Internal market leads Vulkan to invest in industrial unit
DCI
The heating of the markets of cars and consumer goods have brought optimism to the local subsidiary of the German Vulkan. The company already has advanced plans to build a new plant in Itatiba (Brazil) with investments estimated at R$ 20 million (US$ 12.5 million) only for the local infrastructure, since the machinery is already available for the company. The new plant will be erected to support the growth perspectives in the coming years because the company is near its capacity limit. In part, due to the growth of 33% registered in 2010 that led to earnings of € 30 million, of a total of € 170 million the group earned worldwide.
According to the CEO of the company in Brazil, Douglas Buzo, that is the second largest earning of the group, only behind Germany. The promise is to increase the result even more in 2011, because the company should expand more than it had initially been planned. The perspective was to increase the earnings at 7%, but it may get to 20%. "In the first quarter of the year was registered growth of 15% compared to the same period of 2009. Since it is in the second half that we have a more robust performance, we should review the 2011 goals. My estimate at the moment is that our performance may be 20% greater", said the Executive. Should the forecast be confirmed, the earnings of the company will get to € 36 million, or R$ 82 million.
To achieve such performance, the Executive points out that among the four business units Vulkan has in Brazil, Lokring, which provides refrigeration equipment for sectors such as the automotive, commercial, industrial, among others, should continue in the leadership as regards the generation of income. Another business segment that also promises good results is called Drive Tech, he assessed. That unit caters to the heavy industry with equipment for automation of sectors such as thermoelectric generation, mining and steel. Couplings, which is focused on the shipbuilding industry, is a segment of operation of the company that lives a moment of resumption in the country with the orders foreseen by Petrobras and Vale for the construction of large cargo ships and vessels of support to the oil exploration in the pre-salt and the export of iron ore.
Vulkan currently has two units. Its base is located in Itatiba, where the equipment used in thermoelectric generation, mining, steel and wind farms is made. The other unit is located in Barueri, in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, where it keeps the Couplings and Seacon units, the latter focused on diagnoses and services.