Increased foreign trade in Brazil and federal government investments under the growth acceleration plan PAC, especially in infrastructure, are helping local companies to grow.

BDP International, a US-based global logistics and transportation company is one example. To learn how the company plans to more than double its revenues in Brazil, BNamericas interviewed BDP's general manager in Brazil, José Roberto Croce.

BNamericas: This year the company plans to more than double the revenues registered in 2007. How do you plan to do that?

Croce: The BDP joint venture finished in December 2005. In February 2006, BDP acquired all outstanding shares of the joint venture BDP South America from Grupo Mesquita. So since then, the company has been investing more in the area of customs clearance for exports and attracting more clients to our portfolio. BDP provides a range of services, including export freight forwarding and import customs brokerage. The expectation of doubling revenues is counting on the new contracts we have already signed in 2007.

We just signed a five-year contract with the chemical company Dow Química for transport logistics management and customs clearance for exports. The services will be offered to the company in Brazil and Argentina.

Also, we have benefitted by the increase in foreign trade in the country. The sector has doubled its size in the last three years.

BNamericas: Do you think the PAC program will really make a difference? Will port investments boost foreign trade, for example?

Croce: Yes. With the PAC investments the government will make the whole logistics process clearer and more efficient. However, we still have some important bottlenecks for which we need to find a solution. This is what we are going to focus on in 2008. Companies are starting to realize how important good logistics management is for saving time and money.

The PAC investments at Santos and Itajaí ports, for example, will permit these ports to receive larger ships which is good for foreign trade but can cause problems for the highways and railways if it is not well planned. That is why logistics management is so important.

BNamericas: Speaking of foreign trade, what is your opinion on federal government measures to stop the fall of the US dollar?

Croce: In my opinion the measures adopted by the government were not enough to stop the fall. The dollar will keep decreasing against the real during the year.

BNamericas: Will this be a problem for exports?

Croce: It will be, but imports will compensate for it. Besides, Brazil is also changing its exportation focus, which is not totally centered on the US as before. We have been selling a lot to Europe as well.

BNamericas: As an international company, how much does Brazil represent in your total revenues?

Croce: Brazil currently represents 80% of the company's total revenues in South America. However, we are going to change that soon. Not because we are not investing in Brazil, but because we are planning to grow much more in other South American markets, such as Argentina, for example.

BNamericas: Any investment plans for 2008?

Croce: For 2008 the company is planning to open new offices and hire new people, at least 20 more people.

Currently BDP has around 850 clients in Brazil. Among the clients are companies like Exxon Mobil and Akzo Nobel.

We are a new company in the market so we believe there is lots of space to grow fast. There are many global clients that do not work with us yet.

BNamericas: Where do you do most of your business?

Croce: We have a strong presence at Santos port, where the majority of BDP operations are. Santos port is our operational center, our hub port.

ABOUT THE COMPANY:  BDP International is based in the US. It operates a network of subsidiaries, joint ventures and strategic partnerships in 120 countries.

BDP provides services such as ocean, air and ground transportation; lead logistics process analysis, design and management; export freight forwarding; import customs brokerage and regulatory compliance; project and energy logistics; warehousing/consolidation/distribution; and internet shipping transaction/tracking management systems.

Based in São Paulo, the Brazilian unit of BDP also has offices in Belem, Belo Horizonte, Campinas, Curitiba, Itajaí, Manaus, Paranagua, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro, Rio Grande, Salvador, Santos, Sao Francisco do Sul and Vitoria.

By: Crislaine Coscarelli