Plants: Sao Jose dos Pinhais-Parana, Brazil; Pouso Alegre-Minas Gerais, Brazil; Statesville, NC, U.S.
Processes: Spunbond, SMS, meltblown, laminated nonwovens, printed nonwovens
Brands: Kami, Protect, Protect Advanced, Protect Ultra, Kami-Soft
Major Markets: Medical, agricultural, furniture and bedding, towel and coverlet, hygiene, filtration, wipes

This will be the last year Companhia Providencia is included in Nonwoven Industry’s annual top companies report as a stand-alone company. In June 2014, the Brazilian nonwovens producer was acquired by PGI Nonwovens. PGI announced it would buy Providencia in January.

“At Providencia, we are proud of our history in nonwovens manufacturing and the strong business we have built,” said Providencia CEO Herminio Vicente Smania de Freitas at the time of the acquisition. “We look forward to this next chapter in our business, as we work with PGI’s leadership to serve customers throughout Latin America with unmatched service, quality and innovation.”

Following the acquisition, Freitas is now president of PGI’s South America business including Argentina, Colombia and Brazil.

Prior to the acquisition, in 2013, Providencia reported a 27% jump in sales to $394 million, due largely to the full utilization of its 13th production line, which came onstream in Statesville, SC, U.S.—that site’s second machine—earlier in the year. In addition to adding to the company’s bottom line, this line has allowed Providencia to develop higher value-added items to improve the product mix available to U.S.-based customers.

J. Joel Hackney, CEO of PGI has said that the acquisition of Providencia will provide his company with immediate access to new technology and markets throughout the Americas.

“The acquisition of Providencia is exciting for PGI, as it aligns directly with our strategic commitment to global growth,” says Hackney. “Providencia has built a vibrant business serving customers focused on hygiene, healthcare and industrial applications, all of which are core focus areas for PGI. The complementary nature of our businesses and Providencia’s established relationships with its customers make it a perfect fit to join the PGI family.”

Providencia entered the U.S. market in 2010 with its first line in Statesville, SC. At the time, the company said it would add as many as four lines to the site but to date only two have been built there. Meanwhile, in Brazil, the company operates 11 lines at two sites—one in Sao Jose dos Pinhiars-Parana and one in Pouso Alegre.

The 11th Brazilian line was added in Pouso Alegrea in June 2012, adding 20,000 tons of capacity to the site, which now houses three lines. The company’s other site, in Jose dos Pinahais, was expanded regularly during the late 1990s and early 2000s and now houses eight lines. About 60% of pre-acquisition sales were conducted within Brazil.

Plants: Sao Jose dos Pinhais-Parana, Brazil; Pouso Alegre-Minas Gerais, Brazil; Statesville, NC Processes: Spunbond, SMS, meltblown, laminated nonwovens, printed nonwovens
Brands: Kami, Protect, Protect Advanced, Protect Ultra, Kami-Soft
Major Markets: Medical, agricultural, furniture and bedding, towel and coverlet, hygiene, filtration, wipes

With a new line up and running and a steady rise in sales, Companhia Providencia, Sao Jose dos Pinhais, Brazil is poised for even further growth moving forward. The maker of spunmelt nonwovens reported a whopping 15.8% increase in sales in 2012, which was largely attributed to new investments both in Brazil and the U.S.

In March, the company completed work on its second U.S. line in Statesville, SC, a move that adds 20,000 tons of U.S. capacity and doubles the size of the site, which was opened in early 2011 as part of a move to boost Providencia’s U.S. sales and alleviate the strain on the company’s Brazilian operation.

According to the company, this latest line fulfills a need for high tech products destined to the disposable hygiene market including infant and geriatric diapers, sanitary pads and others and for medical use such as aprons and surgical fields. The line, which represents a $60 million investment and is known as Kami 13, was expected to reach its maximum capacity within six months, according to Hermínio de Freitas, Companhia Providência’s CEO.

“We’re optimistic with the business increase in the U.S.,” Freitas says. “The evolution in our first line, inaugurated in January 2011, was very positive. Providencia has a total productive capacity of 140,000 tons of nonwoven/year.”

Beyond the U.S. site, Providencia operates two sites in Brazil where it added its 11th line in Pouso Alegre in June 2012. This new line added 20,000 tons to the group’s capacity and has been meeting domestic need in the disposable hygiene and medical products segment.

This line was the third at Providencia’s Pouso Alegrea site, which is logistically well placed to receive raw materials and rapidly meet the needs of the customers. Elsewhere in Brazil, Providencia operates an eight-line site in Sao Jose dos Pinhais, which received an investment in the shape of a new line nearly every other year in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

As the company continues to invest in Brazil and the U.S., South American sales continue to represent the lion’s share of sales, with domestic sales comprising about 60% of Providencia’s total revenues. This figure is expected to decrease as U.S. investments come onstream.