Rhodia to maintain Latin American investments in R&D steady
Bnamericas Published: Tuesday, August 25, 2009
French chemical group Rhodia's investments this year in R&D in Latin America will be similar to last year, when the company spent 30.1mn reais (US$16.4mn), company CEO for Latin America Marcos De Marchi said during a meeting with journalists. "When we invest in R&D we are investing in people and there haven't been any changes in this area of the company," De Marchi said referring to the impact of the global financial crisis. Globally, the group was forced to adjust output due to weakened demand since the last quarter of 2008. However, according to the executive, in Latin America Rhodia has stepped up operations on recovering sales volumes. "Exports [in 2009] are expected to be slightly lower than in 2008," De Marchi said, adding that the company compensated for the slowdown in certain export markets such as North America, Europe and Asia by redirecting production to the Brazilian and other Latin American markets, chiefly Argentina, Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico. Last year, the Brazilian subsidiary generated some US$300mn in export revenues, approximately 30% of the division's total sales. INNOVATION Globally, Rhodia has five R&D centers, one of which is in Paulínia, São Paulo state, and last year invested 2.1% of its worldwide revenues in technology and innovation. "Companies that invest in this area are proven to be more profitable," De Marchi said. The Paulínia R&D center, which serves the entire Latin American region, has helped create solutions for the local market. "Approximately 60% of what we sell in Brazil is produced here. The remainder is part of Rhodia's global portfolio, which is developed worldwide," De Marchi added. In 2008, 32% of Rhodia's global revenues, or 1.6bn euros (US$2.29bn), came from sustainable products while 22% came from products less than five years on the market. "The sustainability aspect is crucial for the approval of a new project," the executive said. One example are the oxygenated solvents, which are acetone and ethanol-based and are only produced in Brazil.
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