BrasPress and Wilson sons invest to meet demand
DCI
Believing in the strong Brazilian demand for the sector of logistics, which foresees growth of six percent in the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the Country in 2010, the president of Transportadora BrasPress (a road carrier), Urubatan Helou, affirms he intends to increase his company's fleet by more than 150 vehicles and add 3 large terminals to its infrastructure, and he is already preparing the construction of the largest cargo terminal of Latin America, in Guarulhos.
The investments for 2010, according to Helou, exceed R$ 200 million (US$ 116.3 million), Fairly impressed by the performance of the private initiative in the development sector in Brazil, the executive affirms that, should "the forecasts be confirmed, Brazil will definitely get into the era of prosperity". "This way, in ten years, the Brazilian GDP will grow 100%", affirms Helou, who criticizes the position of the Government in relation to the development of the infrastructure in the Country.
In view of the investments of the Government in infrastructure, with works of the Growth Acceleration Program (PAC) and even in the preparation for events like the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics, Flávio Benatti, president of the National Association of Cargo Transportation and Logistics (NTC&Logística), affirms such development should already have occurred. According to Benatti, "the possibilities of growth are very big" and the Country already feels the reflexes of the new position in relation to foreign investors, and should attract even more investments.
An example is the giant of the sector, Wilson Sons Limited, which announced the financing with The Export-Import Bank of China of US$16.66 million, for 10 year, for the acquisition of 6 cranes for the container terminal of Rio Grande (Tecon Rio Grande). In the area of rolling stock, the example is the acquisition made in the first half of the year by Dutch company TNT of the Brazilian Expresso Araçatuba - for 54 million Euros, besides two new acquisitions underway in the Country by foreign companies, but regarding which "there are no public information", says the President of the NTC&Logística.
Roberto Mira, CEO of Mira Transportes, sees with "extreme optimism" the plans of the company and of the logistics sector of the Country in 2010. Mira, who is also the vice-president of the Association of Cargo Transportation Companies of São Paulo, is emphatic when he affirms, regarding the crisis, that "the worst part is almost gone: from May next year on there will be no vestiges of the crisis". According to him, since the logistics sector is essential for the other sectors, like the commerce and industry, it feels the economic recovery first. "For the logistics, such growth arrives first." Mira Transportes, according to its CEO, grows 25% for eight consecutive years, and it should keep the positive result this and next year.