RUST PROOFER LANDS UAE DEAL

AUTOMOTIVE aftermarket manufacturer CouplerTec Electronic Rust Proofing has signed a distribution agreement with Bahrain-based motor dealer EK Kanoo.

The deal follows a meeting at the Automechanika Middle East Automotive Trade Manufacturer’s Super Show in Dubai.

CEO Garry Bell (pictured) says the company has now secured contracts with two major Toyota dealers in the Gulf. EK Kanoo is Bahrain’s largest Toyota dealership with more than 25,000 cars on the lot.

“It’s an unknown and emerging market but when you have that many vehicles in a holding yard corroding away with high humidity and salt, it becomes a problem,” says Bell.

With 35 staff and annual revenues tipping $3 million, the company holds patents in Australia and internationally for its capacitive coupling technology and has sold more than 500,000 systems throughout the world.

A new distribution agreement in the US for the company’s heavy duty commercial systems, designed to protect mining equipment, heavy machinery, trucks and buses has also been finalised.

Following trade missions with Austrade’s TradeStart initiative, Bell has also identified export prospects in Canada with one forward order for 10,000 of its packaged rust-proofing products.

“I’m a firm believer that if you want to succeed in business you must surround yourself with successful people,” says Bell.

He says the high Aussie dollar may have slightly hindered prospects, but he won’t be compromised.

“It’s something that all of my international people understand – I’m not going to substitute quality for price,” says Bell.

Domestically, the Burleigh Heads company is expanding with new deals for rust-proofing machinery and equipment in the mines for BHP and Rio Tinto.