Guararapes to triple capacity with new MDF line
13 January 2015Brazilian panel maker Guararapes plans to triple its capacity to almost 600,000m3/year with investment in a new MDF line offering products with new dimensions and thicknesses.
The company, which can already produce 200,000m3/year on a Chinese-built batch line, has ordered a 350,000m3/year European continuous fibreboard line from Siempelkamp which is set to launch in March 2016.
Work has already begun on the project at Guararapes's MDF site at Caçador in the southern Brazilian state of Santa Catarina. The extra line is set to create up to 160 new jobs.
"Considering the installed capacity added by the new line, when at full capacity, we expect to achieve a 9% in the Brazilian domestic MDF market," said the firm's chief executive Ricardo Pedroso. Guararapes will add share through new niche market business, he added.
The company, which also makes plywood, expects to export between 10% and 15% of line output around the world. It already sells plywood and veneers in over 50 countries.
With advanced technology, the latest Guararapes line will use chips and wood waste from its plywood plants in Santa Catarina and Paraná states for 45% of its MDF wood needs.
