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15 AutoData | June 2018 By André Barros L ast month the commercial director of Aethra, Osias Galantine, drove an electric Tesla sports car across the streets of the United States. The exe- cutive was there to, among other commit- ments, attend a meeting with the purcha- sing area of the Elon Musk’s automaker, interested in acquiring products from the company based in Betim, MG. The crisis in which the Brazilian vehicle market has been through over the last few years changed the plans of the company’s directors. In 2016 an important decision was made - Aethra needed to expand its global presence. For two main reasons: to mitigate the dependence of the Brazilian market and obtain new and greater op- portunities with its main customers, the automakers. “The products are more and more global”, Galantine summarizes. The directors decided that the first step would be in the American market. The commercial director tells that the pro- duction volume and the reindustrialization wave of the automotive sector there, pro- moted by the current government, were fundamental factors for the choice: “Do- nald Trump is giving many incentives for the local production, with tax reductions.” Galantine himself heads the project, which includes own factory, scheduled to start operations in the end of 2019. Ohio was the chosen state, basically for the location, in the same geographic region of Michigan and his homeland Detroit and the proximity of North Ca- rolina - besides the state, where there is a strong presence of the automotive industry. According to the executive there are lands under analysis to receive work. The first step has already been taken, with the hiring of a local representative last year and the opening of an office, that will happen soon. Everything will be a consequence of closing contracts. For the job in the United States, Aethra chose some of its special- ties to form its main portfolio, such as hot stamping and hot strip rolling mill, as well