10/24/2014 14h01

With the support from Investe SP, Fitesa invests R$ 160 million in a new plant in São Paulo

Brazilian company will build a plant of nonwovens for hygienic applications; Production is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2016

Investe São Paulo
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Nonwoven is used as raw material for the production of hygiene items such as diapers and sanitary pads

On October 14, Fitesa, the second largest global supplier of nonwovens for hygienic applications, announced the construction of a new plant in Cosmópolis, a city located 140 km from the state capital for the production of spunmelt-type polypropylene products. Nonwoven is used as raw material for the production of hygiene items such as diapers and sanitary pads, medical linens, mattresses, among others.

The Brazilian company will invest R$ 160 million in the new facility, which will have approximately 40,000 square meters of built area on an area covering 90,000 square meters. In the first phase, the plant will employ 75 people, with 50 direct jobs and 25 outsourced employees. The production of 20,000 tons of nonwovens per year is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2016.

The project relies on the support of Investe São Paulo, the State Government investment and competitiveness promotion agency associated with the Department of Economic Development, Science, Technology and Innovation. “Based on the needs mentioned by Fitesa, we presented a list of cities able to welcome the project. We also assisted the company on infrastructure and tax matters and environmental licensing, which was key to the company’s decision,” said the president of Investe SP, Luciano Almeida.

According to Almeida, the state of São Paulo competed for the investment with other locations in Brazil and abroad, but the company chose to settle in Cosmópolis, which provides an excellent logistics infrastructure, proximity to the consumer market and the supply chain. One of its main suppliers, Braskem, is located in Paulínea, approximately 10 km from the future plant of Fitesa.

The mayor of Cosmópolis, Antônio Fernandes Neto, highlighted the importance of the project to the city.” The arrival of such major investment means the generation of new jobs, increased tax collection in the city and stronger economic development. I would like to thank the support of Investe SP, a major partner in the consolidation of this investment in our city, and Fitesa, for the trust. We will spare no effort to support the company with whatever it needs throughout the process of construction of the manufacturing plant. We believe that with the arrival of this great company, Cosmópolis will gain visibility and attract other investments,” he said.

According to company executives, Fitesa has been constantly investing in the implementation of new plants around the world since 2013. In Latin America, a new unit was required to follow the growth of the market.

“The plant in Cosmópolis will produce spunmelt-type nonwovens polypropylene with state of the art technology. This investment, combined with the existing production capacity in Gravataí (RS) will enable us to meet the demand of domestic and foreign customers, including in the expansion of our portfolio,” said the president of Fitesa, Silverio Baranzano.

Currently, the plant owned by Fitesa in Gravataí produces nonwovens using the spunmelt, meltblown, carded resin bond/air bond through technologies.

About Fitesa

Fitesa is the second largest global supplier of nonwoven fabrics for hygienic applications, and operates with the latest and most diversified technology in the industry. Its nonwoven fabrics are used as the raw material for the production of baby diapers, adult incontinence products, feminine pads, medical linens, mattresses, among others.

The company was founded in 1973 by Petropar, a Brazilian industrial holding known today as Évora, to produce polypropylene packaging, bases for carpets and fibers for textile applications. Recently, in 2009, Fitesa entered into a joint venture with Fiberweb, from the UK, creating FitesaFiberweb. Later, the assets of Fiberweb were also bought in Europe, North America and China, turning Fitesa into a protagonist of the global scenario in the nonwovens market.

Today, Fitesa owns production plants in Brazil, Peru, Mexico, United States, Germany, Sweden, Italy and China. For more information, please visit www.fitesa.com.