German Vulcan plans third plant in SP
Valor Econômico
The success of the wind projects in the recent energy auctions and the potential announced by Petrobras for the pre-salt led the German group Vulcan to study its third plant in Brazil. With two units in the country, in Itatiba and Barueri, both in São Paulo, the company is prepared to erect its third plant, also in Itatiba. The land has already been purchased and the decision should be taken until the end of next year, depending on the performance of the economy. The investment should get to US$ 50 million.
Manufacturer of couplings and transmission systems - it only does not provide engines -, the group has three traditional divisions in Brazil and it works at an average of 80% of the production capacity. The number of items exceeds three thousand, half of which are engineering parts, specifically developed for a client. "If Vale needs a part for the system that moves a conveyor, one of those that carry ore, we developed it according to its needs of heat, dust, etc. The part is not included in our catalog, it is exclusively made for Vale and we produce it whenever the client needs", says Douglas Buzo, President in Brazil.
Half of the earnings of the company in the country comes from engineering parts. With 260 employees, the earnings last year achieved € 26 million and it may get to € 30 million this year. Of the total, 60% comes from the industrial area, mainly of the sectors of mining, steel, energy, sugar and alcohol and oil and gas. The area of refrigeration represents 30% and it is already working at its limit with three shifts, driven by the car sector and construction (both consumers of air conditioners) and the white line (refrigerators).
The shipbuilding industry stayed with the other 10%, but it features great potential for growth with the resumption of the industry in the country, after the large orders made by Petrobras to work in the pre-salt layer. In the assessment of Buzo, the demand of national content in the new vessels makes room for the products of Vulcan.
While the new plant does not come out of the paper, the group rented an area in Itatiba to transfer some productive lines and open room in its two units. "It will be a stopgap measure", admits Buzo, who estimates investing R$ 10 million (US$ 6.25 million) in the leased premises. The Executive recalls the Germans are conservative and they will wait a little longer to see how the Brazilian economy goes before approving the investments. Typically, the company makes its investments with its own resources, but for the new plant it may seek resources in the market.
In the third plant, for example, it will be produced, in series, equipment intended for the generation of wind power. But the idea is to be more than the supplier of the system that interconnects the wind turbine. It is to make all the long-distance monitoring of the towers without a technician having to climb up to check the wearing of the parts or checking the level of lubricating oil, for example. For that Vulcan created its fourth division where will be concentrated the areas of services and assembling, besides the area of distance monitoring. The company will set up a network of servers interconnected to a central unit in Atibaia and connected to the headquarters in Germany as well. The business scenario is not better for the company only because the labor market is not able to keep up with the economic growth. Buzo admits the difficulty in the formation and retaining of manpower and inflationary pressure generated by such rotation.