Melitta puts up plan to increase sales to US$ 555.6 million
Valor Econômico
Owner of the second most consumed coffee brand of Brazil, the German Melitta begins, this year, putting into practice one of its boldest plans. Over the next seven years, the Brazilian subsidiary intends to increase its sales in the country in more than 50% and enter the list of companies with sales of the nearly R$ 1 billion (US$ 555.6 million). To do that, the German group will have to grow an average of 7.2% a year until 2017, below the performance registered by the company last year. In 2009, the company had earnings of R$ 665 million (US$ 337.6 million), growth of 11% compared to the result of 2008 and above the national market, which grew 4%. Of such total, 65% resulted from the sale of coffee, 30% from accessories, such as paper filters, filter holders and jars and 5% from industrial papers. With that, the Brazilian subsidiary stands out as the second most important of group, only behind Germany, with 19% of participation in global sales, which amounted to € 1.2 billion in 2009.
"Last year was the seventh year of consecutive growth regardless of the crisis environment that was still on the air", says Bernardo Wolfson, President of Melitta do Brasil. According to him, the projection for 2010 is so far of growth of 6%, based on the increase of the participation of the Melitta brand, which still has minor presence in some markets, and on the geographic expansion of Bom Jesus brand, acquired in 2006, which should also become national. Besides working to increase the presence of the brands Melitta and Bom Jesus in the market, Wolfson does not rule out the possibility of new acquisitions to strengthen the expansion.
To support that growth, Melitta will increase its investments in assets in more than 70%. Last year R$ 7 million (US$ 3.6 million) were invested for the acquisition of equipment and modernization of the productive units and this year the disbursement will be of at least R$ 12 million (US$ 6.7 million) to increase the productive capacity of its three productive units - Avaré (SP), Guaíba (RS) and Bom Jesus (RS). "We are very optimistic with the economic growth of Brazil and the coffee industry. We know Brazil will become one of the main economies of the world and we want to take part in it", says the President.