Volvo Construction wants to be third of Brazil
Valor Econômico
Volvo Construction Equipment announces today an investment of US$ 10 million in its plant installed in Perderneiras (SP), to incorporate the production of three other lines of bulldozers in its portfolio, which will turn the Brazilian unit into the plant with greater range of locally made products - a total of ten different pieces of equipment such as motor graders, loaders and articulated trucks. The Construction Equipment Division of Volvo is putting into practice a plan to expand its presence in the developing world. Among the Bric - specifically, China, India and Brazil - the goal is to be at least among the three largest suppliers, which in Brazil means stepping one position up in the ranking, passing Komatsu, and getting only behind Case New Holland and Caterpillar. Today the sale to the Bric countries already corresponds to nearly 50% of the revenue of the group - 40% of that to China.
According to the International President of the company, Olof Persson, the investment in the increase of production in Brazil is part of a long-term strategy, which is currently not related to the Foreign Exchange situation. "We're trying to be local", says the Executive. That means having production and a chain of suppliers located in Brazil - which facilitates access to parts and more agility in adjusting the production. Here, the company registered growth rate out of the ordinary this year and reached the same level of production of 2007 - even though it may have not yet broken the sales record had in 2008, when the crisis broke out. In Brazil, R$ 455 million (US$ 231 million) were sold in 2009, and in the first nine months of this year the sales reached R$ 570 million (US$ 335.3 million), totaling 2.3 thousand units sold - compared to 2 thousand in total throughout the previous year. According to Persson, the Brazilian investment aims at increasing the productive capacity to continue keeping up with the growth of the market. According to Olof Persson, Brazil has shown impressive growth rates and it has good economic grounds, which justifies good future perspectives. He highlights the existence of a series of ongoing projects in infrastructure, residential construction and plans for the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics.