São Paulo – There is no lack of wood. Nor will there be, if it is up to businessmen who claim to be willing to invest more and more in reforestation. 320 kilometres away from Belém, the capital of the state of Pará, the municipality of Paragominas wants to become established as one of the leading furniture hubs in Brazil. The initiative, formed by small businesses, is backed by the federal, state and municipal governments. It provides for all of the enterprises to settle in a common area, the hub per se, which should receive approximately 100 manufacturers in the next five years. Right now, four participants are already producing items for living rooms, kitchens and bedrooms at the site. And some items exported to markets such as the French Guiana and Haiti.
“Our main differential is the fact that we are all together, joining strengths,” explains the president of the Association of Furniture Industries and Wooden Artefacts Alike of the State of Pará (Apimóveis), Paulo Alves Farias. “Besides, we use a lot of reforestation wood, in a green, sustainable production,” he says.
According to Farias, owner of door factory Madeira Bella, the target, five years down the road, is to have the income generated by the hub be the most important contribution of the local industry to the city’s economy. A process of growth in which, as a businessmen, he also has ambitious plans. “I want to manufacture 2,000 doors per day,” says he, who will establish his company in the hub in September. At present, Madeira Bella operates at a different address.
Companies based in Paragominas are now at an early stage when it comes to exports, but should gain strength as the joint production centre is established. “Today, only a handful of manufacturers, such as Sab Móveis, for custom-made furniture, sell to nearer markets such as the French Guiana and to countries such as Haiti,” explains Farias. Within this process of increasing domestic and foreign sales, the Arabs are mentioned as potential buyers. “We have keen interest in shipping our products to the Middle East,” he claims. “And also to Europe.”
To reinforce the brand of a sustainability-friendly hub, the idea is to attract to Paragominas, according to Farias, a manufacturing plant for medium-density fibreboard (MDF). What is it? A material made from a combination junction of wood fibres, synthetic resins and other materials. Thus, the use of wood itself is reduced.
The project to create the furniture hub in Pará should see investment of over 5 million Brazilian reals (US$ 3,100). “We are only getting started,” guarantees Farias.
Contact:
Paragominas Furniture Hub
Telephone: (+55 91) 3011 0053
E-mail: apimoveispgms@gmail.com
*Tradução de Gabriel Pomerancblum
