![]()
clipping
8
| Paint&pintura | Jan/Fev 2014
What to Expect of 2014?
The prognoses for the Brazilian economy in this year 2014
point to reasonable growth, but a few adjustments will be
needed along the way so we don’t get off the track and re-
mainonthepathofdevelopment.Surethemuchdreamed-of
tax and fiscal reforms that have been procrastinated for 20
years are still not going tomake it off the paper due to their
complexity and the spheres of government they involve.
Nevertheless, someaction, forexample, towards restraining
or reducing public debt would bewelcome, as certain subsi-
dies are expected tobe suspended in the courseof the year.
On the other hand, investments in job creation and in the
country’s infrastructureneed tobecontinued, soas tomake
this anattractiveenvironment for foreign investment. In the
paint and coatings industry, specifically, major mergers and
acquisitions are to be concluded which will further improve
its competitiveness.
And speaking of competitiveness, Brazilian manufacturers,
which have been investing in production processes and in
capacity and portfolio expansions as it is, will become incre-
asinglyrelevant, especially inemergingregionalmarkets,but
also in those with larger consumptionwhere there’s always
room for onemore player.
Our first Paint & Pintura Coatings Technology and Manage-
mentForumfortheyear,whichissettotakeplaceinMarch, in
Fortaleza,will sparkoffdiscussions thatmay leadcompanies
toreflectuponthenewreality insomeof thenation’sregions,
such as the Northeast, where audiences will be presented
with a current outlook and paths that can be followed in all
paint segments, such as new opportunities in automotive
OEM and refinish coatings, industrial coatings and UV-curing co-
atings. These and several other subjects will be discussed at the
forums Paint & Pinturawill be holding this year.
Another contributionto improvingthe industry isAgneloEditora’s
creationof theCoatings IntelligenceandKnowledgeCenter (CIC),a
virtual entitywho’sgatheringprofessionalsofgreat renown inthe
industry (see article on page 60) to conduct projects and studies
withstrategic information—presentandfuturescenarios—onthe
extremely important countries of SouthAmerica, whichwill serve
as guidelines for the investments of paint companies and their
suppliers intheirvariousmarketsegments:decorativepaints,auto-
motiveOEMandrefinishcoatings,printinginks, industrial coatings.
Accordingly, many other projects to be carried out by the CIC will
also be announced during the year, so if you don’t want to be left
behind, follow us, because we are going to have quite a hectic
2014. All in due course!
I nterv i ew - Preparat i ons for 100- Year
Anniversary
Once it attained 85 years of existence in 2013, M.CASSAB
initiated a new stage for which it has set itself ambitious
targets so that it can double in size over the next 15 years.
More specifically, it has kicked off the “M.CASSAB 100
Years” project, which contemplates a lot of investment
in plant and equipment, human resources and training.
According to chief executive officer Fernando Abrantes,
this is a very important time for M.CASSAB. “We are an
85-year-old company who’s had the guts to say, ‘we want
to refresh and rebuild ourselves; we want to build the
100-year-old M.CASSAB.’ On top of all of this tradition
and motivation, we also want to be different. We want
to build a happier, larger and better company. We are really
ambitious not only to grow our business, but also to do so in a
sustainable way, based on a management system that stands
on three pillars: people, processes and profitability, all of which
with a great vision for the future. This has also entailed a series
of investments in information technology, whichweremassive
in the course of 2013 and will continue through this year 2014,
including management tools that extend to our plants and
communication tools to have our entire team connected into
one system.”
The company has also invested a lot to train its personnel, and
will do even more so in the course of this year, through pro-
grams designed not only for technical jobs, but also to prepare
management professionals, according to Abrantes. “Here we
