About Me – Full Professional Profile

Professional Summary

Houshang Abbassi (born on July 31, 1973, in Khorramshahr, Iran) is a highly experienced professional with over 30 years in international trade, specializing in the export of technical engineering services and industrial products to the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia.

He has a proven ability to establish and manage successful international businesses, navigate complex international contracts and banking systems, and build strong relationships with clients and partners.

Houshang Abbassi

Education

Industrial Engineering – Specialization in Industrial Project Planning and Control

Full Career History

1987-1995: Early Career – Photography and Journalism

1987-1995: Worked part-time delivering newspapers for a local weekly in southern Iran while studying.

1987-1990: Became the weekly newspaper’s first photographer and established a photographic darkroom.

1990: Covered the earthquake in northern Iran for Agence France-Presse (AFP).

Artistic Achievements:

  • First place – Photography Festival of the Iranian Young Cinema Society (1991 – Nature Photography)
  • Third place – Wara Art Festival, Japan (1993)
  • Film courses: Certificates in 8mm and 16mm filmmaking

1995-2017: International Project Management and Engineering

Worked on numerous industrial projects in Iran, Russia, Turkmenistan, Syria, Sudan, Lebanon, and Iraq for a range of clients, including:

  • TOTAL, Technip, Chiyoda Corporation, Hyundai Heavy Industries Group, TAICE

Project Types:

  • Oil facilities and storage tanks
  • Medium- and high-voltage electrical substations
  • Cement factories
  • Modern wheat storage silos
  • Water and wastewater treatment plants
  • Construction and operation of oil and gas refineries

Roles: Project Planner, Construction Manager, Project Manager

Expertise Developed: Export of technical services, technology transfer, international contracts, banking systems, and business practices in the Middle East and North Africa.

2017-Present: Founding and Expansion of GUIRCO

Guinea (2017-Present):

  • Initially focused on exporting raw materials from Iran and Turkey to soft drink and mineral water factories in Guinea
  • 2019: Established a permanent exhibition of industrial and construction products

Mersin, Turkey (2021-Present):

  • Facilitates exports to North and West Africa
  • Products: cold rooms, UPVC profiles, door and window hardware, pipes and fittings, industrial milk powder, whey, chemical fertilizers, plastic granules, and raw materials for cleaning products

Bali, Indonesia (August 2024-Present):

  • Focus on exporting industrial raw materials to Indonesia
  • Import of food products (coffee and cocoa) into Iraq and Syria

2021-Present: Connection with Brazil

First Visit to Brazil (November 30, 2021): Visited factories and farms in São Paulo, Fortaleza, Recife, and Belo Horizonte.

Annual Visits: Currently visits Brazil annually to source soybeans, coffee, and sugar.

Market Research: Conducted four years of research into Brazilian export opportunities in the MENA region.

Current Objective: Establish a consulting company in Brazil focused on facilitating direct trade between Brazilian manufacturers and buyers in the MENA region.

Core Skills

  • International Business Development
  • Project Management
  • Contract Negotiation
  • Export/Import Management
  • International Banking Systems
  • Technology Transfer
  • Photography and Filmmaking
  • Cross-Cultural Communication