INSTITUCIONAL

The history of GL Empreendimentos begins with the history of its founder, Gerson de Aquino Lucena Junior, who developed a career of entrepreneurship and success from the support received from his father.

The Beginning (1979)

In 1979, entrepreneur Gerson de Aquino Lucena established a factory of prefabricated slabs in Camaragibe, PE that served companies throughout the Recife metropolitan area. He then handed over responsibility to his son, a 20-year-old student of civil engineering. This marked the birth of a company called Artefatos de Cimento Timbi Ltda.

The Development (1986 - 1993)

To diversify the business and to meet market expectations, he founded the company called Ceramica Camaragibe Ltda., in 1986, which was dedicated to the manufacturing of bricks.

In 1990, he entered into a partnership with his brothers to address the fuel resale market, participating in a network of gas stations in the Recife metropolitan area.

The Great Leap (1993)

In 1993 he founded a food company called Indústria de Alimentos Bomgosto Ltda., under the brand VITARELLA, with the vision of developing products with high quality and competitive prices, starting with the mass market.

The factory started with 34 employees and operated in an industrial shed of 2.000 square meters (sm). Within just two years, it had been expanded to 20,000 sm, thus taking the leadership position in the regional mass market segment.

Growth (1998 - 2006)

Continuing his entrepreneurship, Gerson Lucena expanded the VITARELLA portfolio of products with the launch of a line of sandwich cookies (1998), under the brand TRELOSO, which was a hit among children. Other major successes were the Cracker (2000), Wafer (2001), and Butter and Cornstarch biscuits (2002) lines, further extending the market share of the VITARELLA brand in the cookie and pastry market, as well as in consumer taste, ultimately leading to regional leadership.

This growth culminated in a factory of 90,000 sm in size and more than 1,800 employees, leveraging VITARELLA to become a company with a national brand. The recognition of this success was exhibited through awards for consecutive years in various categories, such as JC Recall of Marks, Golden Cart and Top Brands, among others. In fact, VITARELLA was one of the largest contributors to Value-Added Tax (ICMS) in the State of Pernambuco during a five-year period.

Entrepreneurship

Seeking to diversify business and take advantage of opportunities in the market, GL Empreendimentos Ltda. was founded in 2002, with the basic goal of making real estate investments. In April 2008, the VITARELLA operation was sold to one of its competitors, the M. Dias Branco Group, which was highlighted in the national press because of the size of the deal.

Since mid-2008, GL Empreendimentos has made great investments in property acquisitions to develop its real estate projects and to structure their businesses to support their growth and meet market demand.