Two leading Brazilian forest products companies are set to
merge creating what is claimed will be the biggest panel
manufacturer in the Southern Hemisphere.
In a move which took even the national industry by
surprise, Duratex SA, Brazil´s top MDF, hardboard and
laminated flooring maker is joining forces with Satipel
Industrial SA, the country’s leading medium density
particleboard (MDP) producer.
The powerful resulting company will dominate Brazil´s panel
sector, controlling 45% of national board capacity and
taking a 40/5 domestic market share.
The merged group, with a combined annual turnover of more
than US/41.6bn, will run seven continuous press MDP and
MDF lines and three hardboard lines at five plants spread
across Brazil.
To be called Duratex SA, the new group will have an
overall capacity of around 4 million m3 and a forest
plantations resource covering 209,000 hectares.
Satipel president Salo Davi Seibel will become the group´s
chairman while Henri Penchas Duratex president will be its
chief executive.
Integration of the two businesses is expected to take from six
months to a year to complete
