A group of entrepreneurs linked with the furniture industry are spearheading a project to build a new MDF production plant in the north of the country’s Espirito Santo state.
The facility, destined for the town of Pinheiros, is part of a larger cooperative scheme to include a furniture manufacturing and logistics park in the nearby district of Pedro Canário. The investors expect the new park will attract more sector companies to the region.
The panel mill, to be built by a newly created company Placas do Brasil SA, will have an initial MDF output of around 15,000m3/month, of which about 12,000m3 should supply the existing state furniture making zone of Linhares. The mill is likely to start up by January 2015.
Wood raw material for the unit will be supplied by eucalypt plantations within an 80km radius of the plant from surrounding communities. Chemical raw materials including melamine are expected to be sourced locally from a new petrochemical complex being built by the state oil giant Petrobras.
The overall development, with investment of more than US$55m, is supported by a partnership including Placas do Brasil SA, the state government and local authorities.
