Braskem will invest BRL 920 million to increase its PVC production capacity by 40% by 2010. That amount, which the company recently approved, will make it possible to build a new factory next to its Marechal Deodoro Unit in the northeast-Brazilian city of Maceió. Braskem currently produces 510,000 metric tons of PVC annually, of which 260,000 come from Marechal Deodoro and 250,000 from the company’s unit in Camaçari, Bahia. As of May 2012, the date set for the official opening of the new plant, its capacity will total over 200,000 metric tons per year, providing the necessary boost to meet domestic demand.

"At the current pace of growth in Brazil, the domestic market will absorb 980,000 metric tons of PVC by the end of 2010,” says Vinyls Business Director Marcelo Cerqueira. “There is a balance between supply and demand in the Brazilian market, but considering the turnover projected for the coming years, those figures require investments in added capacity.”

The construction industry accounts for nearly 60% of the use of PVC in pipes, fittings, shapes and frames. That segment’s performance improves when the economy is doing well, as it is now, when estimated Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth ranges from 5% to 7% by the end of the year.

In addition to construction, the infrastructure sector also generates good business for the plastic resin in its various applications – from water and sewer pipes used in public sanitation to compact sewage treatment plants and buildings, which are designed for the use of PVC-Concrete. A construction system introduced in Brazil nearly a decade ago, it offers solutions for towns like São Luis do Paraitinga, São Paulo.

“These homes will meet the needs of the families that registered for housing and whose situation worsened earlier this year”Ana Lúcia Bilard

A historic town that lies in the Paraíba Valley, São Luis do Paraitinga was hard hit by a flood in early 2010. Now, 45 bungalows and 106 townhouses are being built with PVC-Concrete. Their future residents are some of the people who lost everything they had when the Paraitinga River overflowed its banks. After several days of heavy rain, well above normal levels for that season, the river had flooded, destroying churches and houses built with clay bricks, a construction method typical of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.

The construction of these new homes is the responsibility of the São Paulo State Housing Authority or CDHU. The municipal government had earmarked the land for public housing a month before the flood. The emergency required a solution that combined quality with speed of execution. “These homes will meet the needs of the families that registered for housing and whose situation worsened earlier this year,” says Ana Lucia Bilardo, Mayor of São Luis do Paraitinga. “During the second stage of this program, we will build houses to resettle families now living in Permanent Protection Areas (PPAs).”

The contract for the construction of 151 buildings was signed by CDHU and Royal do Brasil Technologies, a Braskem client. The PVC-Concrete Construction System is a method that Royal developed in Canada, and uses lightweight PVC shapes that fit together as modules, leaving a hollow space free to be filled with concrete and structural steel. In Canada, it is known as the “PVC House” system. The name PVC-Concrete was created by another partner, the Brazilian Portland Cement Association (ABCP).

Royal has its own team in São Luis do Paraitinga, composed of architects, engineers and technicians, along with 66 workers recruited and trained locally (fitters, masons, carpenters, electricians, carpenters and assistants). “We have been active in Brazil since 2002 and have built homes, schools, clinics and gas stations, in addition to sanitation projects and works in other segments,” says Carlos Eduardo Torres, Royal’s Director General in Brazil.

Listing the advantages of the PVC-Concrete Building System, Torres stresses rapid execution, the durability and practicality of PVC (easy cleaning and maintenance), and lower consumption of water and power at the construction site. “We started the project at São Luis do Paraitinga on March 17 and we already have 45 houses ready or nearing completion.” The buildings are, on average, 65 sq.m in area.

PVC-Concrete is also being used in another major venture focused on building houses in flood-ravaged areas, in this case caused by the rains of 2008 in the southern state of Santa Catarina. Braskem’s partner on this venture is Global Housing, a supplier of PVC shapes and panels. The funds being used to build about 300 houses were donated by Saudi Arabia.

FIFA World Cup and Olympics
Brazil is getting ready to host the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, which will mobilize billions of dollars in investments. For the World Cup, for example, studies and estimates show potential economic impacts of about BRL 180 billion, of which 26% will be invested directly, including investments in infrastructure, and 76% indirectly. The same studies indicate the possibility of creating 330,000 permanent and 380,000 temporary work opportunities.

The selection of projects and contractors is already underway. Odebrecht participated in the tenders for three stadiums to be built according to the new stadium-arena or multifunctional stadium concept. They will seat up to 50,000 persons and, in addition to football, they will be used for concerts, conferences and other events, bringing in extra resources for their maintenance.

Odebrecht has won two of the three tenders: one for the reconstruction of Fonte Nova stadium in Salvador, and another to build a new stadium in Recife. “We are reviewing proposals for partners for these projects. Braskem is among them, as a supplier of PVC and other thermoplastic resins for seats, facade elements, roofing, rainwater collection systems for reuse and other construction items,” says Eduardo Martinez, Odebrecht’s World Cup Projects Director.

This vast range of business opportunities for PVC guided Braskem’s decision to build the new plant in Marechal. Carried out through an alliance with Odebrecht Engenharia Industrial (Industrial Engineering), the project will break ground in July. It will create about 2,000 work opportunities during the construction phase, hiring local professionals whenever possible.