Tunis – Cofat, a company in Elloumi group that produces power cable systems for vehicles, has decided to install its Brazilian factory in Curitiba, the capital of the state of Paraná. For some years the company has been studying the possibility of opening a subsidiary in Brazil to supply the market in the Mercosur. "We developed an economic study and it is the best place," said company director Ferid Tounsi.
He and the financial director, Elyes Rekik, said that initially they plan to rent premises for installation of the production line. "It should start quickly. Building a factory would take too long," said Tounsi.
Tounsi and his colleagues participated in the Brazil-Tunisia business meeting on Thursday, in Tunis, as part of the trade delegation to North Africa organized by the Ministry of Development, Industry and Foreign Trade.
The executive should travel to Brazil in early March to choose the site. The company wants to start production next year and should initially invest 1 million euros, mainly in machinery.
According to Tounsi, the deal should generate at least 100 jobs to begin with, a figure that should rise to 2,000 in future. The company should use Brazilian labour.
Elloumi group operates in several sectors and, apart from Tunisia, has factories in Portugal, Romania, Morocco and Egypt.
*Translated by Mark Ament
