Manitowoc Suspends Operations In Brazil

Manitowoc Cranes, which opened its Brazilian facility in March 2012 in Passo Fundo city, Rio Grande do Sul state, has announced a suspension of operations. A letter signed by Operations Director Pedro Oliveira was sent to suppliers on January 13.

“Today, Manitowoc Cranes announced its intentions to suspend the production operations at Passo Fundo plant with immediate effects,” Oliveira said in the letter. “Unfortunately, our partnership with you, while a supplier, also needs to be suspended temporarily as a result of this decision. In the coming days, a member of our staff will contact you directly to negotiate the terms of our contract and the commercial agreements and purchase invoices.”

The director also said that it was hard to communicate such news, but was necessary due to “depressing market conditions in our region as well as political, social and economical issues.”

“Facing this scenario, these operational changes compensate the decline in the demand of our products and help us to measure correctly our business and put us in a better position to compete in the global cranes market,” Oliveira said.

Production will be suspended for an undetermined period of time, but in his letter, Oliveira said it was the company’s intention is to reestablish operations when conditions allow.

Manitowoc assembled three types of cranes at the facility: the RT model, which is designed for rough terrain; Groove, which is used in construction; and the telescopic crane, which is assembled on commercial trucks.

When it was opened, the company said that the site would have three pavilions through 2017 with a total investment of US$41 million, generating 350 direct jobs and around 700 indirect ones.