Cuba Set to Launch Sandpaper Factory with Help from China

Cuba is preparing to produce its own sandpaper, branded Auge, thanks to technology and materials imported from the People’s Republic of China through a Local Development Project.

The factory is located in the mountainous Segundo Frente municipality in the province of Santiago de Cuba and is the only one of its kind in the country. Most of the materials and equipment have already arrived from China and the factory’s first samples will be displayed at Santiago’s upcoming Expocaribe Trade Fair on June 22.

The Segundo Frente location offers various advantages, including historical experience in the cutting and packaging of sandpaper rolls, machinery brought in decades ago and preserved, and the potential for future local production of sand and silica mined from the nearby mountains.

Chinese technicians trained the current team and the expectation is that once the plant is operating at full capacity, it will produce 6,334 square meters of P-100, P-150 and P-120 sandpaper per shift, mainly for industrial and body shop use.

A second stage of production will produce sandpaper for woodworking, but factory managers have their sights set even higher, toward future production of water based paint and a mini-tannery.