Walmart 2006 Annual Report Download - page 6

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Tramontina USA, Inc., headquartered in Houston, Texas,
has facilities around the world, and has supplied Wal-Mart
since 1988. The relationship began with a simple claw
hammer, sold in Wal-Mart’s hardware department. Today,
as a major cookware and cutlery supplier, Tramontina sup-
plies over 60 different items. The company was Wal-Mart’s
housewares Supplier of the Year in fi scal 2005 and 2006.
“There is no doubt that Wal-Mart has contributed
to our phenomenal success in the U.S. We have grown
30% year over year since 2000 and added over 400
new jobs,” says Antonio Galafassi, President and Chief
Executive Offi cer of Tramontina USA, Inc. “Wal-Mart
has been the main motivator to build our business and
has given us 100% support, particularly in our effort
to bring jobs back to the U.S. by opening a facility
in Manitowoc.”
Manitowoc is a town of about 35,000 people who
thought cookware production jobs were gone forever when
a cookware plant closed in 2003. But thanks to Tramontina,
the factory reopened on July 5, 2005, with plans for 200
employees to be located there. The opening celebration
also marked the day Mr. Galafassi became a U.S. citizen.
“We are relying on the long tradition of cookware
manufacturing in Manitowoc,” Mr. Galafassi explained.
“The savings we realized by revitalizing an existing Midwest
facility and the fact that raw materials are produced right in
the plant give us the ability to produce ‘Made in the USA’
cookware for Wal-Mart and SAM’S CLUB at highly com-
petitive prices.”
The partnership between Tramontina and Wal-Mart is an
example for all of our global suppliers of the benefi ts that
result from a strong working relationship.
4
– Antonio Galafassi and Associates, Tramontina USA, Inc.
A win-win situation
It’s not often that something can be so beneficial in so many
ways, but when Tramontina, a Brazilian company with facilities
in Houston, opened a second plant in Manitowoc, Wisconsin,
to produce “Made in the USA” cookware for Wal-Mart and
SAM’S CLUB, everyone came out ahead.