08/29/2008 15h09
Auto parts open new plants
O Estado de S. Paulo - 08/29/2008
Auto parts manufacturer ZF is going to invest R$ 715 million (US$ 455.4 million) in Brazil in the expansion of the group's four plants and in the construction of a fifth branch, in a location yet to be defined. The unit in Argentina will receive R$ 38 million (US$ 24.2 million) totaling R$ 753 million (US$ 479.6 million) to be invested in the region until 2013. The amount is 40% superior to the foreseen by the company at the beginning of the year. Driven by the automakers, which announced expansion of capacity and new units, auto parts companies also go to a new investment cycle that will increase the number of manufacturers in the Country. Hyundai alone, which studies the construction of a plant in Piracicaba (SP), should attract at least 10 Korean suppliers that do not work in Brazil. Together, automakers and auto parts companies plan to invest US$ 23 billion (about R$ 37 billion) from 2008 to 2012, according to the National Association of the Automotive Vehicles Producers (Anfavea). This year alone, vehicle manufacturers will spend US$ 4.9 billion (R$ 8 billion), while the component ones estimate investments of US$ 1.6 billion (R$ 2.6 billion). The productive capacity of the automakers will leap from 3.5 million vehicles this year to around 5 million in the next five years. Toyota announced a new plant in Sorocaba (SP) for 2011, to produce 150 thousand cars, a project that may consume about US$ 700 million (R$ 1.1 billion). Although Hyundai has not really decided it yet, it should have its own plant in São Paulo for more than 100 thousand automobiles a year, with investments near the Japanese competitor's. "South America, mainly Brazil, has been an attractive area for investments", said the world president of ZF Hans-Georg Härter yesterday. According to the Executive, the region and other markets, like those of the so-called Bric (Brazil, Russia, India and China), should compensate the drop in sales in mature markets, such as the United States. In Brazil ZF produces systems of clutches, steering systems, and parts such as pads and bushings in plants in Sorocaba, São Bernardo do Campo, and Araraquara, in the state of São Paulo, and Belo Horizonte (MG). The place of the next transmissions plant in the Country should be announced until November, and it should have nearly R$ 200 million (US$ 127.4 million) of the expected investments until 2013. The project is disputed by the States of São Paulo (with Sorocaba), Santa Catarina (with Lages) and Minas Gerais.
