The Brazilian group has started direct production in the USA with SACMI as its partner for the supply of all the key technologies for the plant, which is dedicated to the large sizes and pieces that are most in demand on the US market.
The ribbon-cutting ceremony for Portobello America, the first manufacturing plant of the Brazilian ceramic giant on US soil was held on Saturday, October 14, 2023. The event took place at the company's headquarters in Baxter (Tennessee) attended by local authorities and by the main strategic partners, including SACMI, supplier of all the plant's key technologies. The President Cesar Gomez Jr. welcomed the over three hundred participants, surrounded by the entire family, represented by four generations, including the founder of the Group, Cesar Gomez.
Based in Brazil, in Santa Catarina State, Portobello Group was founded in Tijucas in 1979 and year after year it has become one of Latin America’s leading ceramic producers, exporting to 60 countries.
The creation of the Group's second production centre in the USA, localizing production of all those sizes with the highest added value that are most in demand on the American market, was Portobello's aim and it was with SACMI that it built a new complete plant.
SACMI provided state-of -the art mills, spray dryers, presses and kilns. The advanced BMR finishing lines and HERE the line supervisor specifically designed for the ceramic industry that meticulously monitors performance and production flows. The plant is avant-garde both technologically and environmentally, thanks to the fume filtration and dust suppression systems designed and supplied directly by SACMI.
"Portobello America combines cutting-edge technology and logistics to create a unique tailor-made solution for the US market," said Portobello America. The new complete line is dedicated to the production of medium, large and special formats, with an expected output in this first phase, of 3.6 million square metres per year.
The site is now in full production thanks to the 630 tonnes of machinery delivered by SACMI-Italiansped in the first months of the year, which has been assembled and commissioned in recent weeks thanks to the close collaboration between the two teams.
The project, in which Portobello has hugely invested, strengthens the partnership with SACMI after the investments made in the headquarters in Brazil, such as the flagship project launched in 2020 on large-size decorated slabs, a synthesis of design, functionality and environmental sustainability.