Vitopel focuses progress in flexible film
Valor Econômico
Vitopel, main consumer of polypropylene in Latin America, plans on investing US$ 55 million this year in a new line of production in order to move forward in the segment of flexible films of packaging. The plans of the company also include the purchase of assets inside and outside the country. "We are analyzing assets in the United States", told Valor José Ricardo Roriz Coelho, president of the group.
One of the biggest companies of the third generation of the petrochemical sector in the country, Vitopel, specialized in bio-oriented flexible films, has decided to resume the growth plans that were suspended since the second half of 2008 because of the global financial crisis. The resumption reflects the good mood of the market. These investments will allow the company to move forward on segments that are little explored by the industries of the sector.
With earnings of nearly US$ 300 million, Vitopel is the result of the merger of three companies in the 1990's - Votocel (former Votorantim), Copol (former Polibrasil and Shell) and Vitopel (former Arcor). The group became controlled by a private equity fund held by JP Morgan and Credit Suisse. Roriz is also a partner of the company, but he does not open the participation. Before focusing on the segment of bio-oriented flexible film, Votocel produced cellophane, a cellulose byproduct.
The new line of production of flexible films of Vitopel should be installed in one of the two units of the company in Brazil. The national plants are located in Mauá, in the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo, and in Votorantim, in the interior of the State. In Argentina, the third unit of the group is installed in Córdoba. Together, the three are capable of processing 150 thousand tons of packaging flexible films a year. "Soon we'll decide in which of the plants of São Paulo the investments will be made", said the Executive.
The company also holds the patent for a synthetic paper produced from recycled plastic. The project of Vitopel, which required three years of research, was conducted in partnership with the Federal University of São Carlos (UFSCar). The product is available in the market since 2009. The foreign market is also on the focus of the company. Currently, nearly 25% of the group's production is exported. Vitopel has a distribution center in the United States and studies acquiring assets in the country to expand its business.