DP World announces first commercial use of its Boxbay system

DUBAI / WAM

DP World has announced the first commercial use of its revolutionary Boxbay High Bay Storage (HBS) system at South Korea’s Pusan container terminal, which is world’s sixth-largest container port.
This pioneering technology has put Dubai in the spotlight globally as DP World, a leading provider of smart end-to-end supply chain logistics, continues to adopt innovative ways to enhance the efficiency and movement of trade worldwide. The development of this technology also reflects Dubai’s growing global role in facilitating and streamlining worldwide trade and supply chains.
On March 8, Pusan Newport Corporation (PNC) and Boxbay FZCO signed a contract to initiate the design and engineering works for the site to implement the storage system at the terminal. DP World developed the Boxbay system in a joint venture with German industrial engineering specialists SMS group.
The signing of the contract took place in Jebel Ali Free Zone, Dubai, and was attended by Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, and Burkhard Dahmen, Chairman and CEO of SMS group, the partners behind Boxbay.
Bin Sulayem said, “This is where the future of trade begins. We have taken a technology that has proven its effectiveness in the metals industry in Germany and further transformed it to create Boxbay, an innovative container storage system to enhance global trade. Our pilot scheme in Jebel Ali has already shown the advantages of a fully automated, sustainably powered high-bay storage system. I’m proud that DP World has led this innovation that will now be adopted in Pusan. The technology reflects our continuous efforts to embrace technologies that enhance the flow of trade and further enhances Dubai’s position as a global leader in the ports and logistics industry.”
PNC already operates one of the highest-performing container terminals in Asia, and 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 with the existing ARMG/truck operations as a retrofit on an existing empty storage area. The system provides direct access to each container at any time, eliminating 350,000 unproductive moves per year. This will improve overall truck servicing time by 20 percent, further enhancing PNC’s service delivery to its customers.
Originally created to handle heavy metal coils, the storage system was refined for port logistics after SMS group proved the technology in the metals industry. DP World and SMS group built a pilot facility at Jebel Ali’s Terminal-4 in January 2021. By the end of June 2022, 190,000 container movements had been carried out under realistic operating conditions to verify the system’s market maturity.
The Boxbay system is fully automated and includes additional safety features. DP World also intends to power it using solar power generated by photovoltaic panels on the roof of the storage system, complementing DP World’s drive to decarbonize operations.
Tiemen Meester, COO Ports & Terminals, DP World, said, “With the introduction of the Boxbay high-bay storage system, we will be able to better serve our customers while keeping our people safe and cutting carbon emissions from the environment.”