Ausa plans Brazilian assembly facility before end of year

Spanish manufacturer Ausa hopes to establish an assembly facility in Brazil before the end of the year to produce site dumpers for the Brazilian and South American markets.

The location of the facility has yet to be finalised, but will not be in Sao Paolo or Rio de Janeiro. The facility will start by producing the company's D150 RM rigid dumper, a 1.5 t capacity machine that is well suited to the South American market.

Joan Aixendri, Ausa's general manager, told IRN that the company would invest between €3.5 and €4.0 million in its Brazilian operation this year.

He said that import duties on imported products and the subsidised finance for locally produced machines meant that local assembly of dumpers was essential. "The target is not to produce in Brazil, it is to sell in Brazil", said Mr Aixendri.

The investment in Brazil is just part of Ausa's export strategy, which has also seen it open subsidiaries in Mexico and the Middle East over the last 12 months. Emerging countries like Brazil accounted for 15% of Ausa's sales last year.

The Brazilian facility will use a mix of imported and locally sources components, with transmission and engines imported, for example.

The company is hoping for an approximate 20% increase in sales this year, from €62 million to €75 million. "I think we will achieve the budget", said Mr Aixendri, "The Urban range [sweepers and multiservice machines sold to municipalities] will increase by 100%."

A full report on Ausa will appear in the May-June issue of IRN.