In new phase, Giroflex enters into agreement with Dupont
Valor Econômico
Osvaldo Ribeiro, Chairman of the Giroflex group, the largest manufacturer of corporate chairs of the country, precisely summarizes his work lately. "When there is a crisis, we are the first to feel the hand brake of the companies being pulled. Investments in new offices disappear", he says. "And when everything gets better, the investments in office furniture take time. We are the last ones to know", says Ribeiro, who is in the group for six years ago and was the Executive who followed up on the restructure of companies like Cica and Bombril.
In such a difficult scenario, and with the expectation of the arrival of new foreign brands to the segment in Brazil, Giroflex has taken a decision that may be crucial for the group. It plans on investing in the development of products nobody here has, a few can immediately copy, and at intermediate price brackets. According to such strategy, the company and the American Dupont have entered into a partnership for the development of a line of sustainable chairs. The two companies have created together the first line of "green chairs" made in Brazil. The product shall land in 50 points of sale within 30 days.
Giroflex shall face periods of greater competition very soon. The American Haworth, one of the largest manufacturers of sustainable chairs in the world, may open a plant in Brazil. Frank Rexach, Vice President of Haworth, informed in March the company of US$ 1.6 billion in yearly sales plans on inaugurating an assembly line of chairs and office furniture in the country. "We have huge and strong global companies in this sector. We need to be clear of what we want do and what we want to be within the coming years", says Ribeiro. "We're taking a step towards it with the partnership with Dupont", he says. The agreement takes place with the end of the restructuring period of the group in 2009. Giroflex changed production processes, adopted corporate governance rules and it does not rule out a possible public offering in the future (read below).
As regards the new line of chairs, nearly 94% of the components are recyclable and the product weighs 40% less than traditional models. The amount of recyclable steel used in the chair gets to 49%. In the lower surface of the seat there are Braille signals printed as a means to guide the blind in the use of position adjustments. "The project of creation of the chair began being set a year ago and the work was intensified in the last seven months", says John Julio Jansen, VP of Research and Development of DuPont in Latin America. The investment in the project amounted to R$ 5 million (US$ 2.9 million).
Three models were developed at prices ranging from R$ 717.30 (US$ 410) to R$ 892.80 (US$ 510). The variation is minute for strategic reasons. In an initial analysis, the models seem to vary little in aesthetic terms and that is intentional. "More and more, companies want to have the same pieces of furniture at the offices. You don't see the President of the company using that huge and magnificent chair anymore", says the Executive. Dupont and Giroflex plan on extending the partnership to the manufacture of other pieces of furniture.