Page 24 - Demo

24|December 2021
Slippery rock Gazette
Construction Begun on New Portobello Tile Factory
Portobello Group officials have announced the construction of a 895,000 square foot facility in Baxter, Tennessee, projected to be completed by Q4 2022. Top: Architectural rendering of the proposed facility.
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being abused myself. – Benjamin Franklin
Portobello Group, a leading producer of porcelain and ceramic tile in Brazil, announces the beginning of con- struction of its U.S. factory in Baxter, Tennessee.
“Growing and developing in the American market, incorporating the local culture, generating job opportunities and investments as the result of ‘production to part- nership relationships’ with dis- tributors, is what guides this new challenge,” stated Portobello Group’s CEO, Cesar Gomes, Jr. “We are proud to soon present Portobello America’s new United States-based factory. We believe in the strategy, the market poten- tial and, above all, the combina- tion of our know-how with the American team and culture.”
The planned facility is slated to be approximately 895,000 square feet in size, and is located in Baxter, Tennessee, roughly 70 miles east of Nashville. Total investment is expected to reach $160 million USD, of which $80 million will be allocated to the construction of the new facility. The remaining $80 million will focus on the investment in world- class tile production machinery. Construction is projected to be completed by the end of Q4 2022.
The company Neolith®, a world leader in the sin- tered stone industry, recently launched a new series known as ESSENTIALS in the US. This series was created in response to what has proven to be “essential” in people’s lives in view of the pandemic. This 100 Percent all-natural revolutionary product is now formulated with up to 90 percent recycled material and features an innovative tech- nology that prevents the prolifer- ation of bacteria such as Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella.
Portobello estimates the new, state-of-the-art facility will create 220 local jobs.
The 92-acre project site is located on the south side of Interstate 40 within the city lim- its of Baxter, Tennessee. Situated in Putnam County, the overall region is considered a national hotbed for ceramic tile manufac- turing due to the region’s vast nat- ural supplies of clay and feldspar.
The company currently has two distribution centers in the U.S. market, strategically located in Florida and Tennessee (where the future industrial facility will be located, as well as Portobello America’s U.S. headquarters).
According to Luiz Felipe Brito, Portobello America’s CEO, “The construction of the factory is the next step of our strategy that began in 2018. We have assem- bled a world-class team, curated a product portfolio that has proven to be very successful and have partnered with the best indepen- dent distributors in the country.”
“People worldwide have gained a new understanding for what really matters: health, safety and environmental awareness have become key in everyone’s day-to- day lives. The current situation of our planet has made society more committed to the environment and concerned about exposure to biological agents such as bacte- ria all while developing a special sensitivity towards well-being, pureness and beauty. It’s a shift in paradigm where the materials we choose for our daily lives have become essential to living bet- ter,” says José Luis Ramón, CEO of Neolith® .
About Portobello America
Portobello America, a Portobello Group company, designs, produces and pro- vides complete and competitive- ly-priced hard surface solutions focused on the U.S. market. Their belief is that design can trans- form the way people feel by shap- ing the environments in which we live. This idea is the essence of Portobello America.
Neolith® ESSENTIALS was devised based on the three major values that define the brand’s character and, more specifically, that of this all-new series.
The Environment
Neolith® is a 100 percent all-nat- ural product and the first company in the sector to achieve carbon neutral status in 2019 as a brand with a great social conscience that is committed to respecting and protecting the environment and which carries out important envi- ronmentally-friendly initiatives.
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Their business model is an integrated one. With exper- tise in retail and logistics, as well as being founded on design and innovation, the Portobello America company is uniquely positioned to provide compre- hensive support to their partners.
To learn more, visit www. portobelloamerica.com.
20 mm - 3/4”
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Neolith Sintered Stone ESSENTIAL Series Features Anti-Bacterial Properties