Vibracoustic follows expansion of automakers
Valor Econômico
Vibracoustic do Brasil, a company of the German Freudenberg group intended for the manufacturing of rubber products, suspension components and anti-vibration technologies and systems for vehicles, will increase 12% the productive capacity of the unit of Taubaté, in interior of São Paulo, as part of a R$ 100 million (US$ 58.8 million) investment program that will be concluded in 2012. The purpose of the investment, in accordance with the Managing Officer of company, Edney Corrêa, is to keep up with the growth of the main automakers installed in the country, responsible for 100% of the sales of Vibracoustic.
The company does not disclose production numbers in Brazil. Nevertheless, in the three past years, Corrêa says, the income from the operation featured growth rates between 9% and 20%. In 2009, they were R$ 500 million (US$ 253.8 million) in earnings generated by the "power train" and suspension divisions - other three business areas of the company, with global operations, will be implemented in the country in the coming years. According to Corrêa, diversifying the businesses assures the company a second growth path that is not tied to the expansion of the productive capacity. According to that strategy, Vibracoustic will bring the country, also next year, a line of engine mountings for heavy-duty vehicles. The investment plan currently underway, says the Executive, regards to a five-year period until 2012. However, before the end of that term, the management of the company should announce a new round of investments.
The plans of the automakers are also ambitious. This year, according to data of the Anfavea, which represents the national car industry, the production in the country should reach the record mark of 3.6 million units. And, in five years, the expectation is that 4.5 million vehicles are produced in the country . Vibracoustic is currently the supplier of the four leading makers installed in the country (Ford, Fiat, Volkswagen and GM), but it already negotiates with other companies.
Part of the resources of the plan will be directed to the TechCenter, technical center of engineering and technology of Vibracoustic where are developed specific systems for the national market. The need to adapt the parts is due, besides the difference between each model of car, to the Brazilian road conditions, quite different from the European and American highways. Since the engine mounting is vital to prevent the driver from noticing the vibration of other components of the car, the worse the road, the more robust the system has to be. "Such situation caused the Brazilian operation to gain acknowledgement of reference in development of products for emerging countries", says the Executive. There are components equipping cars in India, Turkey and Russia that were developed here.