Chinese firm asks to open new factory in Brazil
11/03/2008
A footwear manufacturer from China, UpTop, has applied to set up a new factory in the heartland of the industry in Brazil, Novo Hamburgo.
The mayor of the city, Jair Foscarini, is analysing the proposal, which includes a request that the city authorities provide premises for the new factory.
UpTop has branches in Canada and Europe and produces footwear for various brands, as well as travel goods and handbags.
The company has said it wants to set up in Novo Hamburgo to have access to high-quality leather and other raw materials form local suppliers.
It says it would use the new facility to produce footwear for different brands, starting with 1000 pairs per day and 200 workers. To start with, the goods would be sold in the Brazilian, UpTop has said it intends to export its finished goods to other Latin American countries at a later stage.
A lawyer who has been working as UpTop’s representative on the deal, Jamil Abdo, has said that the company thought initially about trying to set up an operation in another part of Brazil, the state of Bahia. But he explained that industry advisers convinced it to look at Novo Hamburgo instead.
Mr Abdo said: “The business intermediaries appointed by the Chinese group suggested Novo Hamburgo as the best location because of its shoemaking tradition and proximity to the best sources of leather and components.”
The mayor has commented: “We are pleased with UpTop’s proposal especially because our region has suffered a lot with Chinese competition and we are now being contacted by a Chinese company that is prepared to generate jobs here.”
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