Grupo José Alves invests US$ 14.7 million
Valor Econômico
Grupo José Alves, a Goiânia company with businesses in beverages, technology and education, is investing R$ 25 million (US$ 14.7 million) to expand its presence in the São Paulo education market. In the second half of last year, the Goiania group entered São Paulo as it acquired two small-size colleges, Fadisp and Joana D'arc. The two acquisitions, whose values were not disclosed, took place by means of Faculdade Alfa (Alpha College), an educational institution founded ten years ago by Grupo José Alves, in Goiânia. "We currently have only 500 students in São Paulo, but our goal is to increase such number to nearly 10 thousand in five years", said Nelson de Carvalho Filho, Managing Director of the area of education of Grupo José Alves.
One of the priorities of the institution is the accreditation of six new courses before the MEC (Ministry of Education and Culture) to support the intended growth. Initially, the goal is to offer new degrees in Management, Education Systems, Economics, as well as Marketing and Advertising. The group aims at achieving the "B +" income bracket, with monthly payments of nearly R$ 1 thousand (US$ 588), and work only with colleges in the area of business. "Ten years ago, we decided to open a college to train manpower we didn't have available in Goiânia to cater to our Coca-Cola franchise. Since the beginning, our focus has always been business management and we will continue focusing on it", said Carvalho Filho.
The Goiana-company is a manufacturer, bottler and distributor of the Coca-Cola beverages, besides being responsible for the distribution of the Kaiser beer in the States of Goiás and Tocantins. Such beverage segment represents 85% of the annual earnings of R$ 500 million (US$ 294.1 million) of Grupo José Alves. "That is the fastest growing region of the country for the Coca-Cola beverages", said the Executive, who before assuming taking over the area of education was the Financial Officer in the company. In the area of beverages, the company also has a manufacturer of PET bottles that produces basically for Coca-Cola and a mineral water bottler called Acqua Lia.
The area of education represents 10% of the earnings and the other 5% results from companies of technology and safety of vehicles and cargo of the group. "The arrival of large companies, like Perdigão [current Brasil Foods] and the automaker Hyndai in Goiás, will increase the demand for skilled labor and, consequently, for higher education", said Carvalho Filho.