Novaforest is the forestry division of Grupo Pantaleon, established at the end of 2020 to manage all of the group’s forestry assets under a new administration and business strategy.
Novaforest is an integrated and sustainable Guatemalan agroforestry company that cultivates innovation and markets certified products from its own renewable resources that preserve biodiversity. In our short time of management, we have received recognitions and awards for promoting sustainable development, the most important being the First Place of the National Forestry Award in the Energy Plantations Category, granted by INAB (National Forest Institute of Guatemala).
The company currently manages more than 1,500 hectares of its own renewable eucalyptus plantations, established on the southern coast of Guatemala since 2004. Initially intended to produce woodchip as a renewable fuel, it has recently begun to be used as a source of lumber, accompanied by the necessary changes in forest management. Novaforest has two fully mechanized harvesting lines, and to process its timber, in 2022 it installed a new sawmill and highly automated drying chambers in Escuintla. It has customers in Guatemala, Central America, and the Caribbean and is exploring new buyers in Mexico. The entire forestry operation, from the nursery through plantation management to harvesting and industrial processing, is FSC certified, a standard that promotes sustainability.
It also manages 2,300 hectares of its own natural rubber (latex) plantations on the southern coast of Guatemala, several of which were established in the mid-1980s. In addition to latex production, Novaforest has introduced joint crops, under an agroforestry system, such as cocoa and, on a larger scale, cardamom. All latex is processed for special formulations at the Grupo Fortaleza plant, in which Novaforest holds an equity interest, and the products are exported directly to various customers in the United States, Europe and South America. The natural rubber plantations are also certified under the FSC standard, and cardamom is in the process of certification.
The values that guide Novaforest’s actions and operations are Sustainability, Teamwork and Innovation. Currently there are several new projects and products under study, so that congruent with its purpose, Novaforest continues to add value to its environment, transforming forest resources with innovation.
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