PEMA Debates Unite Port Equipment Thought Leaders

The Port Equipment Manufacturers Association (PEMA) has brought together experts in the port, terminal and shipping industry by holding its 2017 Autumn Members Meeting in Tampere, Finland, October 10-12, 2017.

Hosted by Kalmar at its research and development facility, Konecranes and Conductix-Wampfler backed the event with sponsorship.

An opening session, conducted at Kalmar’s Technology and Competence Centre, inaugurated the event with a presentation by Kalmar's Frank Kho, Vice President of Market Intelligence, Strategy and Development, and its President Antti Kaunonen.

Kalmar recently announced that it is supporting the terminal industry by building a common system architecture for an end-to-end, customised automation platform, with the launch of its Kalmar Key.

Kalmar's latest port products and technical advice can be seen in PTI's supplier directory

The first day saw contributions from Giles Dickson (above), CEO of WindEurope, who shared his insights on the offshore wind port platform and the role held by ports in the development of the industry.

Dickson was followed by Päivi Haikkola who made an address on the OneSea Initiative and Henri Kuitunen, CEO Steveco, who explored the current and future trends in port logistics.

The day culminated with a roundtable debate that created a consensus that suppliers need increased openness within the ports and terminals industry, with Ottonel Popesco, President of the Association, challenging the industry to “think out of the box”.

Following a brief welcome address from PEMAs president, day two of the meeting opened with presentations from Dinesh Sharma from Drewry Maritime Advisors and Fred Huang, President of ZPMC (above), who also shared insight on the One Belt; One Road initiative.

Watch: Why China is Building a New Silk Road

After lunch, the meeting continued with updates from Alex Duca, APM Terminals, and Bogdan Oldakowski, Secretary General for Baltic Ports Organization.

Closing the afternoon segment was Eryn Dinyovszky of Yilport (above), who gave a presentation on breaking the mold of traditional buyer and supplier roles.

The final segment of the day saw presentations around the hot topic of ‘Automation’, with Joost Achterkamp, CEO of Solid Port Solutions, providing a deep dive comparison of automated yard systems.

Torsten Neubert, Hamburg Port Consulting, also explored the current challenges for brownfield automation.

A gala dinner and a final day of committee work brought together PEMA members to update the assembly on upcoming white papers.

Read more: Port Technology is bringing together thought leaders to debate the best ways to automate port and terminal processes by launching the third Container Terminal Automation Conference with the new theme of artificial intelligence (AI)