Brazilian company to base North American HQ in Manatee, employing 200

A Brazilian company specializing in anti-corrosion technology has selected Manatee County as the location for its North American headquarters. Rustless Technology is still in the process of identifying a site for its long-term operations and plans to operate initially out of the International Trade Hub at SeaPort Manatee. Once established, it plans to employ 200 workers.

"This is the beginning of a new chapter for Rustless in North America," Rustless Global CEO and co-founder Andre Cavalcanti said at an event Monday announcing the company's expansion, held at the Manatee Chamber of Commerce Lakewood Ranch office and hosted by the Bradenton Area Economic Development Corp. Rustless chose Manatee County for its "strong business environment," infrastructure and "people who believe in innovation," Cavalcanti said.

Rustless' proprietary technology protects metallic assets that are exposed, submerged or buried. It can be applied for uses such as marine and offshore, ports and infrastructure, buildings and facilities and industrial for pulp and paper, chemical, ceramics and energy plants.

The company's mission is to help clients reduce the impact of corrosion, extend the service life of their assets and lower long-term maintenance costs. Among the clients Rustless serves are the Brazilian Navy and major companies including Bosch, John Deere, Siemens and Unilever.

Oxford Group USA — an international business development firm headquartered at the International Trade Hub at SeaPort Manatee that supports Brazilian and Latin American companies and investors entering the U.S. market — introduced Rustless to Manatee County.

“Manatee County offers the port access, the industrial base and the business environment they need to scale,” Oxford Group President and CEO Carlo Barbieri says in a statement.

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Oxford Group International Business Development Manager Leonor Medeiros delivered a presentation about Rustless at Monday's event at the Manatee chamber, explaining what the company does exactly.

Rustless provides a solution for corrosion, a problem that costs the U.S. alone $1.06 trillion a year, according to Medeiros. One major issue she noted was corrosion could lead to downtime for operations.

“With Rustless, we're very proud to say that production doesn't need to stop,” Medeiros said, due to the ability to continue operations while deploying the technology, which uses electrons to protect metal. She added that technicians also visit clients’ sites every four months for maintenance.

To advance the company’s location in Manatee County, Rustless has been working with not just the Oxford Group but also the Bradenton Area EDC.

“When we attract companies, they bring new jobs, they bring capital investment, they bring indirect jobs, and they help strengthen our tax base,” President and CEO of the Bradenton EDC Shirar O’Connor said at Monday’s event. “In the case of Rustless — and why this is so interesting to us and so important to us — is they're bringing in new technology. They're bringing in intellectual property to our county that we don't have, and this … strengthens our economy as well.”

Rustless plans to service its global clients from Manatee County, according to a statement, which says it will expand local operations as the market demand grows.