A “GREEN AND YELLOW” GIANT
December, 1965. Granol Indústria, Comércio and Exportação S/A started in the commodities sales and export business. In a rented 130 sf room located at Rua 24 de maio, 13° floor in São Paulo, SP, one telephone line, a start-up capital of US$10,000.00 and the entrepreneurial spirit of its 3 partners, Granol rapidly started to grow and defy new challenges.
Granol’s founder and President, Mr. José Gomes Cadette, started working with his father in a small retail store in the neighborhood of Água Rasa, São Paulo. While still a teenager, Mr. Gomes was hired at Johnson & Johnson, Inc. of Brazil, where he started as a delivery boy. Five years later, in 1959, Mr. Gomes left the company as an administrative supervisor. When 19 years old, he started working at Cia. Continental de Cereais (ContiBrasil), an American company which main’s activities included importing and exporting different agricultural products and the operation of many vegetable oil producing factories around the world.
After six years of hard work and of multiple experiences with different challenges, Mr. José Gomes Cadette, along with Mr. Germano Guido Baldi and Mr. João Serdan D’Alarico, all of them from ContiBrasil, decided to start their own business. As so, it would provide international and fiscal consulting services, and the structuring and hiring of ground and maritime transport for Brazilian-made products to be sold abroad.
From that moment forward, Granol commenced a phase of utter development. Among other companies, in 1967 it acquired “Fudo Óleos Vegetais” in Junqueirópolis, SP, an opportunity presented to Granol by Mr. Mario Hoshika, a manager at said company at that time. Upon finalizing the acquisition negotiations, Mr. Mario Hoshika accepted the invitation to become a partner at Granol. Thereafter, in 1973, as Mr. Germano Guido Baldi was readying for retirement, he decided to sell his shares of Granol.
In 1974, foreseeing a new opportunity, Granol purchased “Indústria de Óleos Tupã” in Tupã, SP. In so doing, Granol was introduced to a young and driven executive, Dr. Juan Diego Ferrés Dellapiane who, in 1977, joined the company as its newest partner.
Upon his arrival, Dr. Diego, assumed Granol’s industrial development branch, leading the company to make new acquisitions such as the “Compol” factory in Lucélia, SP, the “Santa Maria” factory in Pacaembu, SP and the “Romanini” factories, located in Adamantina, SP and in Osvaldo Cruz, SP. Moreover, with a keen sense of direction, Dr. Diego led Granol to acquire the “Wosgrau” factory in 1986. In such acquisition, it was necessary for Granol’s president, Mr. Gomes and for Dr. Diego, to travel to Anápolis, GO to aggressively negotiate and win the bid for the “Wosgrau” factory against a key competitor.
In 2003, the company incorporated an additional factory in Bebedouro, SP, and in 2006 another one in Cachoeira do Sul, RS. Moreover, in the same year, Granol initiated its production of Biodiesel, assuring its success in a promising market and soundly securing its place amidst new challenges and strategies.
Nowadays, after almost half a century of tradition, Granol has become one of biggest and most respected Brazilian agribusiness enterprises. Currently, there are 5 factories, 23 regional grain purchasing and warehousing facilities, 2 biodiesel producing plants (Anápolis, GO and Cachoeira do Sul, RS), 1 sea-port and 1 river-port terminals, and, the headquarter office in São Paulo, SP. Moreover, there are more than 2,000 associates, over 500,000 tons of grain and soybean food storage capacity, 39,000 tons of oil storage facility, over 2,010,000 tons / year of grain crushing capabilities, over 2,085,000 tons /year of oil refining capabilities, over 250 million bottled units / year and over 7,000 active clients worldwide.
Nowadays, Granol is within the Top 50 largest Agribusiness companies in Brazil and, aside from its manufacturing capabilities, it strives to improve and to maintain the following pledges: The fulfillment of all its commitments, the focus on continuous improvements, the uttermost respect to and for its contributors and for the environment. And more, the commitment to involve individuals with faith, optimism, determination to succeed and the will to cooperate and to accomplish ever-growing goals. All of these goals are founded and imbued with our commitment to the utmost ethical behavior and to the continuous improvement in our relationship among suppliers, clients and our associates.
Granol is proud of being Brazilian and does all it can to make Brazil proud of its accomplishments.