Brazilian panelmaker Satipel Industrial SA has made a dramatic change to its current MDP expansion plan. This will now see the new line it is installing in southern Brazil reach its full 700,000m3/year capacity two years earlier than first intended.
Originally, Sao Paulo-based Satipel expected the Siempelkamp ContiRoll line at Taquari, Rio Grande do Sul state to come on stream in two distinct phases. In mid-2009 it was due to begin producing up to 460,000m3/year, expanding to full capacity in 2011.
Now, Satipel has decided to extend the new MDP line immediately, enabling Taquari plant to more than triple its current 200,000m3/year capacity following the line’s scheduled start up this month (June ).
“We could have interrupted the work, but we calculated that the cost of completing the project and having idle capacity is less that that of not finishing the project now and paying more later,” said Satipel’s commercial vice-president Roberto Szachnowicz.
The company has also invested US$14m to extend its forest resource in southern Brazil in support of the new MDP plant.
