Ultracargo is Brazil's largest bulk liquids storage company, primarily operating in the storage of
chemicals
A chemical substance is a form of matter having constant chemical composition and characteristic properties. Some references add that chemical substance cannot be separated into its constituent elements by physical separation methods, i.e., wit ...
,
petrochemicals,
biofuel, and
vegetable oil
Vegetable oils, or vegetable fats, are oils extracted from seeds or from other parts of fruits. Like animal fats, vegetable fats are ''mixtures'' of triglycerides. Soybean oil, grape seed oil, and cocoa butter are examples of seed oils, or f ...
. Ultracargo operates under the
Ultra
adopted by British military intelligence in June 1941 for wartime signals intelligence obtained by breaking high-level encrypted enemy radio and teleprinter communications at the Government Code and Cypher School (GC&CS) at Bletchley Park. ' ...
group along with
Ipiranga,
Ultragaz
Ultragaz is a Brazilian liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) distribution company. It originated as part of the company Empresa Brasileira de Gás a Domicílio, created by Ernesto Igel, founder of Ultra Group.
Ultragaz is the largest LPG distributor in ...
,
Oxiteno
Oxiteno is a Brazilian multinational manufacturer of surfactants and chemicals. The company develops and supplies raw materials to industries in over 30 sectors including cosmetics, personal care, household cleaning and industrial, agrochemicals, ...
and
Extrafarma.
Ultracargo is the only operator in its sector with a presence in all major ports of Brazil. It has facilities in the
Port of Santos
The Port of Santos (in Portuguese: ''Porto de Santos'') is located in the city of Santos, state of São Paulo, Brazil. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. In 2016, it was considered the 39th largest port in the world ...
,
Port of Rio de Janeiro
The Port of Rio de Janeiro ( pt, Porto do Rio de Janeiro) is a seaport in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil located in a cove on the west shore of Guanabara Bay. It is the third-busiest port in Brazil, and it is managed by Companhia Docas do Ri ...
, Port of
Paranaguá
Paranaguá (''Great Round Sea'', in Tupi) is a city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. Founded in 1648, it is Paraná's oldest city. It is known for the Port of Paranaguá, which serves as both the sea link for Curitiba, to the west and the ca ...
; Port of
Aratu in
Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...
;
Port of Itaqui in
Maranhão
Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...
and
Suape Port in
Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...
. Additionally, they have terminals in
Paulínia
Paulínia is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the São Paulo Macrometropolis. The population is 112,003 (2020 est.) in an area of 138.78 km². The elevation is 590 m. It is known for hosting the Replan, ...
,
São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
.
History
The company began in 1966 as Transultra, which operated in both road transport and chemical storage. In 1978, Tequimar Chemical Terminal was founded in the Port of Aratu. When Transultra and Tequimar eventually merged into one logistics operation, it was rebranded as Ultracargo.
In 1986, Ultracargo began the construction of a 45,000 m² storage unit at the Suape Terminal in Pernambuco. It is their second oldest unit. Their terminal in Paulinia began operations in 1999. In July 2005, Ultracargo opened their second
intermodal terminal in the Port of Santos. It integrates road, rail and sea transport. By then, it had a storage capacity of 33,500 m³ for chemical, 40,000 m³ for alcohol, and 38,000 m³ for vegetable oils.
In 2008,
Ultrapar
Ultra is a Brazilian company operating in the sectors of fuel distribution, through Ipiranga and Ultragaz; in the production of specialty chemicals, through Oxiteno; in the storage of liquid bulk, through Ultracargo; and in pharmacies, through ...
(through Ultracargo) announced the purchase of company União Terminais, which was previously owned by
Unipar Carbocloro. The acquisition of União Terminais doubled the size of Ultracargo, making it the largest storage company for liquid bulk in Brazil and enhancing its range of operations. With this acquisition, Ultracargo increased its presence in the Port of Santos, the main port in Brazil, and positioned them strategically in the ports of Rio de Janeiro and Paranaguá.
In December 2009, Ultra (through Ultracargo) acquired a terminal with an 83,000 m³ capacity for storage in the port of Suape, Pernambuco. In September 2011, the company increased the Suape terminal’s storage capacity by 26,000 m³.
In March 2010, Ultra sold Ultracargo's operations in in-house logistics, solid bulk storage, and road transportation. This allowed Ultracargo to focus exclusively on bulk liquid storage. The same year, the company initiated plans to increase the storage capacity in all of its facilities. To date, Ultracargo has completed expansions in the ports of Santos and Aratu.
In July 2012, Ultracargo acquired Noble Group Limited's port terminal in Itaqui, increasing its capacity by 55,000 m³. The acquisition was also notable due to the strategic position of the port, which has access to railways that supply fuel to the states of
Maranhão
Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...
,
Piauí and
Tocantins
Tocantins () is one of the 26 states of Brazil. It is the newest state, formed in 1988 and encompassing what had formerly been the northern two-fifths of the state of Goiás. Tocantins covers and had an estimated population of 1,496,880 in 20 ...
. Fuel consumption in these states is higher than the national average and the acquisition marked the entry of Ultracargo in this market.
In April 2015, a fire hit six tanks containing fuel at the end of the Ultracargo terminal in the Port of Santos. It took eight days to put out the fire, but there were no casualties.
[
]
Regions and Ports
* Port of Santos
The Port of Santos (in Portuguese: ''Porto de Santos'') is located in the city of Santos, state of São Paulo, Brazil. As of 2006, it is the busiest container port in Latin America. In 2016, it was considered the 39th largest port in the world ...
, São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
* Port of Suape, Pernambuco
Pernambuco () is a States of Brazil, state of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it List of Brazilian states by population, sev ...
* Port of Rio de Janeiro
The Port of Rio de Janeiro ( pt, Porto do Rio de Janeiro) is a seaport in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil located in a cove on the west shore of Guanabara Bay. It is the third-busiest port in Brazil, and it is managed by Companhia Docas do Ri ...
, Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a ...
* Port of Paraná, Paranaguá
Paranaguá (''Great Round Sea'', in Tupi) is a city in the state of Paraná in Brazil. Founded in 1648, it is Paraná's oldest city. It is known for the Port of Paranaguá, which serves as both the sea link for Curitiba, to the west and the ca ...
* Port of Itaqui, Maranhão
Maranhão () is a state in Brazil. Located in the country's Northeast Region, it has a population of about 7 million and an area of . Clockwise from north, it borders on the Atlantic Ocean for 2,243 km and the states of Piauí, Tocantins and ...
* Port of Aratu, Bahia
Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro) and the 5th-largest b ...
* Paulínia
Paulínia is a municipality in the state of São Paulo in Brazil. It is part of the São Paulo Macrometropolis. The population is 112,003 (2020 est.) in an area of 138.78 km². The elevation is 590 m. It is known for hosting the Replan, ...
, São Paulo
São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the Ga ...
(Net Terminal)
References
External links
{{Portal, Brazil, Energy
The company's home page
Ultrapar
Brazilian brands
Companies based in São Paulo
Oil and gas companies of Brazil
1966 establishments in Brazil