Ceará has just received a new unit of the Robinson Crusoe factory which catapults it as the most important exporter of canned tuna in Brazil. Robinson Crusoe brand products are produced by Crusoe Foods, which was established in São Gonçalo do Amarante in 2014 and, since then, supplies the North, Northeast and part of the South and Southeast regions of Brazil. A performance that consolidates it as the largest fishing industry in the North and Northeast and the third largest in the country, representing 11% of the domestic tuna market.
“This expansion will allow us, within eight to ten months, to start working in the factory in two shifts, this can give us the possibility to increase the number of jobs between 30% and 40% next year. We are talking about more than 150 vacancies”, says Fernando Botelho, commercial director of the company.
The investment also expands the group’s business and targets exports. “We are starting to export to the United States and we are negotiating exports to the European Union”, emphasizes the president of the group, Jesús Manuel Alonso.
Currently, the Crusoe Foods unit in São Gonçalo do Amarante generates 540 direct jobs, with approximately 70% female employment, and 1,500 indirect jobs, with a workforce of local fishermen.
The expectation is that the new factory division will produce 100 million cans of sardines and tuna by 2022. For this purpose, the total area of the factory complex was increased from 8,000 m² to 12,000 m². The company expects to invest 100 million over the next five years.
