| For three weeks in November the Argox team visited South America for the second time this year. In addition to meeting with partners in Brazil, the team also went to Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Though it was the second time this year for Brazil, three years had passed since we last visited Argentina, and this was our first journey to Chile and Peru.
Our team consisted of a sales manager and a technical engineer. The goal of our sales manager was to update customers on new products and applications, as well as learn more about each market. Our technical engineer was along to provide an update on technical information and issues and also conduct training sessions.
In Brazil, we visited with five customers. Though our team arrived on a holiday, we were honored that our customers would still find time to meet with us. The technical level in Brazil is very high and there were few technical issues to discuss. Our OS-214 printer is well-established here and our market share is high. Now our customers are interested in learning more about other Argox products.
In Argentina our customers were very happy to see us. By coincidence we arrived two days after they had sent a customer support request, and they were surprised by the speed of our response. As we unpacked samples from our suitcase, our customer showed us his suitcase—or his "magic box" as he called it. Inside the box were samples of Argox scanners, printers, and terminals. He told us that he covers 5,000 miles by car visiting customers and demonstrating Argox products. Needless to say our team was quite moved. We learned that Argox has many cost/benefit advantages over other brands currently on the market.
Over the years we have had occasional contact with customers from Chile, who would usually buy Argox products from Brazil. They were glad to meet with us for the first time, and they even introduced us to some new customers. As in Argentina, they were looking for alternatives to the products in their market and assured us that there is space for Argox to grow. Our visit and support provided them with confidence to develop closer ties with Argox.
When Argox sent out our customer survey last year, we received a response from Peru requesting a training visit. This was the first time we had traveled to Peru, though our customer has been with us a long time—he showed us an X-2000 printer from 1999 in his showroom and our team was amazed. He was also quite touched upon hearing about our team's long journey to Peru.
Overall, our second road show to South America this year was a success and we are planning to return in the 2nd or 3rd quarter of next year.
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