BRAZIL - Construction work on the new Asperbras MDF board plant in Agua Clara, Mato Groso do Sul, is progressing according to schedule.

Under the name Greenplac and with a work progress of 63%, the project has already completed the civil and infrastructure stages, is executing the assembly of machinery and equipment and expects to carry out the first tests in November. The inauguration of the first phase of the plant is scheduled for January 2018 and it is expected that by April 2018 it will be operating at full capacity.

The plant’s production capacity will be 250,000 m3 per year of MDF boards. With this investment the company will generate 200 new direct jobs and close to 500 indirect jobs. To meet the demand for trained personnel, Asperbras is developing in collaboration with the Senai and the prefecture of Agua Clara training programs in disciplines such as automation, instrumentation and mechanical maintenance in addition to the preparation of plant operators.

The production of the new plant will go to the domestic market, mainly to supply the furniture industry, large consumer of MDF boards. Looking to the future Asperbras considers a second plant expansion stage that could take production capacity to 460 thousand m3 / year. The raw material required to operate this plant comes from its own plantations located in close proximity to the plant.