Brazil-headed forest and global eucalyptus pulp major Fibria has inaugurated its Intermodal Terminal in the city of Aparecida do Taboado in Mato Grosso do Sul (MS), Brazil. Located on federal highway BR 158, the terminal has an annual shipment capacity of 1.95 million tonnes of pulp. It integrates road and rail to transport pulp produced at Fibria’s second line in Três Lagoas to the Port of Santos in São Paulo for export.
million tonnes of eucalyptus pulp per annum. A second line opened in August 2017 (photo courtesy Fibria).
Fibria’s new intermodal terminal follows the structural pattern of integrated terminals located in other regions of Brazil. Serving as cargo hubs, these speed up shipments over broad-gauge rail tracks, which enable freight cars to travel at higher speeds.
Fibria’s investment in the new Aparecida do Taboado Intermodal Terminal is included in the company’s total investments of BRL 7.5 billion (≈ US$ 2.37 billion) in the second pulp production line in Três Lagoas.
This is yet another investment by Fibria that benefits Mato Grosso do Sul and strengthens the Midwest logistics corridor, which is essential for the growth of companies operating in the region, stated Marcelo Castelli, CEO of Fibria.
State-of-the-art intermodal terminal
With the startup of its second pulp production line in Três Lagoas on August 23, three weeks ahead of schedule, Fibria plans to produce 377 000 tonnes of pulp for the export market. In 2018, pulp production capacity is expected to reach 1.755 million tonnes, increasing to 1.850 million in 2019.
The intermodal terminal has over 7 800 m² of built area and includes an office, a warehouse with capacity to store over 16 7oo tonnes of pulp, a forklift workshop and pulp shipment platforms. To operate the terminal, 235 direct and indirect jobs were created, considering the entire operating cycle of the terminal.
With the intermodal terminal, we have reinforced Fibria’s differential in integrated logistics, which goes from the forest to the plant and to the port, thus guaranteeing our competitive advantage and presence in the global market, said Wellington Giacomin, the Supply Chain and Logistics Officer.
To transport the pulp produced by Fibria, the company acquired 21 AC44i locomotives manufactured by General Electric (GE), considered the most modern in the market and which guarantee operating efficiency, environmental preservation and productivity.
Faster full cycle
The 4 400/hp locomotives are responsible for pulling the freight cars that transport the pulp produced by Fibria’s second pulp line in Três Lagoas. The transport time from the production unit to the Port of Santos is 199 hours – around 8 days for the full cycle round trip. This includes loading, unloading and all other procedures.
The yard at the Aparecida do Taboado terminal has another differential. The strategically designed terminal stands out for its operating excellence, given that it operates on a continuous loading system, that is, freight cars enter the terminal and carry out all operations without the need to decouple or manoeuvre the train.
Thanks to the combination of the infrastructure and technologies at the new terminal, cargo remains at the warehouse for a day and a half at most. In other words, cargo handling is dynamic, favouring storage productivity, explained Giacomin.
Facts
About Fibria
With an annual pulp production capacity of 7.25 million tonnes, Fibria is one of the world’s largest eucalyptus pulp producers. The company has industrial units in Aracruz (Espírito Santo), Jacareí (São Paulo) and Três Lagoas (Mato Grosso do Sul), as well as in Eunápolis (Bahia), where it operates Veracel in a joint venture with Stora Enso. Fibria has 1 056 000 hectares (ha) of forests, which include 633 000 ha of planted forests, 364 000 ha earmarked for environmental preservation and conservation, and 59 000 ha destined for other uses. The pulp produced by Fibria is exported to more than 35 countries and is the raw material for educational, health, hygiene and cleaning products.
