Monsanto starts PlantWeb operations in a $550 million plant in Bahia

On January 13, 2001 Monsanto inaugurated a new plant in the state of Bahia, Brazil that will produce glyphosate, the raw material for the herbicide Roundup.  The plant represents the second largest investment in the state in the last 15 years.  During the first phase of the project, $350 million was invested of a total of $550 million.

The plant that was inaugurated by the country’s Vice-President, Marcos Maciel, by the governor Cesar Borges and by the ex-senator Antonio Carlos Magalhaes, will create 350 jobs, according to Monsanto.

Monsanto chose the PlantWeb architecture, for a total of 8,000 control points, to automate this important plant due to its system stability, loop tuning synchronization tools, inspection software and the reduced process variability that AMS - Asset Management Software provide.

According to Monsanto executives, with this plant in operation, the company will no longer import $150 million a year from the United States and will export the same amount to Argentina.  This plant in Camaçari is the first one in South America to produce the raw material of Roundup.

PlantWeb is the automation architecture from Emerson Process Management that is revolutionizing industrial process control concepts and providing users with a higher economic return than conventional systems.  Today (December 2001), there are more than 2,110 PlantWeb projects in operations around the world and 55 already operating in Brazil.

About Emerson Process Management

Emerson Process Management, an Emerson business, is a leader in helping businesses automate their production, processing and distribution components in the chemical, oil and gas, pulp and paper, power, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, semiconductor, and other industries. The company combines superior products and technology with industry-specific engineering, consulting, and project management and maintenance services. Its brands include AMS, PlantWeb; DeltaV™; Fisher; Rosemount; Daniel; Intellution; Micro Motion; Performance Solutions; Westinghouse Process Control; MDC; and CSI.

About Emerson

St. Louis-based Emerson is a global leader in bringing technology and engineering together to provide innovative solutions to customers in process control; electronics and telecommunications; industrial automation; heating, ventilating and air conditioning; and appliances and tools. Sales in fiscal 2001 were $15.5 billion.

PlantWeb, FIELDVUE, and DeltaV are marks of one of the Emerson Process Management family of companies. Other marks are the property of their respective owners.