BRAZIL (WBPIOnline).- Brazil's leading panel producer Duratex plans to use its investment in the Colombian board manufacturer Tablemac as a stepping-stone to further expansion in Central and South America. São Paulo, Brazil-based Duratex will analyze further foreign acquisition and merger opportunities in the region and intends to prepare a separate five-year plan for future Latin American operations, its executive director Antonio Joaquim de Oliveira told WBPI. He stressed that the Tablemac move is a signal to Duratex's main Chilean and Brazilian competitors that the group means to capitalize on its Brazilian leadership elsewhere in the region.