UISA, one of the largest biofuels producers in Brazil, is making investments in artificial intelligence technology, internet of things (IoT), new management software and private networks to improve production efficiency and lower operating costs in agribusiness and other optimizations in its service portfolio. The company, formerly called Usinas Itamarati, still maintains a high debt, inherited from its former owners.
In February, UISA completed a project with US storage solutions provider Pure Storage, which deployed FlashStack converged infrastructure, jointly developed by Pure and Cisco, and engaged Pure's Evergreen Storage subscription model for its operations.
More News About Investments and Agribusiness in Brazil
- Oleoplan Group plant in Iraquara (BA) receives ANP authorization to expand its production capacity
- Influenced by the recovery of the economy, the rise in the dollar, strong demand from China and other factors, Agribusiness will continue to grow in 2021
- Odebrecht loses control of Atvos, one of the largest ethanol producers in Brazil, in court
- Agribusiness drives the economy and generates thousands of jobs
By bringing storage equipment “inside”, the biofuels producer reduced costs related to hosting contracts. This transformation resulted in annual savings of around 1,5 million reais ($296.000), according to Pure Storage.
Values of the contract with the American company, however, were not disclosed.
The use of converged infrastructure should also serve as a basis for UISA's projects in the sustainable segment, including irrigation and clean energy for municipal networks.
“Our objective is to change the way agribusiness is done in Brazil through technology, innovation and people”, said CTO Rodrigo Gonçalves in a note.
Using intelligent algorithms to process the vast amount of field data, UISA can also increase efficiency and optimize harvest productivity, which in the case of sugarcane grew by 30% to 25.660 t/d.
INVESTMENTS IN ERP AND COLLABORATION
On another front, UISA migrated its SAP management system to the S/4 Hana platform. Previously, the group used the less powerful ECC version.
UISA has also adopted Google's G Suite to organize all internal and external communication, from emails to meetings. Implementation includes data leakage protection.
Both projects were coordinated by the French IT consultancy Atos.
“The partnership between Atos and UISA opens up a range of opportunities for the development of solutions and projects. In the near future, companies do not rule out expanding their digital transformation actions,” Atos said in a statement this month.
TECHNOLOGY OF PRIVATE NETWORKS
To ensure that technology, especially sensors and field applications, run smoothly, UISA contracted Telefônica Brasil to deploy a private 4G network on 88.000ha of Fazenda Guanabara.
The contract includes enabling narrowband IoT (NB-IoT) and long-term machine evolution technologies (LTE-M) to support IoT applications.
The telecom operator will also be responsible for the physical infrastructure associated with the IoT project, including the construction of towers, electronic equipment for the provision of mobile services and 300 IoT devices.
Restructuring and repositioning in the biofuels business
These investments in technology occur in the context of the restructuring of the biofuel producer, which came to be controlled by the private equity fund CVCIB Holdings in 2019 and changed its name to UISA.
UISA recently released pro forma net income for the first six months of the 2020/21 crop year of BRL 203 million, three times more than the previous crop year, while consolidated debt stood at BRL 3,4 billion.
Net revenue in the second quarter was 246 million reais, an increase of 3,9%. But first-half net income was down 6,7% year-over-year to R$420 million.
UISA operates an area of 90.000ha, of which 34.200ha are sugarcane plantations. Its digital transformation started about a year and a half ago.
