COLOMBIA / PORTUGAL – In mid-September, an agreement was reached between Levira, Portugal’s leading office furniture manufacturer and subsidiary of the Prebuild Group and Solinoff, a leading Colombian manufacturer of office furniture.

The agreement provides for a 30% swap of the shares of both companies, as well as a distribution agreement in which Solinoff will market Levira products in Colombia and the region. In addition to office furniture, Solinoff will include in its portfolio products (shelves) manufactured by Kind, another Prebuild unit.

This alliance stems from the arrival of Levira to Colombia, where it is currently part of a group of six Prebuild Group companies developing an industrial complex on the outskirts of the city of Bogotá. Levira Bogota is scheduled to be inaugurated in March 2015 and is projected to be the most advanced factory of its kind in South America. While the new factory goes into operation, Solinoff as part of the agreement will import during the next six months more than 8 million items from Levira to be marketed in Colombia and the region.

The agreement was formalized in the week of September 15 in Lisbon between the João Gama Leon, president of the Prebuild Group – owner of Levira – and Guillermo Flores, founder and CEO of Solinoff. During his stay, Guillermo Flores made ​​several visits to industrial units of the Portuguese group and emphasized the need to build on Levira’s experience and Colombia’s steady and strong economic growth. “When we heard that an operator of great weight was coming to Colombia, we thought it best to establish a partnership, instead of entering a competition that would only destroy value for all. Solinoff knows the market, knows how to sell and to whom, and Prebuild will benefit by gaining years in its entry to Colombia”, said Flores, who estimates revenues of 16 million euros as the outcome of the first year of collaboration. João Gama Leon added, “What Prebuild is installing in Colombia does not exist in the country and through this partnership we can be very competitive in quality, price and design.”

Prebuild acquired Levira in 2011, it is the largest office furniture company in Portugal. Its manufacturing unit of more than 20 thousand square meters is the most automated of the segment. In the past two years the company has undergone a major reorganization aimed at its economic recovery, with the strategy to focus on new markets, particularly in Latin America and Africa, to counter the effects of the European crisis.

The Colombian partner, Solinoff, has in recent years increased sales by over 25%. In late 2013, with investment of USD 4.5 million, the company opened its new production facility, located in Funza, a municipality on the outskirts of Bogotá.