With over 70 years of history, Facchini – a truck leader in Brazil – ended 2024 with revenues of over R $ 4 billion and a consolidated presence in all regions of the country. Ahead of the company, Marcelo Facchini, director and heir of the company, revealed in an interview with the program From zero to topfrom Infomoney, the decisive milestones of a business trajectory marked by bold restarts, continuous innovation and long -term strategic vision.
Founded by grandfather Euclides, a carpenter who left the railway to open a modest furniture workshop in Votuporanga (SP), Facchini was born of improvisation, but grew up clearly: serving the truck market, still incipient in Brazil in the 1950s and 1960s. Mercedes-Benz courtyard in Sao Paulo and realized the abyss between interior artisanal production and the scale of the national automotive industry. From there, the order was clear: it was necessary to professionalize and expand.
One of Facchini’s strategic milestones was the bold decision to look for cheaper wood in the interior of Maranhão, where the family found forests underdered by farmers. The logistics operation to bring logs to the interior of São Paulo – taking advantage of idle return freight – has reduced costs dramatically and allowed the company to compete more with more aggressiveness. “We practically broke the competitors,” recalls Marcelo, highlighting that the bet yielded a scale gain that put the company on another level.
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Expansion followed by innovations
With the expansion, the innovations also came. In 1974, Facchini inaugurated its first large factory with automated painting line. In the following decade, part of the operation to São José do Rio Preto (SP) and began to manufacture their own chests, after realizing that outsourced suppliers also supplied competitors. “It was the second turning point. We made the best chest on the market,” says Marcelo.
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Entry into the heavy segment – with long chassis, trailers and tilting – represented a new growth cycle. The differential was personalization: instead of selling standardized products, Facchini started to develop specific solutions for each client, in partnership with engineers and experts. This philosophy required technical investment and robust structure, but allowed the company to stand out in a still conservative sector.
Another relevant jump was the verticalization of production. Facchini started to manufacture its own parts internally, which ensured more quality control, agility in delivery and cost reduction. “Today, we depend very little on third parties. This is a giant differential,” says Marcelo.
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10 factories spread across the country
Currently, Facchini operates 10 factories around the country, each focused on a type of product, 26 branches and eight exclusive distributors. The integrated logistics structure allows a customer to buy the body in Fortaleza and receive the final product already assembled by a local partner. “Efficiency and capillarity are today one of our great forces,” he says.
Even with billionaire revenues and consolidated leadership in the road implements sector, Marcelo stresses that the focus remains in listening to the client and keeping his feet on the ground. “The secret is to maintain quality, innovate and understand the pain of the carrier, especially in a country with roads as precarious as ours,” he concludes.
Between personal restarts and business advances, Facchini’s history is a reminder that any day can mark the beginning of a new year – and a new growth cycle.
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About zero to the top
In more than 200 episodes, Videocast/Business Podcast from scratch tells the story of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs behind the largest companies in the country.
In each episode, Zat brings a founder or founder in a frank conversation about how he started business, the challenges faced over the years, uncertainties and decisive moments for the company.
