Understanding the past to build the present and the future: with this goal in mind we have created the business history program for the Suzano Group.
We believe that history is one of the most valuable assets a business organization can have. It outlines the basis of the organizational culture and its identity – the very DNA that is passed down from one generation to the next.
With that in mind, we created the Suzano Legacy and Documentation Center (CDM) in 2002. The CDM is responsible for registering the present and managing the history of the Group – not only to preserve it, but most of all to turn it into a source of knowledge and inspiration for current and future projects and initiatives.
CDM gathers, organizes and makes available historical collections about our businesses throughout all phases of development, involving aspects of our institutional, technical, administrative and marketing evolution.
The Suzano Group traces its beginnings back to a commercial enterprise owned by Leon Feffer. Born in 1902, in the Ukrainian city of Kolki, Leon immigrated to Brazil in 1921 and begins to work in the sale of paper.
The registration of the company owned by Leon Feffer is approved by the trade board, marking the official start of the Suzano Group.
Leon Feffer expands his business with a typography office and a small factory for paper sacks. The company adopts the name Leon Feffer e Cia. Ltda.
With the start of World War II, Leon Feffer faces difficulties importing paper. To bypass the problem, he decides to become a manufacturer, which he achieves with a bold move: selling all of the assets that he had accumulated in Brazil, including the house where he lived with his wife and two sons. With the resulting capital, he begins to build Factory A, in the São Paulo neighborhood of Ipiranga. The company’s name is changed to Indústria de Papel Leon Feffer e Cia.
Factory A begins operations with a production capacity of up to 20 tons/day of paper. The following year, capacity is increased to 45 tons/day.
Although he is no longer dependent on imported paper, Leon Feffer is aware that his raw material keeps coming from abroad. That’s when the company begins to look for possible alternatives in Brazil to imported cellulose. Max Feffer, Leon’s son, begins his professional career at the company and leads research on potentially suitable species for the production of cellulose.
The results obtained with eucalyptus are considered promising: the tree species, from Australian in origin, was already well acclimated to Brazil and cheap to produce.
To test the viability of manufacturing cellulose from eucalyptus, the company acquires Indústria de Papel Euclides Damiani S.A., located in Suzano, SP, where a pilot plant for the production of eucalyptus cellulose is installed.
The name of the company is changed to Companhia Suzano de Papel e Celulose.
A forestry division is created in the company to manage land purchases, planting, eucalyptus forests and supply for the factory.
Cia. Suzano de Papel e Celulose becomes a world pioneer in industrial-scale production of cellulose pulp from eucalyptus fiber, reaching a production capacity of 120 tons/day. This raw material is mixed with imported cellulose in rising proportions to produce high-quality paper.
Suzano purchases an MB-5 paper machine from Finland, which is then adapted to produce paper with eucalyptus fiber. This year the company also acquires Indústria de Papel Rio Verde S.A., which has factories in Suzano and Pirituba, both in the state of São Paulo.
Suzano consolidates its position as an innovator in the production of cellulose pulp from eucalyptus when the company becomes the first in the world to manufacture paper on an industrial scale using 100 per cent eucalyptus cellulose.
Suzano is the first company to export cellulose, to Argentina.
The 1970s were decisive in the evolution of Suzano. Cellulose from eucalyptus fiber and paper produced from this raw material becomes increasingly competitive in terms of quality and price, capturing a larger share of the domestic and international market. This decade marks the beginning of the transition of control of the Group to Max Feffer, Leon’s son and successor.
The Suzano Group begins a process of diversification by investing in the petrochemical sector.
The insurance brokerage and administrator Corretora e Administradora de Seguros Lazam Ltda. is founded, expanding the diversity of the Group’s business holdings.
To solve the logistical problem that Suzano faced with shipping raw materials to factories, especially timber, David Feffer, Max’s oldest son, founds a shipping company, Transcel Comercial e Transportadora Ltda. The enterprise employs technology never before seen in Brazil: trucks with larger, specially designed trailers enable faster loading and unloading. Shortly thereafter, Transcel also begins to ship cellulose and paper.
Cia. Suzano de Papel e Celulose is the first company in the industry to go public.
Launch of Suzano Report, the first line of cut-size papers in Brazil to participate in the domestic printing and writing market.
The unification of Indústria de Papel Leon Feffer, Indústria de Papel Rio Verde and Cia. Suzano de Papel e Celulose gives rise to the largest Brazilian company at the time in the production of papers for printing and writing, as well as cardboard for packaging made from eucalyptus cellulose. The company formed by the three companies is named Cia. Suzano de Papel e Celulose.
Start of biotechnology research at Suzano. The cloning of eucalyptus was the greatest challenge. Mastery of in vitro cultivation accelerates the improvement program and helps Suzano achieve a level of forest productivity unimaginable for the time.
Founding of Bahia Sul Celulose as a joint venture between Suzano and Companhia Vale do Rio Doce. Two years later, construction begins on their industrial unit in Mucuri, in southern Bahia.
Suzano makes progress in forest management, by implementing pioneering environmental conservation techniques, like mosaic planting and minimum cultivation.
Leon and Max Feffer create the ARYMAX Foundation, a philanthropic organization dedicated to social investments for the benefit of Brazilian society.
Bahia Sul, today known as the Mucuri Unit, enters operation, producing 1,200 tons of cellulose and 600 tons of paper per day.
The Ecofuturo Institute is officially created as part of the celebration of 75 years of the Suzano Group. At the time, it was headed by Max Feffer. The Institute is created with the aim of promoting sustainable development, combining success to corporate responsibility, growth to environmental conservation, and development to social justice.
Leon Feffer, the founder of the company and important community leader, passes away. Max Feffer assumes the position of chief executive.
Suzano Petroquímica is founded from a reorganization of petrochemical assets of the Suzano Group.
After completing negotiations with Vale, Suzano now owns 100 per cent of Bahia Sul’s capital stock. In that same year, the company wins the National Quality Award (PNQ), sponsored by the National Quality Foundation (FNQ), considered one of the most important in management excellence for organizations headquartered in Brazil. It also launches Suzano Report® Reciclato, the first line of 100 per cent recycled paper in Brazil produced on an industrial scale.
Max Feffer passes away prematurely and David Feffer takes over as president of the Suzano Group.
Lazam establishes a partnership with MDS, a company owned by the Portuguese group Sonae. This process gives rise to the insurance brokerage Lazam-MDS, currently MDS.
Suzano Holding is created to consolidate the new management model for the Suzano Group, based on three pillars: family control, commitment to capital markets and professional management. The Suzano Group conducts a broad organizational restructuring, with a complete professionalization of management; David Feffer takes on the role of president of Suzano Holding. This year, Suzano Papel e Celulose joins Bovespa’s Level 1 of Corporate Governance.
Ecofuturo Institute inaugurates Parque das Neblinas (Mist Park), an ecological reserve located between Bertioga and Mogi das Cruzes, in the state of São Paulo. Two years later, Unesco declares the park an Outpost of the Atlantic Forest Biosphere Reserve.
Suzano Petroquímica is the first family-controlled company to join Bovespa’s Level 2 of Corporate Governance.
Suzano and Bahia Sul form a single organization, Suzano Papel e Celulose, and joins a group of 50 companies with the most liquid shares on the Bovespa—IbrX50 Index. With regard to social environmental achievements, Suzano Papel e Celulose becomes the first domestic company to receive dual certification from the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the world’s most recognized forestry certification.
That same year, Suzano Papel e Celulose and Votorantim Celulose e Papel (VCP) make a joint purchase of Ripasa—currently Limeira Unit. Two years later (2006) they form the Paulista de Papel e Celulose Consortium (Conpacel), with a 50 per cent stake owned by Suzano and 50 per cent by VCP, to conduct factory operations.
Suzano Group launches the Suzano Code of Conduct and Suzano Papel e Celulose opens commercial offices in Switzerland and the United States.
The Suzano Group leaves the petrochemical industry with the selling of Suzano Petroquímica.
Suzano Papel e Celulose opens a commercial office in China, acquires the Embu Unit and begins operation of cellulose production on line number 2 in Mucuri, BA, confirming, at the time, the Mucuri Unit’s status as the largest integrated producer of paper and cellulose from eucalyptus in the world.
As a result of efforts in adopting and applying the Management Excellence Model (MEG), Suzano Papel e Celulose again wins the National Quality Award (PNQ). On that year, SPP-Nemo gains recognition as the first distributor in the country to obtain Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification, leading the way by ensuring the green certification for the entire production chain of manufacturers of paper and cellulose and the graphics industry.
Lazam-MDS gives way to MDS Consultores de Seguros e Risco, a joint venture between the Portuguese group Sonae and the Suzano Group, thereafter known as MDS.
This year, the Ecofuturo Institute earns two important accolades:
• In recognition of its conservation practices, Parque das Neblinas receives the title of Private Preserve of Natural Heritage (RPPN) from the São Paulo State Secretariat of the Environment;
• As a result of lobbying led by Ecofuturo Institute, October 12 is commemorated for the first time as National Reading Day (established by law no. 11.899, of January 2009).
Suzano Group expands its businesses with the acquisition of DigitalPost, currently HiperStream, which operated in the segment of multichannel communication, and the creation of the property developer Alden Desenvolvimento Imobiliário, a joint venture between the Suzano Group and Helbor Empreendimentos Imobiliários.
Also in 2010, Suzano Papel e Celulose completes its acquisition of FuturaGene, a biotechnology company and leader in research and genetic development of plants.
Suzano Papel e Celulose becomes the first company of the sector in the world to quantify the carbon footprint of its products. This pioneering effort earns the Carbon Reduction Label certification, issued by the Carbon Trust. This same year, new versions of the papers Alta Alvura®, Paperfect®, Symetrique® and Report® Multiuso are launched with their respective carbon footprint calculations.
The company continues to expand—in addition to beginning construction of the Maranhão Unit, for the production of cellulose—by acquiring KSR, a distributor of papers and graphic products, and gaining full control of Conpacel, after purchasing the stake owned by Votorantim Celulose e Papel in the consortium.
Also in 2011, FuturaGene inaugurates its first research and development center in Shanghai, China.
FuturaGene Brasil earns certification of its Integrated Management System (SIG) under ISO 9001 (Quality), ISO 14001 (Environment) and OHSAS 18001 (Occupational Health and Safety).
Suzano Papel e Celulose inaugurates its new industrial unit in Imperatriz, Maranhão. Considered one of the largest and most modern short fiber cellulose production plants in the world, the factory has an installed capacity of 1.5 million tons per year and generates surplus energy of 100 MW.
Ecofuturo Institute turns 15, with the installation of over 100 community libraries, in 12 states, and management of 6,100 hectares of forest reserve in the Parque das Neblinas (Mist Park).
Suzano Papel e Celulose reinforces its strategy by focusing on four adjacent business lines:
• Biotechnology: genetically modified eucalyptus with higher productivity, developed by FuturaGene, is approved for commercial use in Brazil.
• Fluff: the company becomes the first to produce and make available, on an industrial scale, short fiber fluff, called Eucafluff.
• Tissue: the company announces its entry into the tissue segment, with the construction of two production units, one in Mucuri, BA and the other in Imperatriz, MA;
• Lignin: Suzano announces the development of a pilot plant for the production of lignin at the Limeira Unit, the first step toward the concept of biorefinery, where maximum advantage is taken of the various components of biomass for use as renewable raw materials.
DigitalPost changes its name to HiperStream, expands its operations in the segment of software, products and services that enable organizations to easily migrate their physical legacy to digital media, and begins the process of internationalizing the company, with the opening of an office in Switzerland.
Suzano Papel e Celulose completes its integration, in the cardboard segment, of its Embu Unit with Ibema.
Born in Kolki, Ukraine, in November of 1902, Leon Feffer immigrated to Brazil in 1920 with his mother, brother and two sisters. At the time the Brazilian economy was dependent on coffee and the industrial sector was still incipient—almost all industrialized products sold in Brazil came from abroad.
Leon saw this potential and established himself as a merchant in São Paulo, selling different types of goods – including paper. In the 1920s and 1930s, he consolidated his position in commerce and expanded his activities, opening a typography office and a small envelope factory, in addition to maintaining his own store. In 1939 Leon decided to sell everything, even the family home, to raise capital and assemble his own paper factory. The plant was installed in the Ipiranga neighborhood, and gave rise to the Suzano Group.
Leon Feffer also dedicated himself to various community activities, at institutions such as the Israel Cultural Center, Israelite Federation of the State of São Paulo, Hospital Albert Einstein and others. He was one of the founders of the Hebraica Athletics Association. From 1956 to 1981, he served as consul for Israel in São Paulo.
Starting in the 1970s, Leon Feffer oversaw the transition of the leadership of Suzano Group to his son Max, who conducted a lengthy and successful expansion into paper and cellulose, packaging and petrochemicals.
Leon Feffer passed away in 1999. In addition to leaving his mark on the history of the pulp and paper industry in Brazil, he was also an excellent example of an entrepreneur that combined business success with consistent social practices.
Max Feffer, son of Leon and Antonietta Feffer, was born in São Paulo in 1926. From a very young age he started working with his father to expand the Suzano Group. In the 1950s, Max led a team of scientists that developed alternatives to pines in the production of pulp. Satisfactory results were obtained with eucalyptus, which ultimately revolutionized the manufacturing of paper in Brazil and around the world. In 1958 the first batches of paper using this fiber were manufactured. A few years later, Brazil had moved from importer to exporter of pulp.
A professional with great strategic vision, Max Feffer was also responsible for diversifying and consolidating the Suzano Group with investments in the petrochemical sector and in the professionalization of management.
Max held a close relationship with the arts, especially music. His constant presence in the São Paulo cultural scene led him to serve as Secretary of Culture, Science and Technology for the state of São Paulo, from 1976 to 1979. Throughout this period he spearheaded important initiatives, including the Jazz Festival and the Winter Festival of Campos do Jordão.
Max was one of those responsible for creating the Ecofuturo Institute in 1999 – an NGO maintained by the Suzano Group with the goal of promoting sustainable development.
Max Feffer passed away prematurely in 2001, at the age of 74.
Born in November 1956, David is the eldest of Max and Betty Feffer’s four sons. From a young age he has been involved with the family businesses: he frequently visited the factory with his father and his grandfather, witnessing their conversations about the future of the industry and experiencing Suzano firsthand.
Shortly after turning 18, while still at university, David effectively began to work at the company. He started out in the shipping department, and slowly made his way through other departments, acquiring knowledge and field experience before becoming a director in the mid-1990s.
David took over as president of the Suzano Group in 2001 and increased the pace of the business. He set up the right conditions for sound and sustained growth: the creation of Suzano Holding, the restructuring of Suzano Petroquímica and level II stock offering, the professionalization of the companies and adoption of strict corporate governance criteria, building and inaugurating a new pulp unit in Mucuri, selling Suzano Petroquímica and focusing on the pulp and paper industry – which led to the building of the Imperatriz Unit, in the state of Maranhão, among other important developments.
David studied business administration at Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie and took specialization courses at Columbia University, Harvard Business School and The Aspen Institute (USA) and IMD (Switzerland).
In addition to serving as chief executive of Suzano Holding and chairman of the board of directors for Suzano Pulp and Paper, David is also a member of the international advisory board for LafargeHolcim. He also participates in several social and cultural institutions: he is chairman of the curator council at the ARYMAX Philanthropic Foundation; chairman of the board of directors at Escola Alef Peretz and vice-chairman of the board of directors at the Ecofuturo Institute.
