Campinas [key], city, São Paulo state, S Brazil. It is a growing industrial and financial city, the processing and distribution center for a diversified agricultural region, and a major transportation hub. Consumer products, agricultural tools, and railroad equipment are among its manufactures. The city was founded in the 18th cent. Coffee cultivation in the region and the city's location as the main railroad junction in the state accounted for its prosperity by the late 19th cent. As coffee production moved westward, the economy diversified. Campinas is the site of a famed agronomical-research institute, the Pontificia Universidade Católica de Campinas, and the Universidade Estadual de Campinas.
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