Port of Santos becomes a forum for debate on industry, logistics and competitiveness

Deficiencies in land access to the Port are among the issues to be addressed (Vanessa Rodrigues/AT)

The integration of two fundamental sectors of the Brazilian economy will be discussed at the Summit Porto-Indústria. The event will be held this Tuesday (1st) at the Grupo Tribuna auditorium in Santos and will bring together prominent professionals from the sector.

The CEO of A Tribuna , Marcos Clemente Santini, will open the event. The first panel, entitled Ports-Industry and Global Development Lessons, will begin at 2:20 p.m. and will feature, among the speakers, Washington Flores, CEO of Bandeirantes Deicmar. He says the topic is relevant to any macroeconomic or microeconomic planning discussion involving a country or region, particularly with regard to the Port of Santos, as it is the largest in Brazil and in the Southern Hemisphere.

“It seems to me that our greatest lesson is understanding that each country and each industry has its own characteristics; there is no single solution that can accommodate all the situations found in different industries or geographical regions,” he says in response to questions about the lessons that ports-industries bring, both from abroad and from Brazil itself.

Washington Flores points out that Bandeirantes Deicmar concluded that the best solution for its customers would be to bring the Port closer to industry, rather than the other way around. To this end, the company considered establishing distribution centers in the Greater São Paulo area.

“All of our customers are located outside Santos and are finding it increasingly difficult to deal with our deficiencies in land access. With this in mind, we established the first of three hubs in an area close to our customers’ companies. We move the cargo there during periods of lower traffic density, giving each customer the opportunity to collect their products with highly flexible schedules, at a lower cost and with greater predictability”, he explains.

Challenge

The second panel, scheduled for 3:30 p.m., will address Logistics Bottlenecks, Competitiveness and Neoindustrialization. Rodrigo Casado, CEO of Movecta, points out that the company faces this challenge on a daily basis at its hinterland terminals in Guarujá, Itajaí (SC) and Suape (PE).

“Today, logistics costs already account for approximately 15% of Brazil’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP), a level well above that recorded ten years ago. This shows that this is not a theoretical debate: it is a factor that determines whether Brazilian industry can compete in the international market”, he estimates.

Discussing the issue is essential because Brazilian industry does not become competitive solely through investments in factories and technology, Casado notes. “It is necessary to ensure that inputs, machinery and products move at lower cost, with greater speed and predictability — from unloading at the port to the production line”, he says.

Lack of stability

In the view of Movecta’s CEO, logistics bottlenecks increase costs and lead times, while the Brazil Cost erodes the competitiveness of industry. “For neoindustrialization to become a reality, it is essential to have modern, integrated logistics and stable rules — which requires coordination among industry, ports, logistics operators, carriers and public authorities,” he adds.

The Summit Porto-Indústria will be moderated by Maxwell Rodrigues, consultant for port-related matters at Grupo Tribuna .

Program

2:00 p.m. – Opening:

Marcos Clemente Santini, CEO of A Tribuna

2:20 p.m. – Panel 1:

Ports-Industry and Global Development Lessons

Washington Flores, CEO at Bandeirantes Deicmar

Rafael Cristelo de Souza, Director at K Line

Marcelo Vieira, CCO at Rimac

Alexandre Billot, General Manager at Portocel

Fabíola Rios Carneiro Leão, Commercial Specialist at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Brazil

3:30 p.m. – Panel 2:

Logistics Bottlenecks, Competitiveness and Neoindustrialization

Beto Mendes, Operations Director at the Santos Port Authority (APS)

Rodrigo Casado, CEO of Movecta

Bruno Stupello, Director at Santos Brasil

Henrique Mendes de Araújo, Director of Institutional and Government Relations at Copersucar

Marcelo Tiacci Schmitt, General Manager at Stolthaven Terminals Brasil