International Coatings Scene
LATIN AMERICA
BY CHARLES W. THURSTON
LATIN AMERICAN CORRESPONDENT
THURSTONCW@RODPUB.COM
Eucatex expands water-based
paint lines in Brail
Eucatex
recently
announced
investment
plans for a
new paint
manufacturing
facility.
Brazilian hard board and paint manufac- turer Eucatex is expanding its water- based architectural paint capacity with
an estimated $19.7 million new plant in Riberao,
in the country’s Northeastern state of
Pernambuco, with plans to begin producing two
million liters of paint per year by 2011. In addition to the production facility, the company plans
a new distribution center for solvent-based paint
at the location, which is about 60 miles from the
state capital of Recife.
“Brazil’s Northeast is recording nearly dou-ble-digit growth, similar to growth rates in
China. The region’s excellent acceptance of
Eucatex products, especially paints, (also) led
the company to conduct a special study on
how to optimize logistics in the region,” said
Marcos Nicolino, Eucatex’s director of new
business, in a company statement.
Pernambuco state is offering tax incentives
for companies that make new job-creating
investments. The Northeast region is one of
Brazil’s poorest. The new Eucatex investments will create 150 direct and indirect jobs.
Separately, Eucatex also is expanding its
fiberboard business with a new production line
in Salto, in Sao Paulo state, where sealants also
will be produced. The company’s Salto paint
plant warehouse was expanded in 2008.
Eucatex, which has been in business for 60
years, has over 2,200 employees.
A recent survey commissioned by the
Brazilian construction materials association
Abramat, and executed by think tank
Fundacao Getulio Vargas, in Rio de Janeiro,
indicates that construction materials in Brazil
should, in general, experience a 15 percent
increase in sales this year.
Eucatex’s primary business line is fiberboard,
which is largely consumed by the door and fur-
niture industries. The company also produces a
variety of fillers and sealants, and paints and
coatings, including acrylics, enamels, latex, var-
nishes and waterproofing. Eucatex is a publicly-
traded company controlled by the Maluf family;
Flavio Maluf is president, and son of politician
Paulo Maluf.
Eucatex continues
to invest in its
water-based
architectural
paint portflio.
The company emerged from bankruptcy in
2009 and posted $120 million in net profits on
sales of $375 million, according to financial
reports. Total paint sales by the company
amounted to $28 million during first quarter
2010, up 30 percent from the prior-year quarter, company reports indicate. Eucatex
exports to 37 countries. CW
