07.14.11
Companhia Providência officially announced the construction of its second plant in the municipality of Pouso Alegre, Brazil. The investment in this production line will be $60 million, which will increase annual production 20,000 tons to a total 120,000 tons when fully operational.
“This investment underscores Companhia Providência’s commitment to expand its operation in Brazil. The new plant will also allow the growing domestic market demand for nonwovens to be satisfied,” said Hermínio de Freitas, CEO of Companhia Providência. “We have chosen Pouso Alegre due to its advantageous location for taking delivery of raw materials and to rapidly service our customers. In addition to the experience already gained in operating in the region, we can also count on the benefit of quality local labor.”
The new plant will be responsible for creating a further 92 jobs in the area.
Companhia Providênciahas also signed agreements with the state of Minas Gerais, the State Department for Economic Development – SEDE, the State Department for Finance – SEF, the State Department for Science, Technology and Higher Education – SECTES, the Banco de Desenvolvimento de Minas Gerais S.A. – BDMG, the Institute for Integrated Development for Minas Gerais – INDI for the development of production in the region. Particularly notable as a result of these partnerships is the 2% rate for the ICMS sales tax and tax breaks on municipal levies. The state-level benefits will kick in from the startup of the new plant scheduled for the first half of 2012 while the municipal tax breaks are already ongoing.