This year’s TOC Europe event, the first in three years, attracted around 3,500 attendees from over 80 nations.

The show was opened by event director Paul Holloway of TOC Worldwide, who proclaimed: “It’s back to business!”

Delivering a keynote speech under the topic of “A Smart Port is a Connected Port”, Matthijs van Doorn, VP commercial of Port of Rotterdam, the event’s host port, said: “Transparency is the basis that will push us forward – our opportunity is to see what we can do with this data to the benefit of our customers.” Alongside him, Alex Duca, head of automation engineering at A.P. Møller - Mærsk, delivered a virtual keynote presentation where he highlighted the importance of synergies between physical and digital assets in global supply chains.

The focus of the second day shifted to sustainability. 

Speaking on the topic of Energy Transition, Ashley Woods, head of global environmental improvement at A.P. Møller - Mærsk, showed examples and case studies of how urgent actions are being undertaken to decarbonise global shipping.

Douwe van der Stroom, a former environmental campaigner now steering Port of Rotterdam’s campaign to focus on efficiency and sustainability at the EU’s largest port, talked the attendees through its four pillars of energy transformation. Among them is the construction at Port of Rotterdam of a hydrogen production facility as well as a biomethanol production plant. “Our ambition is to become smarter and more sustainable,” he stated.

The future beyond fossil fuels was at the heart of a round-table discussion between representatives from McKinsey & Co, A.P. Møller - Mærsk, NOW GmbH, Port of Helsinki and TBA Group. 

The third day of TOC Europe placed the spotlight on digitalisation and automation.

Ammar Kanaan, CEO at TiL, delivered an insightful presentation on business considerations for automation at container terminals that included reskilling for the future and assessing the synergies between system providers and operators.

Exhibitors included Konecranes which enjoyed a “continuous flow of visitors, lots of good customers, excellent discussions and busy three expo days”, according to Sari Leinonen, communications manager, port solutions. 

She adds that the overall feeling was very positive and “people were happy to be there for the first time in many years (first time since 2019) to meet colleagues, peers, suppliers, customers and competitors”. 

Konecranes used the show to debut Advanced Port Services - scalable, modular programs to deliver the equipment available for growth. The company also showed off three large pieces of equipment powered by batteries.

Konecranes’ BU Lift Trucks, meanwhile, also focused on electric equipment and other “green solutions”.

“People need to know more about ‘The way to go fossil-free’. Many visitors were from the top management and they know where to go but not how. Our task is to show our customers how they can do it and how we can help them. Konecranes is already walking the talk as a company but also doing it in cooperation with our customers,” a spokesperson says.

Other common discussions at Konecranes concerned the cancelled merger with Cargotec, which was understood and appreciated well by the customers. 

David Massatt, commercial director of SNDC, says 50% of visitors at his booth were machines manufacturers and terminals managers, 25% were distributors and 25% were terminal operators and fleet owners. 

Booth visitors were keen to discuss global trends like the green transition and reliability and “the main topics were related to the machines’ electrification”, he says.

SNDC used the event to showcase its electric air conditioning range, some refrigeration maintenance solutions and a gas analyser (Gasfind) which determines the type and purity of the refrigerant used before you undertake any recovery operations.

Computer supplier JLT Mobile Computers was extremely pleased to be back in person at TOC Europe, showcasing rugged mobile IT solutions geared to helping port operators simplify their IT setup, ensure reliable uptime, and boost productivity. The highlight at the booth which JLT shared with its long-standing partner, port IT systems integrator Autepra, was the JLT6012 series of vehicle-mount computers. 

Peter Lundgren, JLT’s business development manager, ports, found that visitors were looking for reliable suppliers – particularly important in the face of the ongoing supply chain woes. 

TOC Europe 2023 will be held in Rotterdam on 13 - 15 June 2023.