In June 2012 international manufacturer of filling and packaging systems for the beverage, food, and non-food industries KHS is celebrating its 50th anniversary at its production site in Brazil. KHS GmbH is seen as being a reliable partner by a broad customer base across Latin America, one reason being that it remained active in the country throughout times of Brazilian economic crisis.
KHS' history in Brazil started in 1962 when it entered into partnership with what was then Nashold S/A Industria de Maquinas. The program of machinery at that time focused on automatic filling systems. The year 1974 proved to be a milestone, when all activities were moved to a new plant to be able to meet the growing demand of the Brazilian market In 1975 the company began exporting to other countries in Latin America. With the introduction of the returnable PET bottle to the Latin American market in 1990 KHS' business took a very positive turn. In 1996 KHS was granted its ISO 9001 certification for the factory in Brazil. Throughout its years of operation the KHS production site in Brazil has constantly adapted its product portfolio to meet changing local and regional market requirements.
At its site in São Paulo, which measures over 40,000 m2 or 430,560 square feet in area and employs 400 people, KHS Brazil chiefly produces products destined for filling, rinsing, process, and conveying technology. Together with various other KHS plants, KHS Brazil also supplies local customers with complete systems, and provides a full package of services. The company is run by Alcides Vieira, Roberto Giampietro, Franz Beissel, and Fernando Manente.
Besides Brazil itself, KHS Brazil's area of distribution covers all other states in South America. KHS' market share of filling and packaging technology for the beverage sector in Brazil is approximately 35%, with this figure at 30% for South America as a whole.
The economic mainstay for KHS Brazil is and always has been the brewing industry, which accounts for 40% of sales. This is followed by the soft drinks segment with 35% and the fruit juice business with 10%. The remaining 15% of sales is allocated to other beverage segments and the food and non-food industries.
The prognoses for the next few years for Brazil, and indeed for the entire Latin American market, foresee a growth in consumption in all beverage segments. A particularly strong increase is expected for water, carbonated soft drinks, and fashionable non-alcoholic beverages, such as health and energy drinks. "As one of the chief suppliers of filling and packaging technology in Latin America we have a very clear objective, namely to gain considerable profit from this positive market development", states Vieira.
With around 5,000 employees the international KHS Group finds it important to show local presence and thus maintain a proximity to its customers. In addition to several plants in Germany and the factory in Brazil, KHS also operates production sites in the USA, Mexico, and India. Moreover, KHS has more than sixty sales and service bases and is therefore present on every continent. Because of the highly international nature of its business, KHS is a preferred partner for globally active customers in particular.
