Interview with
Mr. Philipe Costa de Lima
General Manager
First of all Philipe, can you tell our readers a little about the history of PBL? Who are you, who are the owners, and what is your main line of business nowadays?
PBL is a family business in which I represent the second generation alongside my sister. The company was founded by my father. It began in 1987, when several clients encouraged him to start his own firm so he could continue serving them.
To keep the story brief: my father had been a manager at another company and was entitled to profit-sharing under his employment contract, but the owner never paid. My father decided to leave. In the week he resigned, a very important client had an urgent problem that my father spent three days resolving. Afterward he informed the clients that he would no longer be part of the company and that they could deal directly with the owner, but they insisted on continuing to work with him and contributed funds to establish PBL. In a sense, PBL was founded by its clients, who financed the company’s launch for my father; he later repaid each of them. The company’s partners are my father, my mother and me.
Today PBL handles customs, freight forwarding, storage, road transport, insurance, and money exchange. We also provide trading company services and outsourcing services. PBL has a sister company SCH, which is a port operator for project cargo, BULK/BREAK BULK.
Does the name PBL have a special meaning?
Yes. It is my father’s name: Pericles Bastos De Lima
Brazil has many deep sea ports. Many of our readers may not be so familiar with Brazilian ports. Perhaps you can elaborate a bit and mention the main ports that you would say are being used for project cargo and shipping in your country?
In Brazil, it depends on the type of cargo rather than whether it’s a project shipment. Most of our vehicles are in São Paulo and ship through the Port of Santos, where our sister company, SCH (Safe Car Handling), handles 45% of vehicle exports. Most of our fertilizer is located in Paraná and ships from the Port of Paranaguá. We also handle wood in Paraná, paper in Santos, tobacco in Rio Grande do Sul, and other raw materials through various northern ports. Brazil’s North and Northeast regions are developing rapidly and could soon become major logistics hubs.
We always used to hear that customs clearance is a hassle in Brazil. Is that still true? And what kind of good advice could you give to potential customers or freight forwarders having business to or from Brazil?
We have 40 years’ experience in customs. My father’s broker license number is 108 (one of the earliest to become licensed). Today, we manage thousands of clearances. We hear concerns about customs all the time, and my answer is always the same: if you do it correctly, you can dispute issues with the customs agent when necessary, but if you try to be clever or cut corners in Brazil, you will most likely get into trouble.
As a demonstration of how PBL works, we act as an extension of the customer. We try to answer every possible question before cargo is shipped to or from Brazil so the process runs smoothly on arrival. We verify cargo values, descriptions, intended use, origin, and many other details. Another important tip is to check the legislation daily for every shipment even for the same type of cargo because regulations here change rapidly.
Nowadays, some of the shipping lines are telling the world that they ALSO can do freight forwarding. How is the situation in Brazil?
They are already doing this. Many offer freight services directly to our customers, and some have contacted us to act as their third‑party customs agent. Regarding freight alone, carriers here now have logistics offices and offer integrated solutions — freight, customs, road transport and storage — because they now own the terminals and warehouses. So, it is much easier for them to approach customers.
Could you provide our readers with a few examples of significant or interesting shipments that you have handled in PBL?
Sure. We handle some of Brazil’s most exclusive cars, shipped for private and corporate clients. We also transported large plant equipment destined for a major Mexican facility, and we ship helicopter spare parts to rescue choppers operating in the Himalayas.
How do you view the year of 2026 if you look into your crystal ball? I heard you’ve got an election in Brazil next year as well….?
No political comments from my side, my dear! We hope the best for the country and the people. Let’s see…
How would it be best for our readers to get in touch with you?
philipe@pblcomex.com.br
+55 13 99771 2090 (WhatsApp, WeChat, Telegram, Signal)