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Guararapes invests in expansion
The new site will have the highest capacity for MDF in the Americas
Blog/We are investing in the implementation of a new production line in the complex located in the city of Caçador, in the central region of the state of Santa Catarina. The city is already the venue for one of the company’s industrial plants which, with the new contribution, will expand the installed capacity by a further 90%, reaching nominal capacity of 1.140 million m³ / year in MDF panels.
Construction is expected to begin at the end of the first half of this year, and the unit is expected to begin operating in the last quarter of 2022. With the onset of production, the third production line will generate over 220 direct jobs and about 800 indirect jobs, for a total of more than 1,000 jobs created. In addition, more than 700 people will be working at the construction site, in compliance with the strictest hygiene and safety protocols, expanding the employment and income generation effect in the region.
Guararapes industrial plant in Caçador/SC, Brazil
With this expansion, we are consolidating our position among the largest producers of wood panels in Latin America.
The expansion will provide the country with one of the most modern plants in the world, highly productive, sustainable and with state-of-the-art equipment such as a scanner to check the quality of the panel surface and an innovative system in which the natural moisture of the wood is reused for steam generation through an evaporator in closed circuit without effluent emissions
comments Ricardo Pedroso, CEO of Guararapes.
German company Siempelkamp was contracted to implement the new line, in addition to other European suppliers such as Vyncke, Wemhöener, Valmet and Schrader, world references in the manufacture of equipment deployed in state-of-the-art and highly competitive manufacturing facilities.
Pandemic
According to Pedroso, 2020 was a record year for the company.
With the pandemic, Brazilians changed their habits and invested in the purchase of furniture and this was reflected directly and positively in the company performance. With the expansion, we will be able to meet this growing demand with more agility, flexibility and a lot of technology.
According to IBÁ (Brazilian Tree Industry), the entity that represents the sector, the Brazilian market for MDF panels grew 9.3% from 2019 to 2020, from 3.893 million m³ to 4.257 million m³. Sector exports also grew: 5.9%, from 1.025 to 1.085 thousand m³.
Guararapes is one of Brazil’s largest exporters of plywood and MDF. We supply to all continents, and there are already more than 60 countries counting on our products,
says Pedroso.
Sustainable production
The wood waste used in the plywood manufacturing process becomes raw material in the production of MDF, which results in quality and sustainability in cost savings and respect for nature. We are already recognized in the market for our commitment to the environment and we have certifications that attests our compromise with the nature.