Paulo Nigro
President of Tetra Pak Brasil.
During 2010 and 2011, Tetra Pak achieved many expressive results, which are the outcome of investments in personnel, installed capacity, innovation, technology and customer satisfaction. Just in 2010 we sold 1 billion packages more than the previous year, which represents 10% growth over a figure that was already huge. This volume is equivalent to an entire year sales of packages in the Chilean market, for instance. This performance allowed us to achieve now in 2011 our goal for 2012; we reached the milestone of 12 billion packages produced per year.
In terms of machinery installation, we went from 50 filling lines to 125 new lines per year, which represents 25% of what Tetra Pak installs worldwide. To accomplish that we created a centre to train new technicians at Monte Mor (SP) plant, employing 150 new professionals and preparing the company for growth.
These figures were achieved owing to innovations in our portfolio of machinery and packages, together with a strong social-environmental action. Over this period we launched the first element containing green plastic to ever comprise a package in the world; it is a cap made out of polyethylene from sugar cane ethanol. This material replaces the traditional plastic made out of oil and it is the first step for a cooperation agreement with Braskem.
Another renewable input in our packages is paper, which has been certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC®) since 2008. The seal guarantees that the trees come from forests with responsible management and also traceability of the material all along the production chain, from planting the tree to the final product. The seal is included as requested by customers and it has been more and more requested. In 2010, we produced 4.96 billion packages bearing the certification seal and, in 2011, 6.82 billion.
Today, 27% of our packages are recycled, which means that we have exceeded the rates achieved before the economic meltdown in 2009 that decimated the prices of recycled materials and affected the recycling chain in Brazil. At the time, we chose to build up a regulator stock of post-consumption packages, instead of simply following up the prices drop, reinforcing the sustainability of our actions and avoiding even more serious impacts in the waste collectors' cooperatives across the country.
Fortunately in 2010 the Congress approved of and the Presidency enacted the National Policy on Solid Waste. Together with the Brazilian Business Commitment to Recycling (Cempre), the SOS Mata Atlântica NGO, and other organizations, Tetra Pak actively participated in the whole process of discussion and approval of the new law. Based on the shared waste management, the project contributes to providing sustainability to this chain, with balance and harmony.
We believe that actions like expanding the infrastructure, strengthening the environmental culture, and improving the legislation offer conditions to increase even more the recycling rates. For this reason, one of the focuses of our marketing campaigns is environmental awareness, on which we invested over BRL13 million per year over these two years. We provided support to initiatives that have wide impact in the society, including insertions in prime time soap operas such as Passione (Rede Globo, 2010/2011).
Our social investments also focus on environmental awareness. Over this period, we started investing funds in sports projects, always establishing the liaison with the sustainability subject.
The prospects for the coming years are positive: the fact that Brazil is on the spotlight represents a great opportunity for businesses and Tetra Pak is ready to take advantage of that. And we are ready only because we think on the long term and we managed to keep this view even in times of uncertainty. Amid the crisis in 2008 we increased in 33% our production capacity. It was a bold decision that provided the necessary conditions for quickly restoring the pre-crisis rates.
The good performance of the economy attracts new players to the market, both domestic and international, which increases competition in the sector and requires discipline in terms of costs, customers' closeness and investments in innovation to keep our market share. And we master doing that: innovation is part of our DNA and we are pioneers in the development of systems that have low environmental impact, incorporating renewable sources to our packages. Currently, we are bringing to Brazil 18 of 21 Tetra Pak's global developments, expanding even more our portfolio of solutions to our customers.
If we manage to reach the homes of millions of consumers every day it is because we have a team of competent and committed professionals who establish value relationships with our partners and customers. And we feel obliged to share this success with the society, promoting a positive transformation to build up a better world. I thank all those who are part of our history, making us proud for the results of our efforts.