EuroChem Group AG, Zug, Switzerland, announced on June 4 the opening of a third new fertilizer blending plant in Brazil. The new 27,000m2 facility at Araguari in Minas Gerais, a state in the southeastern part of the country, is another step in the continued expansion of EuroChem’s subsidiary, Fertilizantes Tocantins (FTO). EuroChem purchased a majority stake in FTO, a fertilizer blender and distributor, in 2016 (GM July 8, 2016), and has since added the three new blending plants to the six already in FCT’s portfolio.
The new plant will produce up to 6,000 mt/d fertilizer with a storage capacity of 100,000 mt, and create 200 new direct and indirect jobs.
“Brazil is an important growth market for us, and our new plant at Araguari marks the latest stage of our expansion in Latin America” said EuroChem CEO Petter Ostbo. “I’m delighted by the progress we are making here, and we will continue to provide high-quality fertilizers to our growing customer base.”
The Araguari site also has a direct rail connection from the Atlantic seaport of Vitoria, about 520km northeast of Rio de Janeiro, facilitating deliveries to local customers of specialty fertilizers produced by EuroChem in Europe. These include Nitrophoska®, CAN, and NPS.
“The Araguari plant marks our entry into the southeastern region of Brazil, a strategically important part of the country” said FTO CEO José Eduardo Motta. “After the opening of two other major plants within the past year, at Sinop (Matto Grosso) and Catalão (Goias State) (GM June 1; July 20, 2018), our focus is now on the consolidation of these new markets so we can continue to maintain our successful rate of growth.”
FTO said it sold more than 1.8 million mt of fertilizers in 2018, making it one of the biggest fertilizer providers in Brazil. In addition to Araguari, Catalão, and Sinop, FTO’s other six plants are located in Porto Nacional, São Luis, Querência, Rondonópolis, Barcarena, and Anápolis, with a corporate office in Goiânia, employing 600 people. FTO has been expanding upon its already strong presence in the north, northeast, and midwest farming regions of the country.
In addition to it Brazil interests, EuroChem also owns Emerger Fertilizantes SA, a distributor of premium and standard fertilizers in Argentina that it acquired in 2017 (GM Aug. 11, 2017).