From the Newsroom*
São Paulo – Marcopolo, the largest Brazilian producer of bus bodies, produced a total of 16,400 units last year at the company production plants in Brazil and abroad. The volume grew 3.3% over the year of 2004, when the company produced 15,900 bus bodies. In Brazil, production reached 14,400 units. The number includes bodies produced and exported disassembled or partially assembled.
The performance, according to the company, reflects the growth of activities in the country and abroad. Marcopolo has units in Argentina, South Africa, Colombia, Mexico and Portugal and exports to over 80 countries, including France, England, Germany, Spain, Portugal, Holland, Mexico, Argentina and Saudi Arabia. For this year, the company forecasts production of 16,500 units.
Marcopolo was established in 1949 and on Monday (20) celebrated the 25th anniversary of the installation of their industrial unit in the city of Ana Rech, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. According to company information, the factory is one of the most modern in the world for production of bus bodies, and covers an area of 321,000 square metres of grounds and 71,000 square metres of built area. The unit has a capacity for production of 5,000 units a year.
Apart form the assembly line for urban buses and coaches, Marcopolo also has, in Ana Rech, a line for production of components and equipment for the vehicles, like seats, finishing panels, side panels and internal upholstery, among others. The parts are shipped to units in Brazil and abroad. The complex has a modern test track, the only one of the kind in Brazil. Marcopolo also has production units in the cities of Caxias do Sul, also in Rio Grande do Sul, Rio de Janeiro, in the southeast of the country, and in São José dos Pinhais, in the southern state of Paraná.
*Translated by Mark Ament
