Rolls-Royce plans doubling earnings in AS
Valor Econômico 09/06/10
The British Rolls-Royce plans doubling its turnover in South America in ten years and achieve, by 2020, US$ 1.4 billion. The earnings will be largely guaranteed by Brazil. In 2009, the Brazilian market was responsible for the greater part of its businesses in the region, which amounted to US$ 700 million, 4% of the international earnings of the group last year - US$ 16 billion (10.1 billion British pounds). The activities in South America will grow supported by the supply of turbines and repair and maintenance services for the sectors of civil aviation and energy generation related to the oil and gas industry. Equipment and projects for the construction of vessels of support for oil rigs will also help increase the sales.One of the goals of the company is to increase the national content of the equipment supplied to the clients in Brazil. In São Bernardo do Campo, in the metropolitan region of São Paulo, Rolls-Royce has a plant that makes maintenance and repair of aircraft engines and industrial turbines up to 15 megawatts (MW). The company is analyzing making repairs of the larger industrial turbines (from 20 to 25 MW) in São Bernardo. That is the path to be followed as the volumes of such equipment in the Brazilian market grow, said Francisco Itzaina, President of Rolls-Royce International for South America, the arm of external operations of the British group.
According to him, there are studies in the areas of energy and maritime to increase the national content of products and services. One of focuses is to increase the local manufacturing of the peripheral systems, such as auxiliary engines, that go along with the turbines in the modules for power generation of oil and gas platforms. The effort includes partnerships with local suppliers, such as WEG. The turbines are still produced in the US and Canada, but over time, after-sales services such as repairs and maintenance of those engines should increase in the country.
In the offshore area, Petrobras has scheduled the order of 146 vessels to provide support for the activities of exploration and production, part that is already contracted. It is a segment for which Rolls-Royce provides projects and equipment. In 2009, the company opened a new service center intended for the offshore area in Niterói (RJ). The unit joined the two other service centers maintained by the company in the country: one in Macaé, also in the State of Rio, of support to the activities in the area of oil and gas, and another in São Paulo, the On-Wing Care Center, to provide assistance to the Trent turbines used in civil aviation.