VLI and BP Bunge renew partnership for multimodal sugar operation

Responsible for 27% of Brazilian sugar exports, through the Luiz Antonio Mesquisa Port Integrator Terminal (Tiplam), VLI – a logistics solutions company that operates terminals, railways and ports – has just renewed a contract with BP Bunge Bioenergia, one of largest sugarcane processors in the country. The five-year agreement provides for the annual movement of a large part of the volume of VHP sugar produced by BP Bunge’s mills.

The cargo will be collected at the company’s plants located in São Paulo, Minas Gerais and Goiás, in a door-to-door operation, carried out entirely by VLI to Baixada Santista through Trato – a startup created by the company, responsible for the road operation of the plants of the company. BP Bunge to the VLI – and Ferrovia Centro-Atlântica (FCA) terminals, showing the company’s strength in offering multimodal solutions to its customers. Upon arrival at Tiplam, the commodity will be exported to supply mainly markets in Asia and the Middle East. Raw sugar is exported to the world’s main refineries, where it is processed and distributed on the market.

“The operation is an example of VLI’s multimodality, which provides customers with the best logistics solution for every need. In this format, we were able to load in less time, generating productivity throughout the process. BP Bunge is an important partner that, like VLI, values ​​safety and agility in its operations”, emphasizes VLI’s Commercial Sugar Manager, Jandher Carvalho.

BP Bunge, a joint venture resulting from the union of the bioenergy and sugar businesses of the BP and Bunge groups, has 11 industrial units distributed among the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul and Tocantins. In terms of crushing capacity, it is the second largest group in the sugar-energy segment and has the potential to produce up to 1.7 million tons of sugar per harvest.

“Brazilian sugar has a prominent share in the world market. The renewal of this partnership with VLI allows us to obtain scale gains and important synergies in sugar export operations, connecting the mills to the port in an integrated, fluid and, above all, safe management”, says André Villela de Andrade, Planning and Logistics of BP Bunge Bioenergia.

Historically, Brazil is among the largest sugar producers in the world. In 2022, the expectation of the National Supply Company (Conab) is that the production of the asset in the Center-South will overcome the barrier of 36 million tons, registering an increase of 13.3% compared to the 2021 harvest.

Trato Platform

Trato is a road logistics chain management platform that offers scheduling, integration and optimization solutions for the different entities in the chain: truck drivers, carriers and shippers. The startup is an important partner of VLI and fulfills the logistic road transport section, connecting the cargo produced at BP Bunge’s plants (among other customers) to VLI’s transshipment terminals, located in Guará (SP) and Uberaba (MG), where the wagons are loaded and continue on their way to Tiplam.

Since 2019, during the management of the Trato, more than 1 million road trips have been scheduled and more than 2 million tons of sugar have been transported. The most emblematic number for Trato is the growth of truck drivers. Currently, the platform has more than 90,000 drivers and 96% of them express satisfaction with the use of scheduling through the platform.