2023-08-09 16:06:13
VLI’s integrated system starts shipments of corn for export
In August, VLI – a logistics solutions company that operates terminals, railroads and ports – begins to export shipments of the record corn crop forecast for 2023, from the Miscellaneous Products Terminal (TPD), located in the Complexo de Tubarão, Vitória, in Espírito Santo. The transport from the producing centers, mainly Minas and Goiás, is carried out by Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica (FCA), which serves the demand of these regions through the East corridor.
The company records movement in the North, East and Southeast corridors and uses flexibility and innovation to optimize VLI shipments
According to the National Supply Company (Conab), the total corn production in Brazil in the current harvest will be around 125.5 million tons, an increase of 12.4 million tons in relation to the previous harvest, being approximately 50 million for export. To meet the growing demand, the TPD is a key part of the integrated system that serves the Brazilian agribusiness, with capacity to move six million tons of grain for export. Located in the largest private port complex in Brazil, the terminal receives 20% of the volume of commodities handled by VLI.
To meet the demand in the Southeast region, the company also uses the Luiz Antonio Mesquita Port Integration Terminal (Tiplam), located on the central bank of the Port of Santos, which receives FCA cargo through the Center-Southeast corridor. “We worked on the flexibility of the two ports (TPD and Tiplam) to optimize the use of both corridors, since shipments take place until the end of the year”, explains the general manager of Operations for the Southeast System of VLI, Denilson Fernandes.
Maranhão VLI terminal
The expressive volume of the current corn harvest also passes through the São Luís Port Terminal (TPSL), owned by VII, located in the Port of Itaqui, in the capital of Maranhão. The terminal, which has a competitive advantage due to its strategic location, close to the maritime route with Europe and the United States, also carried out the first shipments in July. In addition to these markets, corn, which is shipped through the Central-North corridor, by the North-South Railroad (FNS) also serves the Asian and South American markets.
Innovation and flexibility
In the East corridor, the Ship Embarkation and Disembarkation Planning System (Speed) was implemented in the TPD, to promote more efficiency in ship loading and unloading operations. Prior to the use of the software, the ship’s disembarkation plan was made exclusively by the captain, focusing on the vessel’s stability, without taking into account the time required to complete the operation. The use of the tool reaches an estimated gain of approximately two hours per vessel, equivalent to 90 operating hours per year.
With this initiative, created in VLI’s intrapreneurship days, the company became a pioneer in proposing embarkation and disembarkation plans, considering the operational capacity of the ports, the interests of the clients and guaranteeing the stability and safety of the ships, in a personalized way for each vessel. The system is capable of proposing more efficient disembarkation or embarkation plans, allowing for a reduction in operating time, generating greater cargo handling capacity at VLI ports.
Faced with the challenges brought to the port sector by the harvests, the company also developed the flex system on the Tiplam, to optimize the movement of commodities that arrive in the compositions. The innovation allows the simultaneous receipt of different agribusiness commodities, increasing storage capacity and reducing bottlenecks, such as the queue of ships awaiting loading. The system takes advantage of the idleness that occurs at the end of peaks in soybean and sugar production to receive corn.
corn potential
Until mid-2020, the terminal’s systems were captive, with routes dedicated exclusively to certain products. “The flex system makes it possible to prioritize loads according to the line of ships, serving grains or sugar in a balanced way, optimizing the management of the retroport and eliminating bottlenecks from reception, storage, to shipment for export. This innovation allows the handling of different products throughout the year, depending on the harvest, without impurities, maintaining the commitment to quality”, explains Fernandes.
About VLI
VLI is committed to supporting the transformation of logistics in the country, through the integration of services in ports, railways and terminals. The company encompasses the Norte Sul (FNS) and Centro-Atlântica (FCA) railroads, in addition to intermodal terminals, which link the loading and unloading of products to rail transport, and port terminals located in strategic axes along the Brazilian coast, such as in Santos (SP), São Luís (MA) and Vitória (ES). For three consecutive years in the 100 Open Corps ranking – which recognizes the stimulus to open innovation –, VLI transports the riches of Brazil through routes that pass through the North, Northeast, Southeast and Midwest regions.
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