After record, Cummins plans new plant
Valor Econômico
Cummins do Brazil broke a record of production of engines in 2010. Last year, 96 thousand units were produced, 57% more than the total of 2009 and 11.6% more than in 2008, year that was considered the best in the history of the car industry. The company maintained its leadership in the supply of engines for trucks, in the sectors of construction, agriculture, maritime and mining. With the expectation the pace of production remains strong, the company is already studying a place for the setting up of a second plant in Brazil. The new unit should start producing as of 2013, scheduled to be ready in 2020, when it should double the capacity of the company. "We are tranquil to meet the future orders, but we study locations and investments required for the second plant", says the Vice President of Cummins América Latina, Luis Afonso Pasquotto.
For this year, the Executive foresees the production of nearly 106 thousand engines, 10% more than in 2010. Currently, the productive capacity of the plant of Guarulhos, in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, the only unit of the company in Brazil, amounts to nearly 113 thousand units. In the Latin American market, except for Mexico, the multinational earned US$ 1.3 billion last year, same as the record result of 2008. Compared to 2009, still at the peak of the financial crisis, there was growth of 36%. The projection is that the earnings reach US$ 2.2 billion in the region by 2014.
While the new unit is still a project, the company foresees inaugurating, in the last quarter of this year, a plant for catalysts, which will be located at the current premises, in Guarulhos. The engine business was responsible for 65% of the income in Latin America last year, followed by distribution (18%), energy engines (10%) and components (7%). But the trend is that the sales of energy generators gain room in the next three years, following a trend seen in the international headquarters of Cummins, where the segment has participation of 20% in the earnings of the multinational. The market is strategic in the results of the group because energy generators have greater added value.
Last year, the market share of the Brazilian unit of Cummins Power Generation was nearly 35%, considering the sale of engines to other manufacturers and generators. Leasing companies had 40% of participation in the sales in the period. "We had strong participation in projects of high power generators, especially for rental (leasing) companies and thermoelectric plants", says Director of Cummins Power Generation for Brazil and Southern Cone, Fausto Ferrari. Another key market for the company became that of data centers.
For 2011, Cummins foresees investments of nearly R$ 40 million (US$ 23.5 million), which are primarily intended for the area of new products and technologies. Last year, the company opened, in the country, a laboratory for the testing and training of engineers. The share of Latin America on the result of the multinational, which is one of the largest independent manufacturers of engines in the world, has been growing and reached 10% in 2010. Last year, Cummins registered global earnings of US$ 13.2 billion, 23% more than the gross income of 2009.