Fitesa, a Brazilian nonwovens producer announced it has invested $120 million in North America. The subsidiary of Petropar S.A. has placed orders for two Reicofil lines. The first will come onstream at the end of October 2009 with the second to follow 15 months later. The location of the new line will be determined later this month.
“This is our growth strategy,” said Fernanda Gasta, sales manager for North America at INDEX 08. “NAFTA is the most important in the market and it is competitive but we will compete with the best technology.”
The investment, valued at $120 million, follows similar investment in the Brazilian market. Fitesa’s second Reicofil line is coming onstream this summer, which follows a first Reicofil line in July 2006. Two older generation spunbond lines and two meltblown lines are also operational in Brazil.
