Portobello Begins Work on U.S. Factory

BAXTER, Tenn. — Portobello Group, a Brazilian producer of porcelain and ceramic tile, recently began construction of its U.S. factory here.

The planned facility is slated to be approximately 895,000 ft², including production lines, research and development space, a showroom and 30,000 ft² of offices. The location, when finished, will be headquarters for the company’s Portobello America division.

Construction is projected to be completed by the end of Q4 2022. Portobello estimates the new, state-of-the-art facility will create 220 local jobs.

The 92-acre project, located on the former site of the Tennessee Speedway Dirt Racetrack, is located on Interstate 40 approximately 70 miles east of Nashville. Situated in Putnam County, the overall region includes vast natural supplies of clay and feldspar.

Portobello currently has two distribution centers in the U.S. market in Baxter and Pompano Beach, Fla. The company first announced plans in the fall of 2018 to build a production facility in Baxter.

“The construction of the factory is the next step of our strategy that began in 2018,” said Luiz Felipe Brito, Portobello America’s CEO. “We have assembled a world-class team, curated a product portfolio that has proven to be very successful and have partnered with the best independent distributors in the country.”

In July, Portobello America chose Toronto-based Avison Young, a global real-estate-services company, to raise around $80 million in construction financing.

Get the news of the industry with Slab & Sheet, the e-newsletter from Stone Update. Sign up for free delivery here.

For the latest industry info, check Stone Update on Twitter and Facebook.

Experience the totally new Stone Update Magazine online.

Listen to our new podcast of Radio Stone Update.