SAO PAULO, Feb 9 (Reuters) - Brazil's 3Tentos is rapidly expanding operations beyond its home state of Rio Grande do Sul in a push to make the agribusiness company bigger and more efficient, founder and CEO Luiz Dumoncel said in an interview.
The 29-year-old company's growth strategy involves opening more storage facilities and input stores to buttress relationships with farmers in Mato Grosso state, allowing it to buy more grain from that top producing region of the country.
"We recently announced a new investment cycle of 2 billion reais ($402 million) that will be completed by 2029," Dumoncel said earlier this week. "We will arrive in 2030 with a new perspective."
In 2023, the company inaugurated a soy crushing unit to produce soymeal, soyoil and biodiesel in Mato Grosso and announced a joint venture to build a river port in the Amazon.
The firm, which listed its shares in 2021, set up a trading desk in Sao Paulo and began building a new corn ethanol facility in its home state recently.
The expansion of 3Tentos is a testament to Brazil's prowess as a large-scale food producer. It also underscores a strategy to operate in more than one region to lower climate and commodity-specific risks.
For example, Rio Grande do Sul's soy supplies were depleted by drought in the last season, but this year's abundant soy offer there should be good for business, Dumoncel said.
"Any cent in a negotiation involving big volumes provides incredible value," he said.
The company deals in soy, wheat and corn and aims to raise total grain purchases by 39% to 3.92 million metric tons annually by the end of 2025.
Most of 3Tentos' soy is processed domestically and up to 65% of the soymeal it produces is exported.
Last year, Argentina's absence from the soymeal market due to a drought helped 3Tentos win more clients, Dumoncel said. He added that growing domestic demand for biodiesel should also give 3Tentos' projects a boost. ($1 = 4.9700 reais) (Reporting by Ana Mano; Editing by Paul Simao)
