Eucatex starts production in new panel plant
Valor Econômico
The newly inaugurated plant of Eucatex should produce, this year, more than 18 thousand cubic meters of T-HDF and MDF intended for the furniture industry and civil construction, overcoming the original projections. In operation for nearly a month, the learning curve of the new line that was installed in Salto (SP) and which will double the installed capacity in the unit has advanced at a "strong" pace and it may anticipate the capturing of additional earnings expected by the company, of R$ 250 million (US$ 147.1 million) a year when it reaches full capacity. R$ 230 million (US$ 135.3 million) in own resources have been invested on the line. "We are producing higher quality thin board, T-HDF, which opens doors to new markets", says the President of Eucatex, Flávio Maluf.
According to the businessman, the expectation is that T-HDF line, scheduled to produce 280 thousand cubic meters of boards a year, increases the productive capacity of the unit of Salto (SP) from 240 thousand cubic meters to 520 thousand cubic meters a year. Besides to the investments made in the industrial project, Eucatex invested R$ 35 million (US$ 20.6 million), increasing the total investment to R$ 265 million (US$ 155.9 million), in a new yard to receive wood chips that were previously used only to feed the boilers, and now will also be used in the production of boards and panels. "We will use a part of the wood recycled in Salto. This way, 95% of the consumption of raw material will be originated by ourselves", says Maluf.