Unilever plans to three factories until 2016 in the country

Anglo-Dutch Unilever expands its capacity in Brazil, the company's second largest market, to achieve the global target to double in size in ten years, until 2020. The multinational will have two more factories in Brazil until 2016, in addition to the unit under construction in Solapur (SP), completing twelve facilities. On Friday, the company also launched its second largest distribution center in the country, in Pouso Alegre (MG).
Is an expansion pace well faster than in recent years-the last factory inaugurated by Unilever in Brazil was in 2005, in the complex of Suape, in the metropolitan region of Pernambuco.
Aguaí factory, scheduled for 2015, should start production with categories of personal hygiene and cleanliness, pulling the company's growth in the country. In these segments, Unilever manufactures the shampoos and soaps, TreSemmé Silk Dove, the washing machine Omo and Cif and surface cleaners Came, among others. It will be the largest group in the country's industrial unit, with 1 million square meters. The other two still do not have location and not necessarily will be on new land, according to Jose Negrete, Vice President of Unilever's supply chain.
The investment of r $ 200 million in the new distribution centre in southern Minas Gerais was made by RB Capital, which specializes in real estate investments. "Is one of the most modern distribution centers of Unilever in the world," says Negrete. The logistics company DHL, Unilever's global partner, will be responsible for the operation. Unilever has a long-term contract with the two companies.
The distribution center has 90 thousand square meters and capacity to double in size over the next few years. The building stands at rodovia Fernão Dias, near the company's factory in Pouso Alegre, which produces soy-based juices Ades and Knorr soups and seasonings.
The unit will store all the juices produced in the city, as well as Ades of personal care items and cleaning from the two factories of the company in the State of São Paulo (and of Aguaí from 2015) and Goiânia, where are made the Skittish and Hellmann's mayonnaise. Some imported items, such as aerosol products from Argentina, will also be invoiced.
Of Pouso Alegre, the goods will be dispatched directly to retailers or to the company's regional distribution centers in the country today are 25. According to Unilever, Minas Gerais and Rio de Janeiro will be the more States benefited by logistics, in addition to some parts of the Northeast.
Together, the new distribution center and the Louveira (SP)-the largest company in Brazil-will earn between 60% and 70% of the entire volume of Unilever products distributed in the country. Louveira unit is close to saturation, and the new warehouse will absorb the increased demand. The company also has a third hub (distribution centre) in the country, in the complex of Suape (PE).
The new hub will be important to receive the juices Ades, whose sales volume grew a lot in recent years, said Negrete. The Executive said that, after the recall of a batch of products in March, the factory operates normally and resumed normal production volume. However, in its third quarter balance Unilever reported that sales in Brazil have been negatively affected by the problem, besides having been impacted by implementation of SAP management software.
The Brazilian operation grossed $ 13.6 billion in 2012, up from 12.4% over the previous year. In the first half of this year, the company managed to maintain similar growth, according to the Chairman of Unilever in Brazil, Argentine Fernando Fernandez.