The first cargo shipment from Fibria Cellulose S.A., the world’s largest producer of bleached eucalyptus wood pulp, has arrived at the Port of Philadelphia.

The Brazil-based company, which is relocating its northeastern United States distribution center to the Tioga Marine Terminal, Philadelphia Regional Port Authority’s northernmost facility located in Philadelphia’s Port Richmond section, plans to bring 18 to 20 ship calls per year and five to six days per week of activity at the terminal. Initial business is projected to amount to 30,000 metric tons per month, resulting in approximately 360,000 tons annually.

The pulp will be used to make a full range of personal hygiene and household products, including paper towels and facial tissue. It will be distributed by truck and rail in a joint venture by Conrail, Norfolk Southern, and CSX. Fibria’s activity will  generate $1.74 million in state and local taxes per year, as well as an estimated $6 million in federal taxes. The relocation creates approximately 230 stevedore (dockworker) and terminal jobs and a total of 380 jobs, including rail workers and truckers.

Urban Engineers assisted the PRPA in coordinating with the Army Corps of Engineers and the Coast Guard regarding the safe transit of the ships transporting the pulp.  Urban also designed site improvements at Tioga to prepare the facility for receiving the first delivery of pulp. Improvements included modifying the on-site rail system, resurfacing the dock area between the pier and the existing warehouse, new concrete floor, lighting upgrades and canopy over the rail loading area,  and numerous upgrades to the 306,000-square-foot warehouse.

Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett, who officially welcomed the cargoes of Fibria Celulose, said, “We in government are proud to be part of the process that brought this great new business to the Port of Philadelphia, but it is all of you who truly deserve the applause, for working together to make this day happen.”