Paranaguá sets new standards

Luiz Antonio Alves, CEO of TCP commented, “We are truly delighted to have received this permission by the Port Authorities, which will set new standards for ports in Brazil and the region as a whole. Above all, it will allow our customers to bring even larger ships to TCP and thereby reduce their unit costs. This will bring benefits to both the carriers and Brazilian exporters and importers”.

TCP has gone through a remarkable transformation since early 2011, when the facility was acquired by US-based private equity firm, Advent International. From being one of the worst performing container terminals in Brazil, with an average berth productivity of less than 30 container moves per hour in 2010, the terminal today regularly exceeds 100 moves per hour. The average for November 2012 was 79, which places the port on par with those in North America and Europe.

Within 18 months TCP has eliminated waiting time to berth and more than doubled productivity through a combination of changing the culture and investing in new equipment. What used to be a port call requiring some 48 hours is now being completed within 12-18 hours.