T6 is impressive multi-business hub

In Argentina, many of the important agribusinesses are located close to the Parana River. The river is the main channel for exports and also imports of raw materials.

One such business is the 220 hectar T6 company site. It employs 750 people and operates seven days a week, 24 hours a day. The company focuses on the whole value chain for soy and other grains from unloading raw materials, to storage and processing, to crushing to produce vegetable oil and biodiesal and glycerine, which is used for cosmetics. Then the material is loaded and shipped from the same site.

The plant unloads and loads 2,600 trucks (semis) a day. They also unload 550 rail cars a day and up to 8 barges. The plant also has agreements with other plants within a 30 km radius that can process on their behalf.

This is no small operation – 7 plants in one operation. The high level of competitiveness of this operation is attributed to: technology, full integration of the operations – all the plants are interconnected on the same site, and the biggest Oleochemical complex in the world.

At this place, soy produces food and energy, not food versus energy.

Process:  Dry beans are heated, crushed then rolled and flaked like corn flakes. The flexed are washed with a chemical to take out the oil. Then the chemical is taken out and recovered. The product moves through a screening and drying system to get out the soy meal. The left over hulls are produced into pellets to feed livestock. With the hulls removed, protein levels in the soy meal increase. Then there is the production of biodiesel and glycerine.

And there’s another benefit. Having the facilities centralized is creating interest from other companies to locate on or near the site.

For me, there is a definite parallel to how we consider building ag business hubs in the future. 

In Regina, there is the start of a hub, to the West of the city. There is a huge grocery distribution centre.  However, on the east side of the city, we also have a large lentil producer. 

I wonder….in the future, will we pay more attention to locating like businesses together?

I suspect there are advantages. Maybe we create the Bay Street or Wall Street of ag? I wonder what it would take to have all the right players at the table?