With the launch of the all-new Spirit finish in October expanding upon the decorative reach of the Innovus brand, it’s important to take a look back at the journey Sonae Arauco has taken this far within South Africa.
From a relatively quaint selection of decorative solutions to advanced technology granting us the opportunity and flexibility to grow our product offerings. The journey taken from a humble start to becoming one of the main distributors of wood-based decorative panelling worldwide is truly a tale worth telling.
It all begins at White River
The most efficient plant in Africa…
Sonae Arauco was established in 2016 after the strategic merging of Sonae Indústria and Arauco. Today, the company is proud to say that it is one of the largest decorative wood-based panel producers in the world with Innovus distinguishing itself as the benchmark brand.
In addition, over 20 industrial and commercial units in nine countries and on two continents, including its factory in White River, South Africa that recently received an upgrade that included the new Diefenbacher press and an extension to warehousing facilities. While wood-based decorative panels are already sold in over 75 countries around the world, Sonae Arauco still continues to expand its reach both in South Africa and globally.
As such, Sonae Arauco has become a major competitive force in the wood-based panelling industry thanks to its White River plant in Mpumalanga. The production facility represents the beating heart of Innovus Decorative Products in South Africa and is the most advanced facility in the country.
To think, many of the built-in kitchens you’ve seen on display or people’s homes come from here. Sonae Arauco is one of the very few producers of Particle Board and Medium Density Fibreboard in SA today and has an extremely high standard for Health and Safety. This is thanks to Sonae Arauco’s company mandate of adopting sustainable business practices and an emphasis on the triple bottom line.
Major plant upgrade propels Innovus to new heights
“This investment, along with the consolidation of operations into one site, will position us as a highly efficient, integrated supplier in the current competitive market conditions.” – Dionne Harber – Chief Industrial and Technology Officer.
Before receiving a major R200 million upgrade to its facility, Sonae Arauco’s global Innovus brand was specifically marketed to the South African consumer as Novolam. Novolam was a favourite choice of manufacturers and consumers. However, the re-brand to Innovus was driven by the desire to leverage the aspirational global brand as well as to bring innovation to the decorative collection in a more efficient manner.
It wasn’t until November of 2019 when the White River plant received a comprehensive upgrade to its facility that the snowball towards aligning with international trends started rolling. This was mainly due to the installation of a brand new Dieffenbacher Melamine Press (Informally dubbed “Inkunzi – The bull” by the staff).
With the advent of the new Melamine Press 3 installed, production capacity doubled. Not only that but the new melamine press continues to produce decorative boards of exceptionally high quality, allowing Sonae Arauco to focus on supplying both local and export markets.
That being said, the rebranding of Novolam to Innovus was part and parcel of this process. Today, the Innovus brand in South Africa pioneers global trends for a local market and vice versa. With the addition of exciting new décors, the brand continues to grow from strength to strength.
Commitment to employees and the environment
“At Sonae Arauco, we believe that it is the people that make our future better every day” Michelle Quintão – Global Marketing Director.
Sonae Arauco is committed to giving back whatever is taken out of the environment and has also invested in both our staff and their personal environments as well. We support their personal and professional development so that they can achieve their goals, through continuous training and encouraging active participation within the company’s development.
Sonae Arauco naturally attracts exceptional people and professionals. We strive to keep them growing alongside us and hope they will all contribute to the success of Sonae Arauco both here and abroad with their expertise and dedication.
For us, each employee is unique and we believe that the wealth of all those who make up Sonae Arauco springs from the individuality of each and everyone we call a member of our extended family. Sonae Arauco continues to set the standard in terms of both sustainable development and obligations to its stakeholders.
In 2020, Sonae Arauco launched an R&D project aimed at helping forest producers to significantly increase their production in order to improve upon the return on investment in the forest, thus contributing to reversing the falling trend of pine planted area in Portugal.
Read more about these efforts here.
This is over and above our commitment to enhancing our manufacturing processes and the way in which we conduct business in order to reduce our overall carbon footprint.
Spirit and the future of Sonae Arauco
Introduced alongside five exciting new décors, Spirit is set to path the way forward for decorative trends in 2022 and beyond.
Spirit is an exclusive finish full of movement and contrasting textures that, when combined with Innovus’ premium décors, provides the natural look and feel of real wood. This final touch makes the Spirit finish an exceptional product that defines and expands upon the existing Innovus Decorative Products range.
At Sonae Arauco, we see the importance of pioneering design trends while also keeping our fingers on the pulse of contemporary styles and movements, as such, we are looking forward to a new era for interior design with ever-evolving and exquisite decorative solutions for a modern home.
For more information on our wood-based decorative panels and services, visit us at https://www.sonae.projects.coppertable.co.za/