Ethanol & Sugar

Triple boost

ETH Bioenergy opens units in the states of Goiás, Mato Grosso do Sul and São Paulo, positioning itself among Brazil’s top 5 ethanol producers

written by: Guilherme Oliveira
photos by: Ségio Alberti

Caçú, Goiás, August 27. Five hundred people have gathered to witness the official opening of ETH Bioenergy’s Rio Claro Unit. A tent has been set up next to the factory for local families, suppliers, clients, the press and officials such as Governor Alcides Rodrigues and the mayors of Cachoeira Alta, and Caçú, respectively Eline Fleury and André Vieira. Two more celebrations were held to launch the operations of the Santa Luzia Unit in Nova Alvorada do Sul, Mato Grosso do Sul (October 14), and Conquista do Pontal, in Mirante do Paranapanema, São Paulo (November 16). These three greenfield units were built in record time – just 13 months – ranking ETH among Brazil’s top five ethanol producers after just two years of operations, and reaffirming the company’s commitment to its local communities.

This is the first time a bioenergy company has inaugurated three plants during the same harvest season. Aílton Reis, the ETH officer Responsible for Investments, Engineering and Technology, observes that the construction projects alone involved 3,000 people. “It was very hard to find suppliers that could keep pace with the intense pace of this program. The bar was very high and these teams had to overcome major obstacles to ensure our success,” he adds.

These new units were built with the most advanced technologies available on the market. “We have combined the best equipment with low-cost maintenance. The result is three model factories,” says Aílton Reis, who is clearly proud of this achievement. He points out that high-pressure boilers and mills designed exclusively for these projects are some of the factors that set these greenfield plants apart. They went online with fully mechanized planting and harvesting of their own crops.

Rio Claro, Santa Luzia and Conquista do Pontal have joined forces with ETH’s existing Alcídia and Eldorado units. Thanks to these five factories, the company’s installed milling capacity has soared from 3 million to 13.2 million tonnes of sugarcane per harvest. ETH aims to produce 780 million liters of ethanol during the next harvest in 2010-2011.

Each of these new units directly creates 1,500 work opportunities in its sphere of influence while providing professional job skills and giving a boost to the local economy. Raquel Mezavilla, a recepcionist at the Carandá Hotel in Nova Alvorada do Sul, says that the towns in the vicinity of the plants have had to keep pace with the construction projects. “When ETH arrived it brought new blood to this town. We’ve had to hire 25% more staff and add 25% more rooms, and even so, the hotel is always full. These towns are growing along with the company.”

In 2009, ETH provided professional education to 1,170 people, including classes for Industrial and Farm Machine Operators. According to Raquel, classes like these are very welcome. “The region is well aware of the company’s size and commitment to the local communities. I clearly remember when ground was broken, when the tests started and the plant began operations. We residents of this town are part of ETH’s history."