History

The Tavares de Melo Group (GTM) has always kept its activitiies gathering good management practices, responsibility and sustainnable results. The Group history started in 1920, when Arthur Tavares de Melo acquired the Olho D´Àgua Mill, in the municipality of Camutanga, State of Pernambuco. In 1928, Arthur Tavares de Melo, associated with his father in law, Samuel Hardman, and his brother in law, José Hardman changed the mill into the Central Olho D’Água Plant.

After eighty years, the group is present in four Brazilia States, in business that were expanded beyong the sugar/alcohol sector, incluing shoes, packing, energy generation and fuel. Its structure held four sugar and alcohol producing units, amont which: Estivas Plant – 1969 (RN), Giasa Distillery – 1971(PB), Passa Tempo Plant – 1982 (MS), Maracaju Plant – 1985 (MS), e also a Agroarte, a company organized exclusively to manage the agricultural area.

In 1953 the group organized Indústrias Alimentícias Maguary food industry, specialized in hte production of fruit juices and other food. In 1970, a Maguary diversificed its line of products, also fabricating ice creams. Six years later it entered a joint venture (50% / 50%) with Kibon (Philip Morris), named Kibon Sorvane. In 1997 Kibon decided to sel its interests to Unilever. In 2000 GTM also negotiated its security interests with Unilever, definately leaving the ice cream industry segment.

The group also invested in the manufacturing of rubber sandals under the trademark Dupé (PE), which reached o be the second company in sales in the domestic market under this segment.

In March 2007 the four sugar and alcohol units were sold to a Brazilian subsidiary of the French group Louis Dreyfus Commodities (LDC Bioenergia). GTM maintained the property of the land of the sucar cane plantation.

Still in 2007 the shoe company Dupé was sold to São Paulo Alpargatas, owner of the trademark Havaianas, agains changing the structure of the group enterprises. Presently GTM participates in the tankage of liquid bulks in the Cabedelo Storage Terminals (Tecab), located in the Port of Cabedelo (PB), and in the fuel distributor Ello. The group also has business in the service sector, participating in Shopping Plaza Casa Forte (Recife).