Under new command, Marfinite now to produce car parts
Valor Econômico
The Marfinite plant installed in the municipality of Itaquaquecetuba, in the metropolitan region of the capital of the state of São Paulo, might indeed display at its entrance a banner with the phrase "Under new direction". Literally managed by new partners for nearly a year and a half, the company now starts taking steps towards new directions, stopping being a traditional furniture and box manufacturer in order to fight for space in the automotive and home appliance sectors. The company concluded in August the purchase of a plant in Mairinque - municipality near São Paulo that belonged to its rival Sedna - with the purpose of producing plastic parts for the car sector and for the so-called white line (refrigerators, washing machines and stoves).
The expansion was part of the plans of the entrepreneurs Alexandre Pimentel and Artur Dian, who bought Marfinite in March 2008 and invested R$ 35 million (US$ 19.4 million) in its restructure. This value includes the purchase of the unit in Mairinque, but not Itaquaquecetuba unit and the brand. They have not inform how much they paid for Marfinite, but they say that part of the value was paid in installments and that it is being paid with the generation of cash of the company, which earned R$ 140 million (US$ 76.5 million) in 2008 and was growing at an annual rate of 20%. In 2007 the earnings amounted to R$ 118 million (US$ 61.1 million), but the expectation of earnings for 2009 is much more modest and shall stay at nearly R$ 150 million (US$ 83.3 million).
Marfinite has capacity to process 1.5 thousand tons of plastic a month and it currently processes 1.25 thousand tons. The Mairinque unit has processing capacity for up to 800 tons/month. The plan is to concentrate the production of furniture in Itaquaquecetuba, whereas the recently acquired plant should be aimed at the new business. But the Marfinite brand will not be used in the new business. The company currently has 640 employees, nearly 10% more than the 590 it had when it changed control. The industrial division (boxes and packing) and the furniture division represent 35% of the earnings of each. The other 30% results from the deodorant roll-on balls (15%) and household goods and other items (15%).