Limited classified areas
Most Free Zone factories are light manufacturing; classified areas are concentrated around fuel storage and handling.
Federal tax exemptions administered by SUFRAMA and SUDAM created the comparative advantage that attracted manufacturers to the zone, so supplier and import procedures follow its own administrative regime. Hazardous areas arise mainly at the Ream refinery site and fuel handling rather than in the factories; the refinery has reportedly stopped refining crude since early 2025. Distribution partners for Manaus Free Trade Zone are being identified ahead of the Q4 2026 launch of the IS-04Z1.
Pre-launch · certification in progress · Launching Q4 2026
Short answer. Manaus Free Trade Zone has no appointed SAMS distributor yet: the IS-04Z1 is pre-launch (certification in progress, no certificate issued, launch planned for Q4 2026), and distributor applications are open.
Current position: certification in progress, nothing issued, launch targeted for Q4 2026. A buyer's engineering review is separate from the certificate. Certification status. Place facts reviewed October 2026.
| Check | What to look for | IS-04Z1 today |
|---|---|---|
| Zone | 0, 1 or 2 for gas; 20, 21 or 22 for dust | Designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 |
| Gas group | IIA, IIB or IIC | IIC (target) |
| Area drawing | The operator's own classification drawing | Decided by the site operator |
| Where it applies | Manaus Free Trade Zone: Fuel storage and loading, Refinery and fuel logistics, Port petroleum and chemical handling | Classified by the site operator |

An intrinsically safe Android smartphone designed for Zone 1 and Zone 21 hazardous areas in Manaus Industrial Zone. It is pre-launch: IECEx, ATEX and NEC 500 certification is in progress ahead of the Q4 2026 launch.
Who operates there and which kinds of classified area a handset would meet, from the SAMS site research.
Most Free Zone factories are light manufacturing; classified areas are concentrated around fuel storage and handling.
Manaus is served by the Negro and Amazon rivers and by an international airport, with limited road links, so deliveries from the south-east take longer.
The Manaus Free Trade Zone was formalised by Law 3.173 on 6 June 1957 and for its first ten years operated from a rented warehouse in the Port of Manaus.
The Manaus refinery, long known as Reman and the Isaac Sabba refinery on the Rio Negro, was one of two Petrobras refineries sold (it is now Ream), so the site operator is no longer Petrobras.
Manaus has a tropical monsoon climate with an average temperature of 27.4 degrees Celsius, high air humidity and about 2,300 mm of rain a year, so enclosures and seals face constant moisture.
Aerial photography of the Isaac Sabba refinery shows it on the Negro River in the Amazon forest with oil tankers alongside, reflecting river-borne supply of crude and products.
A hazardous area is a place where flammable gas, vapour or combustible dust may be present. Standards divide these into zones: Zones 0, 1 and 2 for gas and vapour, and Zones 20, 21 and 22 for dust. Zone 1 and Zone 21 are the tier where an explosive atmosphere is likely to occur in normal operation, which is where the IS-04Z1 is designed to work. Anything carried in must be marked for the zone, gas group and temperature class of the area.
No certificate has been issued for the IS-04Z1 yet, so it must not be taken into a classified area until the certificate covering it exists and the site operator has accepted it.
In Manaus Free Trade Zone. Most Free Zone factories are light manufacturing, so classified areas are concentrated around fuel storage and handling, refinery and fuel logistics, and port petroleum and chemical handling. The operators decide those classifications. The Ream refinery is reported to have stopped refining crude since early 2025.
Distribution of the IS-04Z1 is by authorised partners only, and SAMS has not yet granted a territory for Manaus Free Trade Zone. Each application is reviewed on its merits. Because opening a certified Ex handset in an ordinary workshop invalidates its certificate, the partner must be able to support and service the device locally.
No. Nothing can be bought or taken into a classified area today: certification is in progress and launch is planned for Q4 2026. What is available now is the datasheet, the written certification schedule and evaluation units for safe-area use.
No price is published. While certification is in progress there is no list price and no committed lead time, and a supplier quoting a firm figure for an uncertified Ex handset is promising something it cannot stand behind. Indicative pre-launch pricing is issued in writing against a stated quantity and site.
Zone 1 and Zone 21 (gas and dust) with gas group IIC and temperature class T4, subject to certification. It must not be used in a classified area before its certificate is issued and the site has accepted it.
Likely candidates are fuel storage and loading, refinery and fuel logistics, port petroleum and chemical handling. Which areas are classified, and to what zone, is set by the site operator's own area classification drawings.
Apply through the distributor page with your company details and the territory you cover. SAMS reviews applications company by company and has not yet granted a territory for Manaus Free Trade Zone.
By air through Eduardo Gomes International Airport or by river and road freight, since Manaus is far from the main southern ports. Allow extra lead time and confirm free-zone customs treatment with a local forwarder.
Typically yes, through heat, heavy rain and condensation. Choose sealed housings and keep spare batteries cool and dry. Confirm with the site safety officer the ingress protection and temperature class the plant expects for outdoor classified areas.
Mostly not, because most factories are light manufacturing and classified areas are concentrated around fuel storage and handling. Check each site's classification. Confirm documentation requirements with the site operator, and avoid buying Ex equipment where no hazardous area exists.
Related guides for Manaus Industrial Zone and for Brazil.
Send the site, zone and gas group and roughly how many handsets. We reply by email with the datasheet and the certification schedule.
Tell us the zone, gas group and operator. We will send the datasheet and the certification schedule.