It is no secret to anyone that the year 2020 saw a marked decrease in the production activity of buses around the world, especially those dedicated to road segments. In Argentina, it was not the exception and Metalsur, which since 2019 became a subsidiary of Marcopolo, lived it.
However, during a visit made by the Argentine ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Scioli, and the Governor of the province of Santa Fe, Omar Perotti, together with Marcopolo CEO James Bellini, they were visiting the facilities, where plans were confirmed to boost the body production at the Villa Gobernador Gálvez plant in Rosario.
Marcopolo will invest about 20 million dollars to manufacture long-distance road buses at Metalsur’s facilities, it will continue to increase the production of urban models, which are widely used in Argentina on the Torino line, especially and will gradually replace the new units that arrive from Brazil, to be built on Gaucho lands.
“We are making an initial investment so that the plant specialized in long distance now also adds the manufacture of city buses, which has been carried out separately. This will make it possible to improve economies of scale, reduce costs and stop bringing some products such as buses manufactured in Brazil, to make them in Argentina», said James Bellini.
Work has progressed to allow greater production capacity at the Santa Fe facilities, where the integration of local suppliers has doubled to ensure the correct supply of components for the bodywork. The plant has doubled its direct staff, where 600 people now work, and indirect sources of employment amount to 1,200 thanks to this investment by Marcopolo.
In December 2021, the first phase of the investment process should be completed, and the second stage will have to end by September 2022, just when Argentina is expected to be the Latin American epicenter of the bus industry, with the completion of Busworld LatinAmerica, in Buenos Aires. Aires.
A fact that deserves to be highlighted is that the plant’s production capacity increased by 42%, going from manufacturing 7 units a day to 10. Estimates for Argentina indicate that 3,000 urban buses and about 900 road buses should be sold in 2022, as the road segment has presented an imbalance in the units produced and delivered, which is expected to be corrected starting next year.