From a family-owned sawmill to the largest MDF plant in the Americas, we are celebrating 40 years since our foundation on February 6, 2024.
Blog/Guararapes, one of the most important manufacturers of MDF and plywood in the Americas, began as a small sawmill in the Brazilian city of Quilombo, state of Santa Catarina, in February, 1984, founded by the friends João Carlos Pedroso, currently the Chairman of the Board, and Walderez Bertolin (in memoriam).
Over these 40 years, the legacy has been passed on from parents to their children, who today uphold our commitment to harmonize businesses, a sustainable balance of natural resources, and the care toward the communities where the manufacturer is present.
In 1986, the company took a first step toward its growth and transferred its businesses to Palmas, in the state of Paraná, where both its head office and the board of directors are currently based.
Thus, production began for plywood panels for exports, and 16 years later our search for excellence led to the opening of a new plant, in Santa Cecília (SC), in 2002.
Another important step was taken when a new MDF plant was opened in Caçador, Santa Catarina, in 2009, which enabled us to serve the domestic market. Later, in 2016, the plant went through an expansion that placed Guararapes among the leading players in the national segment.
The year 2023 was a landmark in our history: we opened a new operation in the city of Caçador, which has expanded our production capacity by 90% and led our plant to the position of the largest one in the Americas.
Today, we are a company that is recognized for its innovation, quality, and excellence. In 2018, we were the first MDF company to launch patterns with designs and textures inspired by stones; in 2023, for the second year in a row, we won the most important design award in the world, the iF Design Award, with our Casa Guararapes São Paulo.
We are over two thousand employees across the plants in Palmas (PR), Santa Cecília, and Caçador (SC), on top of offices and distribution centers in the United States, São Paulo, Curitiba, and Ipojuca.
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