Pusan terminal is world’s first to implement disruptive BOXBAY high-bay storage system

(Virtual Showroom): DP World has announced the first commercial use of the revolutionary BOXBAY high-bay storage system at its terminal in Busan, South Korea.

A respective contract was signed on March 8 between Pusan Newport Corporation (PNC) and BOXBAY FZCO, initiating the design and engineering works for the site. 

The signing took place in Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, and was signed by Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World and Burkhard Dahmen, Chairman and CEO of SMS group, the two partners behind BOXBAY. 

Burkhard Dahmen, CEO of SMS group: “The BOXBAY system combines economic advantages with environmental targets and is set to be a real game changer for the ports of the future. We are very proud that our joint venture has now received its first commercial order from an industry customer. SMS group’s mission for over 150 years has always been to apply our experience and innovational spirit to the metals industry. With BOXBAY, we are able to highlight the fact that, with our extensive engineering and project expertise, we are also able to set standards outside our core business.”

PNC already operates one of the highest performing container terminals in Asia. The addition of BOXBAY’s technology will allow PNC to boost its efficiency even further. The BOXBAY high-bay storage technology will be seamlessly integrated along with the existingmode of ARMG/truck operations as a retrofit on an existing empty storage area. 

The system allows direct access to each container at any time, eliminating 350,000 unproductive moves per year. This will improve the overall truck servicing time by 20 percent, further improving PNC’s service delivery to its customers. BOXBAY is fully automated with additional safety features built in. DP World also intend to power it by using solar energy, generated by photovoltaic panels on the roof of the storage system.

Martin Aufschläger, VP Port Logistics at SMS group: “This first commercial order for the BOXBAY high-bay storage system is a big milestone for us and a clear signal for the ports industry. We are positive that this will mark the starting point for BOXBAY to revolutionize container storage. For ports all over the world, this innovative and disruptive technology will not only increase their efficiency, it will also allow them to take a further step towards sustainability, as power regeneration solutions and solar panels on the roof can help reduce their carbon footprint to a minimum.”

SMS group originally developed the high-bay storage system to handle metal coils weighing up to 40 tons. Stored in shelving systems up to 50 meters high, these coils can be automatically moved in and out 24 hours a day. Now for the first time, this logisticstechnology will be transferred to a major port. 

DP World and SMS built a BOXBAY pilot facility at Jebel Ali’s Terminal-4 in January 2021. To date, more than 190,000 container movements had been carried out under realistic operating conditions to verify the market maturity of the system. 

BOXBAY is more efficient compared to conventional storage systems, where containers often have to be-reshuffled several times. Thanks to full automation and digitalization, quayside productivity can be increased by up to 20 percent – a major economic advantage for the very cost-intensive container-shipping sector. SMS group was recently presented with the German Award for Supply Chain Management 2022 for the BOXBAY container storage system.