Learn about and experience GROB technology in Brazil

What began ten years ago in a two-year cycle with a one-day workshop entitled "Technology solutions in 5-axis machining" has now developed into a three-day "Open House" during which the enormous range of GROB technology solutions was demonstrated. "Our Open House was a testament to the fact that state-of-the-art technology can be manufactured in Brazil," asserts Michael Bauer, President of GROB do Brasil. "Because Brazilian industry urgently needs the latest technologies to increase its productivity and become globally competitive. And we wanted to demonstrate that GROB is a decisive contributor to this."  

GROB technologies for efficiency and productivity

The aim of the open house event for GROB do Brasil was not only to present its technologies, but also to make them tangible and experienceable. To this end, visitors were treated to live demonstrations of various GROB universal machining centers, showcasing the latest in "efficiency and productivity." There is still a lot of catching up to do in the Brazilian mechanical engineering market, especially since it has not yet fully recovered from the pandemic. Although some sectors such as aerospace and tool and mold making are developing well, the agricultural machinery and automotive sectors are still in a real slump due to a lack of credit lines. This means Brazilian car production has fallen by a third over the last ten years and is now struggling with a capacity utilization rate of just 50 percent. It is therefore not surprising that there is currently only one European machine manufacturer in Brazil apart from GROB do Brasil. Japanese, Korean and Chinese machines are offered on the market at low prices. "We are lucky that we can compensate for the weakness in the Brazilian automotive sector with contract work in the GROB plant network and with deliveries to the USA, Europe and Mexico, which account for around 90 percent of our total capacity," asserts Bauer. "Things are currently going so well that we are facing a shortage of space, especially in assembly, with record production volumes."

Brazilian e-mobility is still in its infancy 

What is already state of the art in Europe is still largely in its infancy in Brazil. There are currently no national productions in notable large series for electric vehicles. Only small series of commercial vehicles and buses are produced. For some time now, manufacturers such as Toyota and Cherry have been selling hybrid vehicles that are assembled in Brazil, but all the drive technology is imported as CKD from Japan and China.

In Brazil, although several customers are developing hybrid vehicles at the national level, electric drives are also being imported for the first time. Everything will depend on how quantities develop before investments are made in large series in Brazil. Last year, a total of 94,000 e-cars were sold, of which 30 percent were purely electric and 70 percent were hybrid vehicles. According to forecasts, around 220,000 vehicles with electric and hybrid drives are expected to be sold this year. The Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD has recently made a spectacular appearance, causing sales figures to skyrocket. However, BYD also imports its vehicles to Brazil and is not yet represented in the Brazilian production market.

So things remain exciting in Brazil. In this respect, nothing has changed in South America's largest country in terms of area and population. Not even for our colleagues at GROB do Brasil. And despite all the uncertainties and imponderables, they have managed to ensure steady growth in the GROB Group over the years.