Klabin has renegotiated the project finance loans backing its Puma II pulp and paper complex, extending maturities and lowering the interest margin. The A Loan now matures in 2034 instead of 2032 and the B Loan in 2033 instead of 2029, with the facilities repriced at SOFR plus 2.04% a year. The amendments were signed with IDB Invest, the International Finance Corporation, the Japan International Cooperation Agency and a group of commercial banks.
Why this mattersLengthening and repricing debt on the group's largest-ever project reduces near-term refinancing pressure and signals continued lender support for Klabin's expansion capital structure.
- Puma II is Klabin's largest investment to date, costing about BRL 12.9bn (USD 2.54bn)
- A Loan maturities extended from 2032 to 2034
- B Loan maturities extended from 2029 to 2033
- New financing cost set at SOFR plus 2.04% a year
- Lenders include IDB Invest, IFC, JICA and commercial banks
- Puma II, in Ortigueira, Parana, started up in 2021 with 450,000 tonnes a year of kraftliner capacity
Smurfit Westrock is investing about USD 23.9m (BRL 120m) to modernise its corrugated packaging plant in Blumenau, Santa Catarina, between 2025 and 2027, covering new machinery, automated production lines and a larger shipping warehouse. The spending continues even as Brazil's Resolution Gecex 852, published in February 2026, raised import duties on corrugators, printers, die-cutters and other capital equipment to as much as 20%. Smurfit Westrock has separately committed USD 199m (BRL 1bn) in Brazil over two years, while Klabin's chief executive said in August the group has no new investments planned and BO Paper put USD 18.6m (BRL 93.2m) into its Jaguariaiva unit.
Why this mattersContinued spending despite import duties of up to 20% on converting equipment shows Smurfit Westrock absorbing higher capital costs to automate Brazilian corrugated capacity.
- Smurfit Westrock is spending about USD 23.9m (BRL 120m) to modernise its Blumenau plant from 2025 to 2027, adding machinery, automated lines and a larger shipping warehouse
- Smurfit Westrock has operated in Blumenau for more than 40 years; the unit produces corrugated board packaging
- Smurfit Westrock has announced a separate USD 199m (BRL 1bn) investment programme in Brazil over two years
- Brazil's Resolution Gecex 852, published February 2026, restructured tariffs on more than 1,200 products, including capital goods, IT and telecoms equipment and industrial machinery, with rates reaching up to 20%
- Imported machinery accounted for 45% of machinery and equipment consumption in Brazil in 2025
- Klabin's chief executive said in August the group has no new investments planned; BO Paper invested USD 18.6m (BRL 93.2m) in its Jaguariaiva unit in Parana
KBT, the intermodal rail-to-port terminal Klabin operates with rail group Brado Logistica and port operator TCP at Ortigueira, Parana, moved 523,300 tonnes of paper and pulp for export in 2025, up 51% from 347,000 tonnes in 2022. TCP and Brado expanded the rail corridor's capacity by about 20% during the terminal's fifth year of operation to support further growth in shipments to the Port of Paranagua.
Why this mattersFaster, higher-capacity rail links to port reduce logistics bottlenecks and delivered cost for Brazilian pulp and paper exporters.
- KBT moved 523,300 tonnes of paper and pulp for export in 2025, up 51% from 347,000 tonnes in 2022.
- TCP and Brado expanded the rail corridor's operating capacity by about 20% in the terminal's fifth year.
- Between August 2025 and July 2026 the terminal handled 89,700 TEUs and 280 train arrivals.
- The terminal links Klabin's Ortigueira and Monte Alegre units by rail to the TCP-operated Port of Paranagua.
- Brado says rail transport in the operation emits 85% less CO2 than diesel road haulage.
- Three electrified RTG cranes at the Paranagua terminal cut associated emissions by about 771 tonnes a year.
The general superintendence of Brazil's competition authority Cade has gathered more than 2,000 pieces of evidence in an investigation into the alleged systematic exchange of salary, pay-rise and benefits data between HR executives at more than 50 large companies between 1994 and 2021, among them Klabin and Suzano. People following the case say the technical staff is weighing whether to recommend that Cade's tribunal convict the companies, and whether the conduct amounts to a cartel; a finding against them could bring fines of up to 20% of gross revenue in the year before the alleged infringement, plus damages claims in court. Several of the companies say they comply with competition law and describe the exchanges as benchmarking, and some argue Cade has no jurisdiction over the practice.
Why this mattersA conviction would expose two major Brazilian forest-products groups to fines measured against group revenue and make labour-market information sharing an antitrust risk sector-wide.
- Cade's general superintendence has collected more than 2,000 pieces of evidence in the case
- More than 50 companies are under investigation, including the listed groups Klabin and Suzano
- The alleged exchanges of salary, pay-rise and benefits data ran from 1994 to 2021
- A conviction could bring fines of up to 20% of gross revenue in the year before the alleged infringement began, and open the way to damages claims in court
- The investigation began in 2020 from a leniency agreement with a company whose name is confidential; the administrative proceeding was opened in 2024
- Of the companies contacted by Folha, 16 replied and generally said they comply with the law, 12 declined to comment and 30 did not respond
International labour federations held their first multisectoral meeting in Rio de Janeiro on 15 September 2026 to coordinate union organising across the supply chains of Klabin and Suzano. Participants from the ITF, BWI, IndustriALL Brasil and UNI Americas reviewed the state of union organisation at each company and drew up joint action plans. The initiative aims to align strategies among unions from different sectors linked to the two companies.
Why this mattersCoordinated cross-border union organising raises the prospect of joint labour action across forestry, pulp and packaging supply chains, a new pressure point for two of Brazil's largest producers.
- First multisectoral union meeting on Klabin and Suzano supply chains held 15 September 2026 at ITF headquarters in Rio de Janeiro.
- Participating organisations: International Transport Workers' Federation (ITF), Building and Wood Workers' International (BWI), IndustriALL Brasil and UNI Americas.
- Attendees reviewed the state of union organisation at each company.
- Participants developed specific action plans for the Klabin and Suzano supply chains.
- ITF described the meeting as an innovative approach to building union strategy across supply chains spanning multiple sectors.
