Braskem, leader in the petrochemical sector in Latin America, decided to amplify the raw material storage capacity of its Basic Products Unit in Camaçari-BA from 160 thousand m3 to 220 thousand m3. The decision considers investments of R$ 40 million and will provide Braskem with more flexibility in the management of supplies related to NAFTA and condensate, with important gains in competitiveness. The work, which will be started in 2006, should be concluded till the end of 2007.

"The initiative is aligned with the growth strategy of Braskem and with its permanent objectives of competitiveness and flexibility strategy", observes the president of the company, José Carlos Grubisich. This action will have a positive impact from the logistic perspective, once the company imports 30% and 40% of the NAFTA it consumes. Furthermore, with this new investment, Braskem will be allowed to develop the technical capacity for receiving big ships (nowadays, with a 75 thousand tons capacity), reducing the number of trips and the fleet costs.

Braskem will have, with this bigger storage potential, a better raw materials segregation, considering the type and origin of the product, what will offer a higher performance to the plant and better conditions for negotiating the fleet due to the volume and storage capacity. Two new 30 thousand m3 tanks will be built, besides a new tube system that will grant more flexibility in the tanks operation, supplying all the industrial units.

The potential gains that Braskem will get with this project will be higher than R$ 16 million/year in recurrent basis. Edison Terra, director of Basic Products Supply Chain, explains that the new tanks will allow more flexibility for choosing the raw materials mix in order to reach a final products mix with higher added value. Furthermore, the investment will reduce the necessity of emergency purchases and the risk of operational discontinuity.

The investment in the storage capacity amplification is part of several actions that Braskem has been implementing to improve its logistic and supplies management, among them the amplification of the access canal to the raw materials terminal in the Aratu harbor to allow the presence of bigger ships.

The company also studies the possibility of a new and bigger pier construction in this harbor, complementing the above mentioned actions.