Can you give us a brief history of Logistica Milo and the company’s main activities today?

Logística Milo is a fourth-generation family-owned transportation company founded in 1905. We have been implementing an expansion plan to offer merchandise storage, ground, air, and ocean transport. We use our resources, vehicles, high-tech equipment, and storage cargo and manage the entire customs process, including national and international shipments paperwork. We provide competitive freight options so that Logística Milo can manage the whole logistics value chain. Additionally, we run our customs warehouse and customs clearance, where we carry out the dispatch and splitting of shipments. We acquired a former chemical plant to offer a cleaning depot for iso tanks and drums about one year ago. Currently, Logística Milo owns 80,000 square meters of premises, three container machines, various forklifts, and over 70 freight fleet units that perform more than 150 service operations for industries including petrochemicals, chemicals, tobacco, among others.

What is the importance of the chemical and petrochemical industries to Logistica Milo?

We are direct and indirect service providers for companies such as BASF, Petroquímica Río Tercero, Shell, Axion and Stolt Nielsen, among others. There are significant quantities of raw materials in Argentina. Suppose we can generate added value by offering new products. In that case, there will be a need for more logistics services as there will be greater demand for domestic and international transport, warehousing, shipment splitting, and paperwork support.

Which Logistica Milo’s services have been driving business development?

For about a year now, Logística Milo has been providing iso tank laundry service, strengthening our participation in the export supply chain. We can coordinate freight from the country of origin to Argentina and manage the clearance of goods, either at the Port or our customs warehouse. We bring empty and dirty tanks to our Cleaning Depot, and after washing, we use them for direct export, load low margin products with high logistic costs, or make them available to our customers.

How can Logística Milo’s solutions help mitigate current logistics challenges?

We have added further ground transport services, customs clearance, and additional warehousing to deal with current logistics bottlenecks. In terms of booking maritime spaces, thorough planning and direct relationship with the Tank Container Operator are essential. There has been an international increase in the demand for ships, tanks, and iso tanks. Consequently, Asian import prices have skyrocketed, so we have been looking to source raw materials from neighboring countries. Furthermore, Argentina has experienced ongoing inflation, so we have had to adapt payment terms to reduce risks. Despite these challenges, Logística Milo has guaranteed exceptional customer service, and 2021 has been a good year.

What do you think the Argentinian government could do to improve the business climate in the country?

The government could assist adequately by providing companies with loans to update their facilities and equipment, build more infrastructure plus invest heavily in research and development. A great solution would be to integrate truck and railway transportation to optimize costs as regards logistics. Therefore, one company can be in charge of loading the merchandise at the production plant, taking it to the railway logistics center, and then to the port and vice versa.

What is Logistica Milo’s vision for the coming years?

Our vision is to increase participation in the import and export supply chain from the beginning until the end of the service to improve the cost per ton transported. Logística Milo always uses its resources to keep costs down, simplify its operations, and invest in automation and digitalization to increase visibility throughout the logistics process. Argentina has an outstanding technical capacity, a skilled labor force, and is rich in natural resources. By developing these resources and their derivatives, the country has an excellent opportunity to improve its economy. Multinational corporations’ participation in public tenders to help run projects, such as Vaca Muerta, is a way to boost the country’s economy, and Logítica Milo can serve these clients every step of the way.