08/08/2008 14h46
Pilkington plans a new plant in São Paulo
Valor Econômico 08/08/2008
Pilkington, one of the greatest manufacturers of car windows in the world, will invest R$ 105 million (US$ 66.9 million) to set up a new plant in its industrial complex in Caçapava, in the region of the
Vale do Paraiba, in São Paulo. The goal is to get ready for the growth of the Brazilian production of cars. The board of management of the company, headquartered in Japan, announced yesterday, in Tokio, it believes in the potential Brazil has to achieve the annual production of 5.3 thousand cars until 2015 - 55% above the estimated volume for 2008. The chairman of Pilkington for South America, Carlos Henrique Senna Medeiros, told
Valor that the region of Caçapava is close to several makers, like General Motors in the neighbor municipality of São José dos Campos (SP). "Besides, through
Via Dutra (Dutra highway) we have a good flowing channel to Rio as well as to other regions of São Paulo, such as the municipality of Campinas", explained the officer. The new unit, which will be ready in 2010, and will create 120 new jobs, will provide an additional capacity of one million windshields a year. That represents an increase of 43% in the current volume of 2.3 million parts. Holder of practically half of a market shared with the French Saint Gobain and small number of other smaller national companies, Pilkington currently operates 24/7, according to Medeiros. The officer explained that, until now, the company had been making smaller expansions in order to keep up the demand increase. But the investment announced yesterday by the headquarters represents one of the greatest volumes of resources of the last years. Today, the operation in Caçapava (SP) has two plants distant two kilometers from each other. Supplier of practically all the makers, the company has another two plants - in Camaçari (BA) and Betim (MG) -, which supply Ford and Fiat, respectively.
