Partnership between VLI and Fertilizandos Tocantins increases fertilizer volume on the railway

VLI, a logistics company that integrates railways, intermodal terminals and ports offering solutions for agribusiness, among other sectors of the economy – has already started activities resulting from the partnership with Fertilizandos Tocantins (FTO), in Araguari, in the Triângulo Mineiro. With service starting in May, VLI will increase the volume of fertilizers transported on the Centro-Atlântica Railway (FCA) by 20%. The raw material originating in the port of Tubarão (ES) passes through the Araguari Terminal and arrives at the FTO factory through an interconnection via conveyor belts. 

In 2018, the Araguari terminal handled more than 700 thousand tons of fertilizer inputs and this year the forecast is for an increase. The results of the partnership can already be seen: the railway moved record volume for the month of June, when it reached more than 120 thousand tons of fertilizers. As a result, VLI hired 16 people (its own and third parties) to expand the flow of this product at the terminal. “We are going to increase the volume unloaded and provide the customer with a shorter queue at the other end, when disembarking the ships. This consolidates our business model, which connects port, railway and terminal as an efficient solution and reinforces the fertilizer route between Tubarão and Araguari”, notes Ricardo Ferreira, general manager of Fertilizers at VLI.

Unprecedented, integration favors the market

From the wagons, the cargo can go directly to the FTO factory or, if necessary, be conditioned in the VLI fertilizer warehouse. This model of interconnection and integration between port, railway, terminal and factory, without the use of trailers, is unprecedented in Brazil and provides greater agility and quality to the supply chain. The strategic location associated with an efficient modal brings benefits to all agribusinesses in the region, which gains in speed and security by relying on a supplier as close and connected as FTO. 

X-ray of the Araguari Terminal

In operation since 2012

Investment: R $ million 151

annual capacity: 5 million tons of grains and 1 million tons of fertilizers

Jobs: 234 (own and third parties)

Main products: soybeans, corn bran and fertilizers

Origins: receives loads from MG, SP, MT and GO. Fertilizers arrive from the port of Vitória

Destinations: grains, Port of Tubarão, in Vitória, fertilizers, Triângulo Mineiro, Goiás and Mato Grosso

FTO factory X-ray

Investment: R $ million 91

Jobs generated: 200 

Warehousing capacity: 100 thousand tons

Daily Shipping: up to 6 thousand tons