Jan 19, 2005. /Lesprom Network/. Aracruz will train 700 employees between January and March this year in order to have a pool of specialized manpower qualified to work in the project to modernize the Guaiba Unit pulp mill in Rio Grande do Sul. The training program, budgeted at R$ 700,000, is also designed to raise the skills levels of members of the local community. The program is being made possible through a partnership that involves the government of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, through the Labor, Citizenship and Social Assistance and International Affairs Secretariats; the municipal government of Guaнba; the National Industrial Apprentice Service (Senai); and the National Employment System (Sine). It consists of eight courses, of which five involve electrical-mechanical assembly and three are focused on construction practices. The selection of the candidates is made by Senai/RS, with the support of the Guaнba city government and local construction and metalworkers unions. A management committee made up of representatives of the partnership organizations and unions runs the project. The Guaiba Unit mill modernization project, scheduled to get underway in April 2005, represents an investment of R$ 150 million and will boost production by some 30,000 tons per year of eucalyptus pulp. The hiring of manpower for the project will take place from April to June for the construction phase and from October to November for the project interconnection phase. Aracruz estimates that about 500 direct jobs will be generated during the construction phase and another 1,500 during the interconnection phase of the expansion project. “This professional training program will assure the existence of workers capable of carrying out the work foreseen in the Aracruz project and other jobs offered in the marketplace. Favoring local manpower is a policy of our company in all of the regions where we have operations,” said Aracruz president and CEO Carlos Aguiar. Aracruz already has run three professional training programs: one in Espirito Santo and two in Bahia, in which we invested some R$ 11 million and trained more than 11,300 workers. The courses offered — a total of 86 — mainly have been focused on civil construction and electrical-mechanical maintenance. The purpose of the courses has mainly been to train workers in the projects for building Fiberline C in Espirito Santo, the Caravelas Barge Terminal and the Veracel pulp mill in Bahia. Also in Bahia, courses for the community in handicrafts, baking and sewing were offered. Offering manpower training programs for its projects is part of Aracruz’s social responsibility philosophy, as is the running of projects with maximum social benefits and reduced environmental impacts. The company, which has grown at annual rates that are higher than the Brazilian GDP, believes that this type of initiative helps contribute to the growth of the regions where it is active, since it reduces the migration of workers to other locations. Furthermore, Aracruz seeks to favor communities where the Human Development Index (HDI) is lower, striving to improve it. Aracruz arrived in the state of Rio Grande do Sul in July 2003 through the acquisition of Riocell from the Klabin Group for US$ 567 million. The investment possibilities announced by the company at the time of the acquisition foresaw revitalization initiatives, already carried out, involving some R$ 60 million. These expenditures were designed to enhance integration, obtain synergy gains, improve operating efficiencies, adjustment of the end product and also optimization, which is the current project, which calls for more than R$ 150 million in investments.