Entrepreneur faces multinationals at the old headquarters of Cofap
O Estado de S. Paulo
One of the buildings shut down by former Cofap, which has already been the largest manufacturer of auto parts of Latin America, will host, as of today, a new company of the car industry. Created by a Brazilian engineer, Flexyon will produce pneumatic springs for the aftermarket, but it has plans to cater to makers of trucks and buses. The new-born company will fight for a market controled by the multinationals Goodyear and Firestone.
Installed in Santo André, in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, in a building that used to belong to Cofap - currently Magneti Marelli - Flexyon has received an investment of US$ 2 million for the annual production of 45 thousand parts. In three years, the volume should get to 300 thousand units, says Daniel Nicolini, owner of the company, who intends to invest another US$ 3 million. Nicolini said the Brazilian market of pneumatic springs, estimated at 8 million parts a year, "lacks such parts" because the major manufacturers of tires do not meet its demand. "There are great opportunities in this sector in Brazil, in Latin America, and all over the world."
The pneumatic springs work as support to the loads and eliminate vibration. Besides heavy vehicles they are used in industrial machines and start being used in cars. "The major manufacturers give priority to other lines of products and we will meet this specific demand quickly and with quality", says Nicolini.
At a first moment, 25 employees will be hired, a number that will gradually increase to 120 after the mass production begins in January. Besides the domestic market, it will export the springs and already has distributors in Argentina and Uruguay, and a representative in Chile.