Elevator Ewa
Located in Szczecin, by the Odra river, the elevator Ewa handles one third of reloading of soybean meal in Poland. In the upcoming year, next to the elevator there will be another warehouse of 40 000 tonnes capacity erected.
The elevator Ewa, one of the most distinctive buildings in the port of Szczecin is capable of storing approximately 50 000 tonnes of cereals and soybean meal. Thanks to its 158 chambers it can carry out mixing of the loads of different types and reloading at the same time. The elevator Ewa uses high technology reloading appliances, it is equipped with scales of emerging technology as well as a unique fumigation system of high efficiency. Moreover, the elevator has its own customs treaty.
In the elevator there are reloaded mainly wheat, rye, barley, and rape, and they are exported mainly to the customers in Africa and Asia. Also, much of soybean meal shipped to Poland from the oil mill in Argentina is reloaded in the elevator. It is ordered by merchant houses – among others Cargill, Toepfer, and Louis Dreyfus Commodities. As a result, the elevator Ewa covers one third of the soybean meal market in Poland. The rest of reloading takes place in Gdańsk and Gdynia.
"Our reloading capacity is almost 1 000 000 tonnes per year. We concentrate on cereals in export and on soybean meal in import. We encourage polish as well as foreign companies to cooperate with us" – said Danuta Niedźwiecka, vice president of the exploitation board of "Elewator Ewa" company.
The elevator is growing
The management board of "Elewator Ewa" company is currently carrying out a new investment project which is supposed to considerably enhance the reloading capacity of the Company. At the moment there is a new warehouse being constructed beside the elevator. By the end of 2009 all its walls will have been built, and in June 2010 the opening will take place. The building covered with a distinctive roof will be divided into three chambers, and the whole will have the capacity of 40 000 tonnes. It will be fit up with a high technology crane enabling very fast reloading.
"In Polish ports there is a lack of storage areas at the moment. In Hamburg, there is a total of 500 000-600 000 tonnes of storage areas for cereals. In all the ports in Poland, we have 250 000-280 000 tonnes, even though we are the third cereals producer in Europe!" – points out Danuta Niedźwiecka.
The opening of the warehouse will enable the Company to open cooperation with new customers. "We count on our owner, an international company Glencore to start rendering services for German cereal market as the production there is repetitive, which results in annual export surplus. The cereals is shipped from there through Rostock and Hamburg" – said Danuta Niedźwiecka, explaining that the Company will aim at agriculture. "Our elevator is especially well designed to handle export".
The Company is planning to deepen the water lane in the port of Szczecin within the next few years so that the largest vessels filled to capacity with soybean meal will be able to harbour to the port. Today, they have to be partially unloaded , for example in Świnoujście or Rostock. With the water lane deepened we could be more competitive against the German ports, making the ports in Szczecin and Świnoujście more profitable – explains vice president of "Elewator Ewa".
74 years of reloading
The most popular elevator in Szczecin was constructed in 1935. After 1945 it became the port department and the largest elevator in Poland at the same time. In 1991 Ewa was converted into an employee-owned company, and in 1994 part of its shares was purchased by companies trading in cereal. In 2005 the international company Glencore trading in fuels, mineral resources, coloured metals, and cereal came into possession of the majority of the shares. Glencore has its cereal terminals in Poland, Hungary and Ukraine.
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