Santa Fé expects record production of wagons this year and starts exportations
Valor Econômico - 03/07/2008
With the perspective of the recovering of the railroad sector in the country in 2008, the Santa Fé Vagões (Santa Fé Wagons), a joint-venture between América Latina Logística do Brasil - ALL (Latin America Logistics of Brazil) and Millinium Investimentos (Millinium Investments), expects to end the year with better performance than it has had since it came into operation, in December, 2005. After August, the company, with its headquarter in Santa Maria, in the central region of the State of Rio Grande do Sul, intends to starts the production of complete wagons also in the unit of Campinas (SP), which so far has been only working with the refurbishment of equipment and manufacturing of rolling stock. According to Santa Fé's CEO, Antonio Giudice, the whole market in Brazil is estimated to be between 3 thousand and 4 thousand wagons this year and the company may produce 800 thousand units, with sales of R$ 120 million (US$ 68.2 million), compared to the R$ 25 million (US$ 14.2 million) in 2007. The backlog already amounts to 500 equipment, including 100 tank-wagons to ALL and 278 all door box cars to Votorantim Celulose e Papel - VCP (Paper and Paper Products). This year, Santa Fé is also entering the international market, after winning the international bid to supply 11 platform-wagons with capacity for 100 tons of load for Venezuelan steelwork company Ternium Sidor, at R$ 3 million (US$ 1.7 million). In April, the company will send two bulk-wagon prototypes to the Nuevo Central Argentino - NCA railroad, which, if approved, may result in a contract of 300 to 500 units for delivery until 2009 (not accounted for in the projections for 2009), valued from R$ 50 million (US$ 28.4 million) to R$ 70 million (US$ 39.8 million). There are also on-going negotiations in two South-American countries and in one African country, informs Giudice.