Feature: Chinese drone maker expands business in LatAm

Luis Neto, a 26-year-old model plane shop owner in Sao Paulo, bets on Chinese-made drones to help his business expand.

At the Drone Show Latin America, the first unmanned aircraft expo in the region set for October in Sao Paulo, Neto has rented the only test flight area in the exhibition hall as well as a large booth in the central zone, in order to display his favorite drones made by DJ-Innovations (DJI), China's top civilian drone-maker.

"I will promote DJI drones in pride of place," said Neto.

Neto has established his reputation in the Brazilian drone industry thanks to the DJI, a leader in drone industry for aerial photography and videography, which holds a global market share of around 70 percent.

Two years ago, Neto shot a video with a DJI drone about a protest on Sao Paulo's Paulista Avenue, which was aired on a local television channel.

After the broadcast, Neto received over 1,000 emails in a week from people curious about where to buy the drone.

Foreseeing a potential business, he became an agent selling DJI drones.

His shop in the Casa Verde district of northern Sao Paulo has all types of DJI drones. Neto has even manufactured a DJI drone model by himself, four times larger than the original one.

"DJI drones make up over 90 percent of total sales in my shop," he said. At a time when many industries shrank due to the sluggish economy and the devaluation of the real, Neto netted hundreds of thousands of U.S. dollars a year.

Brazil has become an important market in the global unmanned aircraft industry. In 2010, the Brazilian government spent 350 million U.S. dollars to buy 14 drones from Israel to monitor the Amazon rainforest.

However, due to the rapid technological advance of Chinese drones, recent purchases have targeted Chinese companies.

Starting from this month, DJI drones will be used to monitor properties suspected of using forced labor, first in the state of Rio de Janeiro before expanding elsewhere.

The first six drones used in Rio de Janeiro, Inspire 1, have powerful cameras that can shoot 360-degree 4K videos, take photos containing 12 million pixels and transmit real-time images to smartphones or computers.

According to Wang Fan, the DJI's public relations director, orders from public institutions in Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Paraguay and Peru are growing fast.

The DJI has provided drones for customers in a wide range of fields, including construction, firefighting and farming, Wang added.

In Peru, DJI drones are used by cultural officials and archaeologists to complete 3D surveying and mapping of over 12,000 Inca relics.

In addition to public institutions, Chinese-made drones are also popular among the general public. Social networks are abuzz about how to buy drones from China, comparing a range of companies, including the DJI, Ehang and Zero Tech.

Founded in 2006, Shenzhen-based DJI now sells products to over 100 countries and regions with offices in Hong Kong, Japan, Germany, the U.S. and the Netherlands.

The DJI's international fame started off in Hollywood where its drones rapidly gained popularity in movie and TV program production.

Latin American film and television circles heard of the drones' potential but did not have many opportunities to use them as the company's distribution channels were not established in the region earlier.

This has changed with the rise of companies like Neto's.

In 2015, the DJI's business grew fast in the region, with sales tripling in the first half of 2015 year-on-year, reaching tens of millions of yuan, said Wang.

Neto is also optimistic about his chances at the Drone Show Latin America. "I hope the show will bring me clients from other countries, so that I can sell DJI drones across the region." Endi