OREANDA-NEWS. July 14, 2011. Companhia Providencia (Bovespa: PRVI3), leader in the manufacture and commercialization of nonwovens in Brazil, with a presence in the Americas and global operations, today officially announced the construction of its second plant in the municipality of Pouso Alegre, state of Minas Gerais. The investment in this production line will be USD  60 million. The Company’s new machine will ramp up annual production by 20 thousand tons to a total of 120 thousand tons/year when fully operational.

“This investment underscores Companhia Providencia’s commitment to expand its operation in Brazil. The new plant will also allow the growing domestic market demand for nonwovens to be satisfied”, comments Herminio de Freitas, CEO of Companhia Providencia. “We have chosen Pouso Alegre due to its advantageous location for taking delivery of raw materials and to rapidly service our customers. In addition to the experience already gained in operating in the region, we can also count on the benefit of quality local labor.” The new plant will be responsible for creating a further 92 jobs in the area.

Companhia Providencia  has also signed agreements with the state of Minas Gerais, the State Department for Economic Development – SEDE, the State Department for Finance – SEF, the State Department for Science, Technology and Higher Education – SECTES, the Banco de Desenvolvimento de Minas Gerais S.A. – BDMG, the Institute for Integrated Development for Minas Gerais – INDI for the development of production in the region. Particularly notable as a result of these partnerships is the 2% rate for the ICMS sales tax and tax breaks on municipal levies. The state-level benefits will kick in from the startup of the new plant scheduled for the first half of 2012 while the municipal tax breaks are already ongoing.

On May 9, Companhia Providencia reported its first quarter results for 2011 with BRL  115.5 million of net operating revenue and net income of BRL  7.1 million, 279.5% more than for the same quarter in 2010. There was an increase in sales volume of 4.4% amounting to 20 thousand tons thanks to strong demand. The other highlight for the first quarter of this year was the opening in January of the Company’s first plant outside Brazil in the state of North Carolina, USA. In addition to the new plant in Pouso Alegre, a new machine is also scheduled to come on stream at the US plant in 2012.