Global Terminal Operator Yilport increases efficiency with Reefer Runner

Yilport Holding became a global port terminal operator in 2005 and has continued to grow in Europe and Latin America ever since. Today, it operates 22 terminals in 10 countries.

Puerto Bolívar became part of Yilport in 2016. The 50-year concession included a commitment to invest US$ 750m in the port to create a container terminal with an annual capacity of 2.5m TEU. Today, Puerto Bolívar is one of the world’s most significant shipment points for fruits and seafood. To keep the fresh products safe in the terminal, the cold chain must stay intact 24/7 and be guaranteed by constant monitoring, which is a labour-intensive process.

To keep up with their expansion plans for the port, Yilport was looking for a constant increase in productivity. As highly skilled staff is challenging to get, one solution is to automate tasks. IDENTEC SOLUTIONS Reefer Runner digitalizes monitoring of reefer containers and makes manual inspections obsolete. The savings in endless shifts of checks prove invaluable as staff can focus on their most important tasks and dramatically reduce claims for damaged goods. The installation of Reefer Runner at Puerto Bolívar enables the terminal operator to grow without increasing the costs for reefer container inspection teams.

Hugo García, Operations Director at Yilport Puerto Bolivar "Our expansion of terminal operations enables us to focus on the entire supply chain. Therefore, it is crucial to stay competitive by decreasing costs and increasing the quality of terminal management. Reefer Runner does precisely this for us. "

Reefer Runner is specially designed for reefer management operations at terminals – in all climate zones and conditions. It works reliably without the need for a cable connection and provides consistent data to a central system. Users can monitor temperature and power supply, adjust setpoints according to the goods in the reefer container, perform automated pre-trip inspections and download data logs for documentation reasons. In addition, as each reefer tag is connected to the system independently, the entire system is expandable and not affected by the failure at one container.

To accompany Yilport’s core mission to be within the top 10 global port operators by 2025 and to generate long-term sustainable growth and profitability, Yilport ordered 1300 Reefer Runner transponders. Having Reefer Runner operational, YILPORT can now propose a world-class service level and substantial hinterland where the liners can easily access reefer data and support their ongoing customers. These services include:

• Cost reduction as less headcount is needed.
• 100% view of the container from the entrance to departure.
• Actual data for energy consumption for each unit and for time connection. 
• Improve the quality of service to customers at reefer yard
• Historical data registered for possible Claims and Data Log download available.

While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the implementation of the system, the project team around Julian Galvis, VP Sales Marine & Ports, kept their cool and executed according to plan:

"With our flexible system and a global team that will go the extra mile while being extremely accommodating to our customers‘ timeline and needs." Despite this extraordinary challenge, the go-live was completed on December 27th, 2021.”

About Yilport Holding

YILPORT Holding is one of the fastest-growing global port operators100% owned by YILDIRIM Holding. As of January 2021, YILPORT serve liners and customers at 22 port terminals and six dry terminals across ten countries, including Turkey, Portugal, Spain, Malta, Italy, Sweden, Norway, Ecuador, Peru and Guatemala. In addition to port operations, YILPORT is also a multi-purpose port operator with 14.75m TEUs of container, 30.3 M tons of general cargo, 5.73 M m³ of liquid cargo, 1.3 M CEUs of Ro-Ro handling capacity per year