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In Practice, The Expansion of The Batista Brothers in The State Combines Port Logistics, Energy Transition, Biotechnology and Mass Consumption Brands, With Investments in Hundreds of Millions of Reais, Relevant Operational Gains and International Presence, Revealing Why Santa Catarina Has Become a Discreet Axis of JBS Strategy in Recent Years.
The Batista Brothers have consolidated in Santa Catarina a business front that goes beyond the traditional image of JBS linked only to animal protein. The movement brings together ports, renewable energy, food innovation, and industrial operation, with numbers that show scale, continuity, and focus on efficiency.
At the center of this strategy, the state serves as a platform for integration between the domestic market and global routes. The Diversification of The Group in The State of Santa Catarina combines infrastructure and technology assets with high-volume operations, creating an arrangement capable of sustaining growth, reducing bottlenecks, and increasing competitiveness.
Port of Itajaí Becomes The Central Piece of The New Logistics Phase
The presence of the Batista Brothers at the Port of Itajaí symbolizes the most visible turn of this reorganization. After nearly two years of stoppage, the terminal resumed container movement and, in the first full year of operations ending in 2025, registered nearly 390,000 TEUs, an 11% increase over 2022, the period before the interruption of activities.
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Since October 2024, when the leased area transitioned to new management, the operation has maintained a high pace and exceeded 430,000 TEUs moved in 15 months, serving a portfolio of three thousand clients. The most relevant data is not just the volume, but the recovery of logistical predictability, a decisive factor for chains that depend on shipping windows, controlled temperature, and service regularity.
The modernization package, worth around R$ 220 million, explains part of this performance. The structure gained two mobile MHC Konecranes Gottwald ESP.9 cranes, with a capacity of 125 tons and a reach for up to 20 rows of containers, in addition to 1,708 outlets for reefers and eight reversible gates to organize entry and exit flows according to daily demand.
In the yard and dock operation, the terminal features 180,000 square meters of area, 1,030 meters of dock, and four berths with 14 meters of depth. This supports ten regular shipping lines and seven weekly calls, connecting Santa Catarina to Asia, Europe, the Americas, the Middle East, and Africa. For regional foreign trade, this network reduces uncertainty and shortens the time between production and shipping.
Clean Energy in Mafra Broadens Industrial Reach
Another axis of the Batista Brothers operations in Santa Catarina is represented by Biopower, touted as Brazil’s largest biodiesel producer from organic waste from beef processing and used cooking oil. The Mafra unit is part of a set of three plants and reinforces the state’s role in the energy transition agenda.
In December 2025, the company announced an investment of R$ 140 million for the modernization of the Mafra, Lins, and Campo Verde plants. The investment, classified as the largest since the construction of the Santa Catarina plant in 2021, aims to increase operational efficiency and quality. This is not just about expanding capacity, but about elevating the technological standard of the process.
Among the projects, enzymatic esterification replaces chemical catalysts with high-efficiency enzymes, expecting productivity gains and greater flexibility in the use of raw materials. Implementation began in 2025 and is set for completion by mid-2026. Today, Biopower reports a capacity exceeding 900 million liters and presence in over 22 states, indicating national scale with an operational base also in Santa Catarina.
Biotechnology in Florianópolis Repositions The Innovation Profile
The expansion of the Batista Brothers also reaches the frontier of applied research. In Florianópolis, at Sapiens Park, the JBS Biotech Innovation Center began construction in 2023 with the aim of being Brazil’s first research, development, and innovation center for cultivated protein.
The project aims to make the production of cultivated protein more efficient, scalable, and economically competitive. This is a movement that shifts part of the discussion from the food industry to the field of science and process engineering, bringing operations closer to the logic of continuous innovation and rapid response to new consumption demands.
By incorporating biotechnology into Santa Catarina’s portfolio, the company combines traditional infrastructure with high-tech assets. This coexistence between port, energy, and R&D helps explain why the state has come to be regarded as a strategic base and not just as an isolated operating point.
Seara and Market Capillarity Sustain The Commercial Spine
In the segment most known to consumers, Seara acts as the scale arm of the Batista Brothers strategy. With over 65 years of history, presence in more than 150 countries, and extensive distribution in Brazilian households, the brand broadens JBS’s reach beyond the natural product.
The portfolio includes poultry, pork, ready meals, frozen foods, cold cuts, processed meats, margarine, pizzas, and plant-based options, as well as lines with specific positioning such as Nature, Da Granja, Organic, and Incredible. The industrial reading here is clear: diversification of category reduces reliance on a single consumption cycle and increases commercial resilience.
Complementary brands such as Seara Gourmet, Primor, Delícia, and Doriana reinforce presence in different price ranges and purchase occasions.
The set, coupled with an operation of over 95,000 employees, shows how Santa Catarina connects to a larger machinery that combines production, logistics, distribution, and brand.
What Changes for Santa Catarina with This Arrangement of The Batista Brothers
The Batista Brothers strategy in the state is not limited to broad business presence. It creates a cascading effect on employment, support services, transport, storage, maintenance, technology, and training of specialized labor.
At the Port of Itajaí, for example, the operation sustains 345 direct employees and mobilizes about 600 TPAs daily, impacting local income and urban dynamics.
At the same time, diversification requires more sophisticated operational governance. Competitive port, renewable energy plant, and biotechnology center demand fine coordination between efficiency, regulatory compliance, and long-term vision. This balance determines whether the current gain becomes a lasting advantage or just a peak of the cycle.
On the strategic plan, Santa Catarina appears as a territory of convergence between physical infrastructure and technological innovation.
This combination strengthens the state’s role on the route of global trade and, at the same time, positions the region in the discussion about the next steps in the food and energy industry in Brazil.
With operations that span logistics, clean energy, research, and mass consumption, the Batista Brothers transformed Santa Catarina into a high-value hub for JBS, with a direct impact on regional competitiveness and the connection of the state to international markets. The main change is in the breadth of presence, not just in the size of each asset.
Given this model, one straightforward question remains: in your view, which front is likely to weigh more in the coming years in Santa Catarina, the Port of Itajaí, Biopower in Mafra, or the biotechnology center in Florianópolis, and why?
Amigo do Trump seu não
Gostaria de saber a evolução dos negócios dos irmãos após Lula 3, 2023. JBS case de sucesso… Voltaram a cena do crime nadando de braçada com o pai Lula. Aumento seu patrimônio em 3 mandatos … olha cumprindo a promessa.
E o papelão nos embutidos, será que ainda acrescentam? Claro que não né, agora são criancinhas..**** como o patrão de quem lambem as bótas.