Honeywell plans opening plant in SP
Valor Econômico
The reasons that brought Frank Whitsura to Brazil are on the tip of the tongue. "We want tickets for the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics", jokes the Executive, who recently visited the country with other five Vice-Presidents of Honeywell. The American Group provides equipment, software and services in the areas of control and automation, transportation and aerospace, among other segments. The idea is to take advantage of the perspectives of economic, industrial and structural growth of Brazil in the coming years to strengthen the presence of Honeywell in the Brazilian automation market. "Besides the vibrant economy, Brazil is one of the countries where the companies are investing more in innovative technologies", says Whitsura, Global Vice-President of Technology and Operations of Honeywell Process Solutions (HPS). HPS integrates the unit of control and automation of Honeywell.
One of the actions of the company to achieve such goal is the construction of a plant in the State of São Paulo in 2011. The specific location, the productive capacity, the number of jobs that will be generated and the line of products to be manufactured are still in phase of definition. The initial investment will amount to US$ 500 thousand, says Jerry Gutierrez, Director of Honeywell in Latin America. Despite the discreet investment in the first stage of the plant, Gutierrez stresses out the strategic relevance of the new unit, which, at first, will meet the demands of the internal market, with the possibility of expansion into Latin America.
Among the peculiarities of Brazil, says Whitsura, is the strategy of the large clients as regards investments to increase production. While in other countries the focus has been to integrate multiple units in lesser plants, in the Brazilian market many companies are directing their resources towards the construction of new units. Among the most promising segments for the company in the area of control and automation are oil and gas, chemical, pulp and paper, and mining. "Our focus is any company suffering with productivity problems".
The Brazilian automation market has a business potential of US$ 2 billion a year, says Gutierrez. The current earnings of Honeywell in the segment amount to US$ 150 million in the country, which represents 35% of the revenue obtained with the area in Latin America. "Our goal is to quadruple the income in Brazil over the next five years", says the Executive. Gutierrez says that the investments, whose total estimated is not disclosed, will also be directed to the opening of offices in regions such as the North and Northeast in 2011, besides the expansion of those existing in other areas. Currently, the Automation Division of Honeywell has 150 employees in Brazil, divided into six offices, located in São Paulo, Belo Horizonte, Rio de Janeiro, Paraná, São Luís and Curitiba.
The commercial structure of the Automation Division foresees two models: direct service to large customers and by means of 15 channels for the rest of the portfolio. The idea, according to Gutierrez, is to increase the number of specialized partners in segments such as pulp and paper and chemistry. "We will invest in training programs for both the channels and for our team", says the Executive.