The mixed company Suchel TBV SA has not been able to complete the assembly of its machinery for the production of detergents, four years after it was granted permission to establish itself in the Mariel Special Development Zone (ZEDM). its directors confirmed to the official newspaper Granma that the delays meant that they could not cover the demand for the product in stores in pesos this year.
Suchel TBV SA is a Cuban trading company formed by Industrias Nexus SA and the Vietnamese Thai Binh Detergent Joint-Stock Company. According to the permits offered by the Government, in August 2018, the company can operate in the ZEDM for 30 years.
According to the information revealed then by the ZEDM, the initial amount of the company’s investment was 17.6 million dollars, and its directors notified that the factory would have modern technologies and automatic control systems of world standards. The estimated annual production capacity of the plant was 50,000 tons of detergent, both for domestic and industrial use, enough to replace more than 90% of the island’s imports.
The covid-19 pandemic complicated the assembly of the machinery, but the deputy general manager of the company, Isabel Martínez Ramírez, assured the official newspaper that once the assembly is completed, the annual production capacity will be 70,000 tons of powdered detergent and than 20,000 tons of liquid detergent.
Suchel makes powder detergent for 500-gram and one-kilogram packages, but expects to add new product lines by 2023
With this production, “we think we will be able to cover the demand, although not immediately, because the process of preparing and training the personnel must begin,” added Martínez Ramírez.
Suchel produces powdered detergent for 500-gram and one-kilogram packages, but hopes to incorporate new product lines by 2023 that will allow it, according to the executive, to expand its marketing in chain stores in CUP and reach new niches in the Cuban market , because for today it only distributes in western Cuba.
Once the installation of the machinery is complete, production will begin with lines of liquid detergents for dishwashers, laundry, surface cleaning, floor cleaning, multipurpose, and fabric softener, according to the company’s spokesperson. She added that they have begun conversations with the store chains for the “coding” of the product that will be distributed in type containers doypack.
The Vietnamese company Thai Binh Global Trading Corp. began operations in Cuba 24 years ago and was one of the first to export products to Latin America in the areas of clothing, footwear, consumer items, food, and construction materials. For its part, Industrias Nexus SA is part of the Light Industry Business Group, founded in 1992.
In the midst of the covid-19 emergency, the detergent was one of the most coveted products for the families who disappeared from stores and markets, despite the need for greater hygiene to avoid contagion. When it finally hit the shelves, Cubans stood in long lines to access the product.
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