RIO DE JANEIRO - Jotun announced the opening of a new marine and protective coatings factory outside Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The new facility is the company’s first in South America and will have an annual production capacity of 10 million liters.

The factory is built on a 130,000-square-meter plot of land, with a total investment of more than 100 million Brazilian reais.

According to Jotun Brazil’s Managing Director, Ferran Bueno, the new factory will support the company’s ambitions to become a market leader within marine and protective coatings in Brazil. “Despite today’s troubled economy, Brazil represents a significant growth opportunity for Jotun and a gateway to the region,” he said. “Jotun is a relatively small player in some areas, but we have a long-term perspective and expect our ability to produce locally will help us double our market share in selected industrial segments.”

Jotun began supplying marine coatings to ships trading in the region in 1998, and in 2008 began to offer protective coatings to offshore installations, renewable energy projects, and a broad range of industrial and civic infrastructure projects. Today, the company offers a broad range of advanced coatings designed to meet the challenges of users. 

About 100 people are employed at the new factory, which is strategically located on the outskirts of Rio de Janeiro and only 190 kilometers from the oil capital, Macaé.