Page 94 - STRATEGY Magazine

PROFILE: HUTCHISON PORTS ICAVE
TRADING UP FOR A NEW TERMINAL
In mid-2018, ICAVE will open up its new specialized container terminal in the Atlantic port of Veracruz—and its customers will reap the benefits.
“We are focused on
our customers’ needs
and committed to their satisfaction. These new facilities in the port of Veracruz will further strengthen our intention of making them feel welcome and more comfortable in a bigger infrastructure that is logistically efficient. We are looking forward to giving the best attention. Our aim is to offer the best customer experience.” —Susana Díaz, General Manager
FACTS
Commercial Name: Hutchison Ports ICAVE Fiscal Name: Internacional de Contenedores
Asociados de Veracruz
Location: Veracruz, Mexico
Certificates and Awards: ISO 9001: 2008, ISO 14001: 2004, CT PAT, Environmental Quality Certificate, NEEC
Access: Two highways and two rail lines (Ferrosur and Kansas City Southern Railway)
Website: www.hutchisonportsicave.com 92 STRATEGY
Moving from one home to another represents a big challenge. Now imagine trying to relocate an entire shipping port terminal—which is exactly what Internacional de Contenedores Asociados de Veracruz (ICAVE) is planning to do over the next year. As part of what is being called Mexico’s most important port infrastructure project in the last 100 years, ICAVE will acquire a new home by mid-2018—all of this without any interruption to its stellar customer service.
Managing an increasing workload
The first phase of this initiative involves building a new specialized container terminal for ICAVE at an approximate cost of US$400 million to US$450 million. The company, which was founded in 1995 and acquired six years later by global port operator Hutchison Ports, handles about four out of every five shipping containers that pass through the Veracruz port. Because the ICAVE terminal provides access to two major roadways and a pair of rail lines, it is the most popular choice for carriers moving goods in and out of central Mexico.
Once the first phase of the expansion is completed in June 2018, ICAVE will welcome container ships to its 41-hectare terminal, which will feature modern technology, seven quay cranes, and an estimated annual capacity of 1.8 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) per year. Before the new facility opens, however, the 1,000-plus ICAVE employees will be transferring equipment, erecting new buildings, and installing new technology designed to make the terminal operate even more efficiently.
New digs, same values
ICAVE officials assure clients that the relocation process will occur seamlessly and without any pause in its operations, performing maneuvers simultaneously at both the old and the new sites. In fact, the shipping lines that already frequent the terminal— including heavyweights like MSK, CMA CGM S.A., and MSC—will benefit the most from the new facility. The two berths will be more than 10 percent deeper and will be able to accommodate New Panamax vessels, and the modernization will help shorten delivery times and speed up loading and unloading procedures.
Some of the most important elements of ICAVE’s success cannot be loaded onto a moving truck. For more than two decades, the company’s list of achievements has been underpinned by an unwavering adherence to its corporate values—namely effectiveness, efficiency, teamwork, continuous improvement, loyalty, integrity, safety, ecology, social responsibility, and customer service. ICAVE has leveraged the resources of its parent company to become a leader in promoting both domestic and international trade while setting the standards for excellence in shipping and logistics operations.
With room to grow
The current upgrades only represent part of the story, however—Phase 2 improvements are yet to come. Once it is complete, the ICAVE terminal will comprise 73 hectares, 1,050 meters of additional pier, and an annual container capacity of 2.2 million TEUs—which would place Veracruz among the 75 busiest ports in the world. Through this transition, ICAVE is poised to become one of the Western Hemisphere’s “movers and shakers” in the shipping industry.