Brazilian thermoset resin, formol and methanol producer GPC Química plans to invest 20mn reais (US$12.4mn) to increase capacity at its three plants in the states of Paraná, Rio Grande do Sul and Minas Gerais, the company said in a statement. The increased production will supply the domestic wood panel market, a company spokesperson told BNamericas. GPC currently produces 250,000t/y of formol and 350,000t/y of resins, according to the statement.

"We still haven't decided how much the increase [in output] will be, but it will be enough to supply the wood panel market, which is growing at 7% a year," she said, adding last year the country made 8Mm3 of panels.

Due to the boom in the civil construction industry, demand for resins to manufacture wood panels has been increasing. Companies are expected to invest some US$1bn in projects to expand capacity by 2010 as a result of the growth in demand, the statement read. GPC Química is the result of the merger between Brazilian chemical and varnish maker Synteko and methanol producer Prosint. The company generates annual revenues of some 500mn reais.

Fonte:Business News Americas - 13/08/2008