Brazilian plastic and rubber additives producer Inbra Indústrias Químicas Ltda. is building its first international operation in Orangeburg County, S.C., with an investment of $ 7.7 million planned for a plant that will open by mid-2016, the company said April 7.

Inbra’s U.S. facility will specialize in plasticizer production, with a focus on the PVC market, and will be based in a 24,000-square-foot facility with an expected 14 new jobs created. Orangeburg is in central South Carolina, between Charleston and Columbia.

The site was chosen based on the favorable location, with a logistics network that will allow Inbra to grow in the United States and target European and Central America markets, the Diadema, Brazil-based company said in a statement.

“This is a major step for our organization; however, we are certain that the logistical and cost advantages of this project will enable us to improve our presence in the global market, and, most important, benefit our current and future customers,” said Inbra President Paulo Heininger.

South Carolina’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved a $75,000 rural infrastructure fund grant to Orangeburg County to assist with property improvements. Hiring will begin in March.

Inbra specializes in plastic and rubber additives, and operates two facilities in Brazil’s São Paulo state with 150 total employees.

Founded in 1939, the company began by producing soaps for the textile industry. It later branched into liquid and solid stabilizers for PVC, epoxidized soybean oil and foaming agents (azodicarbonamide).

In 2013, the company expended its line of metallic stearates and started to produce calcium and zinc solid stabilizers for PVC.