Grein Builds Up Brazil Plant

SERRA, Brazil – Grein Brasil opened a new branch here in mid-February, during this year’s edition of the nearby Vitória Stone Fair.
The Brazilian arm of Graz, Austria-based Grein Holding GmbH inaugurated the new facilities with local colleagues, business partners, competitors and politicians, as well as 100 friends and clients from Germany, Austria and Switzerland.
Grein Brasil was founded one year ago by Ivo Siviero and Michael Cramer, both shareholders and managing directors of Grein Italia in Affi, Italy. Both have more than 40 years of experience in all fields of the stone industry, ranging from selection and processing to distribution.
Together with fellow shareholders Heinz Petrasch and Gerd Bergmann, Siviero and Cramer bought 100,000 m² of land in Serra close to Vitória’s airport. Half has been developed for company facilities, and the rest is covered by coffee plants. “We will soon market our own coffee,” Cramer says.
Grein Brasil built offices and a 3,500 m² storage hall now holding approximately 240 containers of valuable slabs. “Right now, we hold about 60 interesting materials on stock,” says Castro Moreira, new managing director of Grein Brasil.
The target markets of Grein Brasil are the United States and Canada as well as Brazil.
After a few months of consolidation, the investors aim to enlarge Grein Brasil with another same-sized storage hall, as well as a production plant with gang saws and a polishing line. According to Cramer, the target date for completion is 2010.
The opening was preceded by a stone-themed journey through Brazil, organized by Grein Italia and the German magazine Naturstein.