Sacchelli raises investment to US$ 19.4 million in the year with pre-salt
Valor Econômico
Largest Brazilian distributor of special steels for mechanical construction in the country, Aços F. Sacchelli began 2011 with an upward review in the investment goals established for the year, in view of the need to cater to a market that is even more heated than expected. Besides the increasing orders of the sugar and alcohol sector, an important business area for the company, the oil industry has placed more and more orders to the distributor, which might, in the coming months, sign a contract with Petrobras, the first for the direct supply to a State company in its history. "The year has just begun and we realized the R$ 20 million (US$ 11.8 million) we planned to invest will not be enough", says Wagner Sacchelli, Superintendent of the Distributor. Now, the investments foreseen for 2011 total R$ 33 million (US$ 19.4 million), with emphasis on the installation of new logistics centers and expansion of one of two plants it operates in São Paulo.
The distributor does not disclose financial data, but it declares it sold 37 thousand tons of special steel parts last year, with growth of 45% compared to 2009. The earnings, on their turn, also increased 46.5%, also above that initially estimated by the administration. According to Sacchelli, for 2011, the original expectation is of growth between 20% and 25% in sales. But the entrepreneur believes the forecast can already be reached in the middles of the year. Currently, Sacchelli is responsible for more than 50% of the inventory of special steels is available in the domestic market, with 32 thousand tons.
The growth in the volume in inventory, according to the Superintendent, explains the need of investments in new logistics centers. Eight of the nine units operated by the distributor are located in the State of São Paulo and one, in Rio Grande do Sul. Three of the São Paulo subsidiaries, on their turn, are dedicated to catering to the agribusiness customer - altogether, the company has 7 thousand active clients. A new distribution center is about to be opened in Jacareí (SP). In São Carlos, also in the interior of São Paulo, Sacchelli is erecting a new primary plant, where bars of nearly 5 tons of special steel will be cut and then delivered to the customers. And the plant that worked in Via Anchieta, a road in the capital of São Paulo, specialized in parts for the oil industry, will be enlarged.
Part of the resources to be invested this year will be aimed at the strengthening of the area of research and development of the company, which has already begun testing materials to meet the demand generated by exploration of the pre-salt oil. In 2009, according to Sacchelli, the area of oil was responsible for 12% of businesses of the distributor. Last year, is stayed with share of 35% and the trend is that it gains more relevance in the income. The expectation regarding the potential of deals of the pre-salt is great: in the coming years, the distributor may double in size with the execution of contracts of direct or indirect supply to Petrobras.