Brasil to have US$ 300 million in investments of Pirelli
Valor Econômico
Pirelli announced yesterday it will invest US$ 300 million in the Brazilian operation between 2011 and 2013, a record value considering the resources defined in the business plan announced every three years by the Italian group. The budget for Latin America, that should receive investments of more than US$ 600 million in the same period, is also historic, as advanced by Valor. "We want to keep the leadership in the region in the next three years and we have aggressive plans for that", said the Chairman of the Board of the group, Marco Tronchetti Provera.
In the country, the plans of the company involve the expansion of the productive capacity of tires in 30% for cars, 20% for agricultural machines and 30% for trucks. According to Provera, the five manufacturing plants in operation will receive investments and there are plans to build new plant. Pirelli produces in Feira de Santana (BA), Campinas (SP), Santo André (SP) and Gravataí (RS) - in Sumaré (SP), it makes metal (steel) ropes used in the manufacturing of tires.
The Executive has acknowledged the relation between the supply and demand of tires in Brazil is tight, but he emphasized the company will increase the supply of components for the domestic market to gradually reduce the shipment of the products made here to the United States - nearly 3 million tires are exported a year. The American market, Provera explained, will be catered by a new plant of Pirelli that will be put up in Mexico. For Argentina, the largest manufacturer of tires in the world had already announced investments of US$ 100 million in the manufacturing unit of Merlo, province of Buenos Aires. "With that, the production in Argentina will increase from 5 million to 6 million parts a year", said Provera. The group projects sales of US$ 3 billion in Latin America in 2013. From January to September, the gross earnings of the Pirelli group increased 18.9% in the annual comparison to € 3.7 billion. As for the earnings of Pirelli Pneus, they increased 20.3% in the same period, to € 3.6 billion.