Leon Feffer
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Leon Feffer | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 27, 1902 |
| Died | 7 February 1999 (age 96) |
| Citizenship | Brazil |
| Occupation | Businessman |
| Known for | Founder of Suzano Papel e Celulose |
| Spouse | Antonietta Teperman |
| Children | 2 including Max Feffer |
| Parent(s) | Bertha Brandes Feffer Simpson Feffer |
| Family | David Feffer (grandson) |
Leon Feffer (1902–1999) was a Brazilian businessman who founded Suzano Papel e Celulose.
Feffer was born on November 27, 1902, to a Ukrainian Jewish family in Rovno, Ukraine[1] (other sources say Kolki, Ukraine),[2] the son of Bertha (née Brandes) and Simpson Feffer.[3] In 1910, concerned about increasing anti-Semitism, his father immigrated to Brazil where he worked as a peddler selling stationery items around São Paulo and Mato Grosso from his ox-drawn cart.[3] In 1920, his father had saved enough money to bring his wife, two sons (Leon and David) and two daughters (Maria and Regina) to Brazil.[3][1][4] Leon started his first business manufacturing candles although it was not successful as Sao Paulo already had electricity.[3] On June 15, 1923,[1] he founded a paper distribution business purchasing imported and domestic paper for sale to local retailers.[3] By chance, a large domestic paper factory suffered a fire and he was able to purchase a large quantity of paper rolls (damaged externally but near perfect internally) which enabled him to profit greatly during the Great Depression after Brazil banned imports.[3] He expanded by purchasing a printing press, established a retail store,[2] and constructed an envelope factory (which became one of the largest in the country).[4] In 1939, he sold everything (including his house, his wife's jewelry, and his store)[3] and completed a paper factory in 1941 in the São Paulo neighborhood of Ipiranga.[1] The factory used imported pine pulp to produce its paper.[3] In 1946, the company was named Indústria de Papel Leon Feffer (IPLF).[4] He encouraged his son Max, who was studying at the Juilliard School of Music, to help him find a local substitute for pine fiber.[3] Max, working with biologists at the University of Florida, determined that eucalyptus pulp was a good substitute for pine pulp.[3] In 1946, he purchased Indústria de Papel Euclides Damiani and he gradually mixed eucalyptus fiber into its production.[4] In 1956, he renamed the company Suzano Papel e Celulose.[2] In 1960, he purchased another paper mill, Indústria de Papel Rio Verde.[4] In 1961, he was using 100% eucalyptus as a raw material.[4] The rest of the paper industry adopted the use of eucalyptus and Brazil shifted from a net importer of cellulose to a net exporter of cellulose.[1] Under his tutelage, Suzano became the second largest integrated paper manufacturer in Latin America.[1]
