Lehner targets Chilean market

Colombian aluminum products manufacturer Industrias Lehner is aiming to boost its presence in Chile as part of a plan to increase exports, company executive Orlando Calderon told BNamericas. Lehner has still not achieved its target of increasing its export sales 20% this year over 2002's US$5mn, he said, hence the Chile focus. Last year exports rose 25% from US$4mn in 2001. Company executives are planning to visit Chile in October with a view to pushing sales of aluminum window frames, and hopes are high, Calderon said. Lehner has also raised its profile in Central America by opening an office in Panama and signing contacts and taking orders in Costa Rica, El Salvador and elsewhere in the region. The firm employs 382 people and has a license for Qualicoat painted products used in construction. It has the first plant in the Americas to receive Qualicoat certification from the Swiss organization. The company's main plant is in Valle del Cauca department in southern Colombia, and it has offices in Barranquilla, Bogota, Cali and Medellin.