1950s
Brazilian entrepreneurs are keen to take opportunities to innovate: production of wood fiber boards begins in the country
1950
Businessmen Eudoro Villela and Nivaldo Coimbra de Ulhoa Cintra realize there is an opportunity to make wood fiber boards in Brazil. By then, they used to be imported from Sweden.
1951
Assisted by Alfredo Egydio de Souza Aranha, the businessmen purchased equipment and machinery from Sweden-based Desfibrator. On March 31, Duratex S.A. Indústria e Comércio was officially founded in São Paulo as a publicly-traded company.
1954
Our first plant began operating in Jundiaí (SP), making wood fiber boards. Despite offering top-quality raw material, Brazilians didn’t warm up to a new domestic product. Alfredo Egydio de Souza Aranha placed trust in the work of Engineer Olavo Egydio Setúbal, who took over the running of our company in 1956.
1957
We exported the first batch of wood fiber boards to the United States.
1960s
A time of production and sales expansion. Focused on results and the quality of our raw material, we cemented our status in Brazil and earned the market’s trust
1961-1965
We expanded our Jundiaí manufacturing plant, doubling its capacity, and built a train terminal to receive Brazilian and foreign visitors. These investments led to increased sales and earned us the market’s trust. We also branched out into the wheat segment, producing animal feed.
1966
We were granted the Certificate of Publicly-Traded Corporation. The AED (Association of Duratex Employees) was also formed.
1968
Working on two fronts – wood fiber boards and animal feed – we debuted a third front, implementing the Duraplac painting line, leading to growth in the domestic market.
1970s
A time of business diversification. Deca became part of our company, expanding our product portfolio and boosting our brand strength
1970
We purchased a large forest area in Lençóis Paulista (SP) to source raw material and opened a new wood panel manufacturing plant in Taquari (RS), adding two manufacturing sites to the Wood Division. We also consolidated our presence abroad with the opening of an office in North Carolina, USA.
1971
We established Duratex Florestal, to raise funds, and Duraflora Silvicultura e Comércio Ltda., responsible for reforesting and developing forestry technology.
1972
We added Deca S.A. to the company and boosted our market position while also adding our first manufacturing plant in the city of São Paulo: Metais São Paulo. Deca began operating in 1947, then as Artefatos de Metais Deca. A partnership between businessmen Olavo Egydio Setúbal and Renato Refinetti, the company manufactured keys, bolts, crosses, and other small parts. After merging with Metalúrgica Enka in 1956, it began making faucets, mixers, and showerheads. In 1967, it acquired Válvulas Hydra S.A., an investment that saw the company become market leader in the sanitary ware segment. In the following year, it incorporated Companhia Cerâmica Jundiaiense, a pioneering maker of sanitary ware in Brazil.
1973
Now with the Jundiaí (SP) and Taquari (RS) plants consolidated, we opened a new wood panel manufacturing plant in Botucatu (SP), which contributed to making Brazil one of the world’s top wood fiber board makers. As we expanded, with three manufacturing plants in the Wood Division, we doubled down on our environment conservation initiatives. We developed a pioneering understory formation project that enabled, among other benefits, biological control, seed formation, soil enrichment, and biomass usage.
1973
We also acquired an area in Jundiaí’s Industrial District to build our first ceramic manufacturing plant, today’s Louças Jundiaí, going ahead with our expansion project.
1975
We opened a new wood panel manufacturing plant in Uberaba (MG) and ended the year with four manufacturing sites in the Wood Division.
1979
We concentrated our management on Paulista Avenue, São Paulo’s main financial hub.
1980s
Time for investment in technology and centralizing operations. With a set focus, we sought to consolidate our status as market leaders and strengthen our operations abroad
1981
Now with the Deca Metais São Paulo (SP) and Deca Louças Jundiaí (SP) plants consolidated, we purchased a new sanitary ware manufacturing plant from French group Lafarge in São Leopoldo (RS), and invested heavily in automation for the production of sanitary ware, increasing our production capacity.
1982
Eyeing the international market, we founded Duratex Comercial Exportadora.
1984
We took over Grupo Peixoto de Castro’s particle board plants in Itapetininga (SP) and Gravataí (RS), in addition to large forest reserve areas. With that, we then had six Wood manufacturing sites.
1986
With the sale of the Anhanguera animal feed plant, we centralized our operations in our wood fiber board, particle board, sanitary ware, and bathroom fixture manufacturing plants.
1988
We acquired the Freudenberg Group’s particle board plant in Agudos (SP). That saw us incorporate a forestry-industrial compound to complement our product range, increasing our production capacity, and we ended the year with seven manufacturing sites in the Wood Division.
1989
In the field of sanitary ware and bathroom fixtures, we expanded and upgraded our bathroom fixtures manufacturing plant in the city of São Paulo and built a second one in Jundiaí (SP), with a total of four plants in the Deca Division.
1990s
Duratex invested in an Environmental Management System and earned several quality certifications in Brazil and abroad. The 1990s also marked Deca’s 50th anniversary, which further propelled the brand in the domestic market
1990
Paulo Setúbal, Olavo Setúbal’s eldest son, took over the running of our company.
1990
In the same year, we opened Deca’s first showroom in São Paulo, with decorated room-sets and customer service.
1995
We earned the FSC® (Forest Stewardship Council®) Seal for Forest Management and became the first company in South America to demonstrate environmentally-friendly, socially-beneficial, and economically-feasible forest management.
1995
In Argentina, we took full control of Piazza Hermanos, the country’s second largest sanitary ware company, and renamed it Deca Piazza.
1997
We celebrated 50 years of Deca’s foundation with a campaign that further propelled the brand in the domestic market.
1997
In this year, we also implemented our first MDF line in Brazil, in Agudos (SP), where we also opened a training center to certify flooring installers and product distributors.
1999
Through our subsidiary, Duratex North America, we began to send 57% of our wood fiber board exports to the United States.
2000s
A period of investment in the business and improvements to corporate governance. As a result, we were added to BM&FBovespa’s ISE (Corporate Sustainability Index) and Novo Mercado (New Market)
2000
We increased our capital through the issuance of 3.6 billion shares, bringing in R$ 190.8M. The amount was channeled to our Wood and Deca divisions.
2000
In the Forestry Area, we set tree cloning in motion in order to increase the production of top-quality, low-cost timber, in addition to securing the original plant’s best features. We also earned FSC® certification for the Chain of Custody, ensuring traceability of the wood used in the production process.
2000
Focused on water-saving products, we built Deca Hydra’s Technical Training Center at the Metais São Paulo plant.
2002
We boosted our presence overseas by exporting products to Europe and Mexico. In Brazil, we invested in our production lines focused on diversifying our product portfolio.
2002
In the Wood Division, we built a new manufacturing plant in our Botucatu (SP) site employing cutting-edge technology to make wood panels, and completed the deactivation of the Gravataí (RS) plant, redirecting production to Itapetininga (SP). That saw us end the year with six manufacturing sites in the Wood Division.
2002
In the Deca Division, we purchased the last pieces of milling equipment needed to expand the production of sanitary ware and began making more uniquely-styled sinks.
2003
In the Wood Division, we opened a new wood panel line in Botucatu (SP), which earned us the title of Brazil’s leading manufacturer and a benchmark for technology and mitigation of environmental impact.
2005
We adhered to BM&FBovespa’s Level 1 Corporate Governance Index, reinforcing our commitment to investors and capital market agents with regards to transparency and equality in the reporting of information. We also set up Internal Committees, formed by executives from industrial companies that make up Grupo Itaúsa (Duratex, Itautec, and Elekeiroz), whose purpose was to enhance our practices, cut costs, and generate shared value to shareholders and other stakeholders.
2007
Proceeding with improvements to our governance structure, we created our Code of Ethics, the Environmental, Social, and Cultural Sustainability Committee, and the Sustainability Management, which was responsible for handling these matters in all companies under Grupo Itaúsa Industrial.
2008
Our stocks were listed in BM&FBovespa’s ISE (Corporate Sustainability Index), which includes companies that stand out for their ethical responsibility and promotion of sustainable development.
2008
In the same year, we acquired two competing companies in the sanitary ware segment: Ideal Standard, with factories in Jundiaí (SP) and Queimados (RJ), and Cerâmica Monte Carlo, located in Cabo de Santo Agostinho (PE), totaling six plants in the Deca Division. The investment cemented our status as the only brand with plants in the South, Southeast, and Northeast regions of the country, and a third of Brazil’s sanitary ware production capacity.
2009
We were included in BM&FBovespa’s Novo Mercado (New Market), a group of companies with Brazil’s highest corporate governance standards.
2009
We partnered up with Satipel and created the Southern Hemisphere’s largest wood paneling manufacturer. Additionally, we opened the world’s largest MDF line, in the Agudos (SP) plant, and acquired a new forest area in Estrela do Sul. Finally, we deactivated the Jundiaí plant, ending the year with five manufacturing sites in the Wood Division.
2010s
2010
We completed our partnership with Satipel and announced investments in our two business divisions.
2010
In Wood, we started operations in our resin plant, built in our Agudos (SP) site.
2010
At Deca, we announced investments to expand the bathroom fixtures plant in Jundiaí (SP) and the sanitary ware plant in Queimados (RJ).
2011
Duratex’s 60th anniversary We celebrated 60 years of operations in Brazil and began preparing our manufacturing plants for ISO 14001 certification, which confirms the quality of our Environmental Management System.
2011
We acquired a new ceramic manufacturing plant, Elizabeth Louças Sanitárias, located in João Pessoa (PB), ending the year with eight plants in the Deca Division.
2012
We were included in Dow Jones’ Sustainability World Index, the best-known sustainability index in the global financial market. We were also included in Brazil’s Controller General and Ethos Institute’s Pro-Ethical Company Registry, which assesses and divulges companies that voluntarily engage in preventing and fighting corruption involving public agencies. We also earned ISO 14001 certification for five manufacturing plants in the Deca and Wood divisions: Metais São Paulo (SP), Metais Jundiaí (SP), Louças São Leopoldo (RS), Painéis Agudos (SP), and Painéis Uberaba (MG). Doubling down on our ethical commitments, we launched the GFD (Duratex Supplier Management) program, whose purpose was to raise the suppliers’ awareness about and engage them in our social-environmental and quality practices and policies.
2012
In 2012, we launched Duratex’s new visual identity, featuring different lines, colors, and shapes to convey to our stakeholders traits such as closeness, flexibility, innovation, and dynamism.
2012
We completed the acquisition industrial valves maker Metalúrgica Ipê (Mipel), in Jacareí (SP), totaling nine manufacturing plants in the Deca Division.
2012
Eyeing the foreign market, we acquired 37% of Tablemac, Colombia’s leading industrialized wood panel manufacturer.
2013
We earned ISO 14001 for the two sanitary ware manufacturing plants in Jundiaí (SP), in addition to our wood panel plants in Taquari (RS) and Itapetininga (SP), totaling nine Duratex plants certified for Environmental Management System.
2013
In Brazil, we acquired the maker of electronic showers and solar heaters Thermosystem, based in Tubarão (SC), ending the year with 10 manufacturing plants in our Deca Division. In Argentina, we deactivated Deca Piazza’s plant.
2013
We raised to 80% our share in Tablemac, becoming the controlling shareholder of four manufacturing sites in Colombia.
2014
Our Paraíba sanitary ware plant and Botucatu wood panel plant earned ISO 14001 certification, making it 11 Duratex manufacturing sites that bore Environmental Management System certification. In the same year, we applied for OHSAS 18001 certification for Health and Safety in our manufacturing and forestry sites.
2014
We deactivated our sanitary ware plants in Jundiaí (SP). This way, our Deca Division was left with nine manufacturing sites, five of which were ISO 14001 certified.
2014
We partnered up with Caeté to create Caetex, a joint venture for planting eucalyptus forests in Alagoas, boosting our operations in Brazil’s northeast.
2015
Seven of our 22 manufacturing and forestry sites in Brazil earned OHSAS 18001 certification: Louças São Leopoldo (RS), Louças Queimados (RJ), Metais Jundiaí (SP), Painéis Taquari (RS), Painéis Agudos (SP), Florestal Taquari (RS), and Florestal Agudos (SP). The seal demonstrates the quality of our Health and Safety Management System.
2015
We completed the acquisition of Duchas Corona Ltda., a storied maker of showerheads, pressure showerheads, and electric faucets. That allowed us to expand our production capacity and supply 30% of the market, which saw us become #2 in this segment in Brazil. We ended the year again with 10 manufacturing sites in our Deca Division.
2016
We celebrated 65 years of operations in Brazil, with 12,000 employees, 22 manufacturing sites, seven forestry sites, three plants in Colombia, and roughly 280,000 hectares of forest areas. A story of growth marked by ever-changing management processes, acquisition of new businesses, and constant industrial improvements, centered on outstanding governance and sustainable development.
2017
We announced to the market the purpose that would guide the company’s business moving forward: Solutions to Live Better. In practice, we began to work every day not only to make top-quality products and provide the excellence levels the market had come to expect from us, but also offer each one of our end-users complete solutions that effectively allow them to live better – at home, in an office, gym, restaurant, or hotel, and in so many other places where our products can be found.
2017
We completed the acquisition of Ceusa, one of the country’s top ceramic tiles manufacturer. With the acquisition, we now have five brands – Durafloor, Duratex, Deca, Hydra, and Ceusa – and a new business unit, the Ceramic Tiles Division, expanding our market exposure and broadening our portfolio of solutions.
2017
We purchased shares from Viva Decora, a platform for targeted content about decoration and interior design. The acquisition allowed us to further diversify our market operations and brought us closer to our target audiences.
2018
We announced a joint venture with Austria’s Lenzing Group to build the world’s largest water-soluble cellulose plant in Triângulo Mineiro.
2019
Duratex expanded its ceramic tiles portfolio by acquiring Cecrisa, owner of the Portinari and Cecrisa brands. The acquisition saw our production capacity jump to 31M square meters of ceramic tiles per year, cementing our status as one of the segment’s largest manufacturers.
2020s
2020
In a year marked by the Covid-19 pandemic, Duratex supported more than 20 projects nationwide. In total, more than R$ 10M were given away.
2021
Upon turning 70, Duratex changed. Now, we are Dexco and invite you to live the change.
2021
Acquisition of Castelatto Through its subsidiary Dexco Revestimentos Cerâmicos, Dexco entered into an agreement to purchase 100% of Castelatto’s capital. The company operates in the premium flooring and architectural concrete tiles segment and is located in Atibaia (SP), where it has a production capacity of 7.5M tiles a year and employs 238 people.
2021
Investment in Urbem Dexco announced its first investment made through its Corporate Venture Capital fund, DX Ventures. The company invested R$ 30M in Urbem, a company that started out as a business unit of AMATA to produce engineered timber using pine wood as a raw material with low environmental impact. The investment allowed Dexco to set in motion a transformation and innovation process in the construction industry, believing in the market’s potential to innovate more, produce less waste, and be more efficient, productive, and industrialized.
2021
Investment in Noah Wood Building Design Dexco invested R$ 15M in Noah Wood Building Design, a company that specializes in sustainable construction, through its Corporate Venture Capital fund, DX Ventures. Noah’s goal is to take sustainability to the construction industry using engineered timber in an industrialized constructive process. This investment will allow Dexco to move quickly and expertly into the industrialized construction market, while aligning with the latest, most sustainable global standards and meeting all ESG requirements.
2021
Construction of the Botucatu plant begins Dexco began erecting its new ceramic tiles manufacturing plant, the first to boast 4.0 technology from the outset, and Latin America’s largest ceramic producer. The result of a R$ 600M investment with capacity to produce 10M square meters a year, the plant will supply the Ceusa and Portinari brands, making large-sized ceramic tiles.
2022
Acquisition of Brasil ao Cubo Through its DX Ventures, Dexco’s Corporate Venture Capital da Dexco, the company acquires 13% of Brasil ao Cubo, becoming its third largest shareholder and earning a seat in its managing board. Brasil ao Cubo works with off-site modular metal frame assembly. The company can produce 100K square meters and supplies mainly industrial buildings.
2022
LD Celulose’s start of operations The equipment begins operating and production ramps up in the new LD Celulose plant, a joint venture between Dexco and Lenzing, whose annual production capacity is 500M tons. This move will see Dexco expand its portfolio of operations into the cellulose market, in addition to boosting value generated to shareholders and other stakeholders.