5 May 2014.  The company´s third Uruguayan-built barge was officially christened as "Playa de Las Cañas" today at noon.  With this barge, the company completed its four-vessel fleet, which will transport roundwood to supply its Punta Pereira pulp mill in the Department of Colonia.

The three domestically manufactured barges were built by the Galictio-Tiferey consortium of Uruguay and Spain, of which 80% are local employees.  

Montes del Plata`s investment in Uruguay for the construction of three barges exceeded USD 13 million and is considered a major boost for the Uruguayan shipbuilding cluster`s development.

Montes del Plata General Manager Luis María Rodríguez underscored the importance of technological transfer enabled by the construction of the barges: "A sign of this is the fact that out of a total of 75 persons working on the construction of this barge, 65 were Uruguayan.  This entails knowledge and skill acquisition that as Uruguayans we can use and continue to develop for other projects, both inside the country as well as abroad."

Moreover, Industry, Energy and Mining Minister Roberto Kreimerman noted the christening as milestone in the path toward a "growing industrialization of Uruguay," where "the only way to provide stability to a country´s productive structure is through qualified work and by incorporating knowledge."

Transfluvial President Gonzalo Tapia added, "this new milestone once again shows that our company remains committed to sustainable development and to serving the country´s  foreign trade. This is done by investing, taking risks and constantly thinking of the future of Uruguay and the possibility of increasing the number and quality of jobs. Likewise, we strive to wholly satisfy the needs of our clients by focusing on logistics efficiency and a harmonious coexistence with the surroundings."

Once they are in the water, the barges will be managed by Transfluvial, a consortium made up of Schandy, Ultratug and E.T.E., which will operate the river transportation system composed of four barges and two tugboats.

Montes del Plata designed the logistics system that transports 4 million tonnes of wood per year to its mill. The system consists of bi-modal transportation where 50% of the wood is transported via river and the rest is transported over land.

This operation entails a qualitative leap in the use of river transportation and provides multiple benefits in terms of roadway infrastructure conservation, safety and reduced greenhouse gas emissions as compared to land based transportation.

The barges are 90 meters long and have a 5,000 tonne capacity, the equivalent of 170 truckloads.

The barges will be loaded at the M´Bopicuá Logistics Terminal in the department of Río Negro and will continuously transport roundwood to the Punta Pereira site all year long.

About Transfluvial

Transfluvial came about the association of Schandy, E.T.E. of Portugal and Ultratug of Chile. The company won the bid to render river transportation services for Montes del Plata`s new pulp mill in the department of Colonia. Following the registration of this barge and two tugboats, Transfluvial has become one of the country´s largest shipbuilders in terms of transport capacity. 35 Uruguayan crewmembers will be employed by the river transportation system. The project is one of the largest maritime investments in recent Uruguayan history.