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Copersucar inaugurates terminal in Ribeirão Preto and expands logistics capacity

12/03/2012

On Monday, March 12th, Copersucar, the largest sugar and ethanol commercialization operation integrated with production in Brazil, inaugurated its Ribeirão Preto Multimodal Terminal. The facility, which will result in important sugar transportation productivity gains and environmental and social benefits, is part of the BRL 2 billion the company will invest in major logistics projects by 2015.

The inauguration ceremony was attended by the mayor of Ribeirão Preto, Dárcy Vera, the State of São Paulo Agriculture and Supply Department secretary, Mônika Bergamaschi, members of the sugar-energy sector business community and Copersucar shareholders.

The investments undertaken in the Terminal provide for higher throughput and storage volumes and streamlined operations. An important component in the terminal is the balloon loop, necessary for high volume product movements, increasing annual sugar transportation capacity to the port of Santos from 150 thousand to 1.5 million metric tons.

The multimodal terminal will permit Copersucar to intensify use of railroad transportation. It is estimated that the number of trucks used on the Ribeirão PretoSantos route will be reduced by 42 thousand per year. This will result in lower fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions and will alleviate urban and highway traffic congestion, boosting road safety.

“The implantation of these infrastructure and logistics projects is yet another step towards reinforcing Compersucar’s leadership in the sugar energy sector. This operation will drive increased competitiveness and added value”, says the company chairman, Luís Roberto Pogetti.

How it works – The loading system in conjunction with the new balloon loop – a 2.8
km spur off the main line – will enable the terminal to increase its dispatch capacity to the port of Santos to 10,000 metric tons a day. When fully operational, the new terminal will enable productivity gains ten times higher than the previous structure.

The Multimodal Terminal also has a new warehouse, expanding static storage capacity by more than 50 thousand metric tons to a total of 70 thousand metric tons of sugar. Other items in the complex include a truck discharge system with hoppers, conveyor belts and a rail wagon loading system. The terminal has the capacity to receive both partner mill and originated production from the region throughout the crop and is prepared to operate 24 hours a day.

Partnership – The railroad operation is a partnership between Copersucar and
Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica (FCA). The long-term contract between the companies enabled the refurbishment of 500 hopper wagons dedicated to Copersucar, resulting in productivity gains in both loading and discharge operations. It also includes the concession of the area in which the balloon loop was built.

“Currently rail transportation accounts for approximately 50% of bulk sugar transportation, and Copersucar’s target is to reach 70% by 2015 under the company’s current investment plan”, states Paulo Roberto de Souza, president of the company. “The entry into operation of the new terminal is part of Copersucar’s logistics strategy.

It is a big step forward in terms of sustainability since it helps us to reduce process costs and benefits the environment through the intensive use of the railroad network. In social terms, it helps reduce the risk of accidents on São Paulo’s highways by taking a large number of trucks out of circulation”, he concludes.

About Copersucar S/A: Incorporated in 2008, Copersucar is the largest Brazilian sugar and ethanol commercialization operation integrated with production. Its unique business model combines the production of 48 partner mills and approximately 50 non-partner mills in an integrated, large scale logistics, transportation, storage and commercialization system managed directly by the company to serve the domestic and global markets.