The Elkem company is interested in expanding its silicon production in the region and sees Paraguay as having a favorable economic climate to increase operations.
The directors of the company held a working meeting with the Minister of Industry and Commerce (MIC), Luis Alberto Castiglioni, with whom they discussed the growth plans of the industry with a global presence.
The senior vice president, Mr. Inge Grubben-Stromnes, and the director of Business and Operations for South America, Osvaldo Almeida Junior, in a work meeting, explained to the head of the MIC, that they are looking for opportunities to expand their production .
The meeting was accompanied by the Vice Minister of Industry, Francisco Ruiz Diaz; the national director of the Investment and Export Network (REDIEX), Gilda Arréllaga; the director of Investment Attraction of REDIEX, Federico Sosa Otero, and the president of the Paraguayan Industrial Union (UIP), Enrique Duarte.
After the meeting, the vice president, Mr. Inge Grubben-Stromnes, who commented that they have already installed an industrial plant in the country, where they have been operating since 2018, in Limpio, and that they have invested 50 million dollars in it.
Likewise, he pointed out that, for the installation of the aforementioned industry, they are considering countries where they have an international presence, and that the important factors for the establishment of the investment are “precisely the ability of renewable energies” and that “Paraguay has enough , and also the presence of renewable inputs, such as charcoal”, he said.
Regarding the next investment they would be making, and how much labor they would hire, he explained that “in the current plant (Clean) we have 150 employees, and if we consider an expansion we would have a similar number, and this plant would be dedicated to a specific product. , which would be the metallic silicon of silicone”, he indicated.
DECISION, IN THE COMING MONTHS
Regarding the possible expansion of the industry in the country for export, the executive said that the company would make the decision in the coming months. “As you know, this entire investment process has different phases, energy development and development of the investment project,” he clarified.
