From the Newsroom*
São Paulo – The largest PET resin factory in the world was inaugurated today (28) in the industrial zone of Suape Port, in the city of Ipojuca, in the northeastern Brazilian state of Pernambuco. The industry was built by Italian group Mossi & Ghisolfi (M&G) and received investment of R$ 700 million (approximately US$ 330 million at current exchange rates) and is going to produce 450,000 tonnes of polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This kind of resin is used mainly in the production of plastic bottles.
According to information disclosed by the Italian group, construction of the factory is part of a company engagement to promote the use of PET in packaging in South America, including Brazil. The industrial unit was built in two years and involved over 2,000 workers. M&G is going to use in the production its own technology called EasyUPT.
"After creating a revolution in the scale of PET production in 2003, after the inauguration, in Altamira (Mexico), of the largest PET production line in North America, M&G is now also proud to expand its leadership in production in South America. With Suape and Altamira, M&G produces 900,000 tonnes a year in North and South America," stated the Polymer Business director at the company, Marco Ghisolfi.
Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva participated in the inauguration. The investment was announced by the Italians at the Presidential Palace in 2004, in Brazilian capital Brasília. When in full operation, the company will generate 200 direct jobs and 700 indirect jobs. The enterprise, according to the Presidential Palace, eliminates the need for import of the product. In 2006, Brazil imported over US$ 200 million in resin and, in 2009, would have to import another US$ 500 million.
Mossi & Ghisolfi Group has a capacity for production of 1.7 million tonnes of PET resin a year. The group started operating in Brazil in 2002 and also produces in Italy, the United States and Mexico. The main product made by the company is Polyester. "After this experience in the PET hub in Suape, who knows if you may not decide to make other investment in Brazil," stated president Lula during the meeting with representatives of the Italian company.
Yesterday president Lula also placed the founding stone of Suape Petrochemical Hub, in Pernambuco. The hub will include enterprises like the purified terephthalic acid industry, belonging to Companhia Petroquímica de Pernambuco (Petroquímica Suape) and a polymer and polyester filament industrial unit by Companhia Integrada Têxtil de Pernambuco (Citepe). The first will receive investment of US$ 542 million and the second of US$ 320 million.
*Translated by Mark Ament
