . Apparently it’s cheaper for them to get it through Miami,” he said.
Ricci has been a DEMA Show exhibitor for the past four years, but had encountered challenges when prospective customers he met at the show would express concerns about having to import his products themselves. Soprassub is headquartered in Prague, Czech Republic.
“Nobody wants to import $20,000 worth of equipment from a company that isn’t as well-known as Cressi or Mares, so last year I decided to locate a warehouse [in Florida] for that reason,” he said. DEMA Show in Orlando last year was “the last straw” that prompted his decision, Ricci said. “I decided, ‘I either open [a facility in North America] or I will never manage to enter the United States.'”
