Christie's South American Subsidiary Opens Office in São Paulo

Christie, a manufacturer of visual technologies, continues to expand its presence in South America with the opening of its first office and showroom in São Paulo, Brazil, which was celebrated with a reception attended by customers and business partners of Christie Digital Systems South America Ltda., and leading dignitaries of the Brazilian cinema exhibition industry. The opening is part of a wave of global expansion by Christie, which includes new subsidiaries and offices in South Africa, Australia, and India during the past twelve months.

Jack Kline, president and CEO, Christie Digital Systems USA, Inc., said the opening of the São Paulo facility is critical in meeting the accelerating demand for Christie's digital cinema, ProAV, visualization, and simulation solutions and services throughout South America, especially in Brazil.

"The country of Brazil specifically is one of the world's fastest-growing economies and São Paulo is the ideal central geographic location from which to increase our share of the South America market, and to provide in-region customer service and support, most notably in the digital cinema market, where we already have an established and growing customer base," Kline added.

Bruno Tavares, general manager of Christie Digital Systems South America Ltda., said the new facility at Rua Gomes de Carvalho 1765, Suite 12, São Paulo, will initially be headquarters to a dozen sales and service staff, as well as showrooms and training rooms with many products, including the DCI-compliant Christie Solaria One, which is ideal for community theatres in emerging markets such as South America.

Tavares told guests attending the opening ceremony: "Christie projectors and other solutions have been in use in theaters throughout South America for years, but with the move from film to the mandatory digital movie format, we fully expect Christie to become the digital cinema supplier of choice. As a consequence, we have an option to expand in this same location in anticipation of Christie and its South American partners capturing increased market share in the region."

Among distinguished guests attending the opening ceremony and reception were national and local government dignitaries as well as blue chip representation from the Brazilian cinema industry, headed by Manoel Rangel, president of the Brazilian Motion Picture Agency (ANCINE).

The guest list also had a strong representation from Christie's key customers in Brazil including Luiz Severiano Ribeiro Neto from Kinoplex; Marcos Araújo, Grupo Araújo de Cinemas; Adhemar Oliveira, Grupo Espaço de Cinema; Marcos Barros, Cinesystem; Gilmar Santo, Cineflix; and Toninho Campos, Roxy Cinemas.

Several Christie business partners also attended the opening and tour of the new facilities including Lorenzo Garcia from Kelonik; Francisco Severino da Silva and Thiago Pereira from Santa Clara Poltronas; and Guillermo Younger, Alex Younger and Guillermo Younger Jr., of CE+S.

Christie has been active in Brazil through partners for many years and has sponsored key film festivals and industry conferences, including the 6º Show de Inverno Campos do Jordão, on April 25-27.