TERRITORIAL ATTRIBUTES: OF INNOVATION IN THE MARKET IN LATIN AMERICAN INDUSTRIES OF THERMOPLASTIC SOUTHERN BRAZIL

Abstract

The Brazilian thermoplastic industry consolidated from the 1970s with the urbanization intensification and industrialization of the country. In that area, technical progress is crucial for competitiveness; however, there is a certain maturity in the development of technologies. On the other hand, the international trade is centered on equipment and raw material since finished plastic does not compose large exponents in trade balances. Thus, the article’s aim is to identify technical progress and international trade of thermoplastic industries, in southern Brazil. The study developed from the literature review on innovation, in the plastic industry, along with data obtained from the Brazilian foreign trade. After that, it was possible to identify the potential and the dynamic territorial attributes of thermoplastic industries in the South region, especially, the ability to invest in potential markets of Latin America.