Boxbay, a joint venture between SMS group and DP World, has signed with DP World a contract for the implementation of its high-bay container warehouse storage system. The project, estimated at €91.7 million, will be implemented as part of the ongoing investments in the DP World-operated London Gateway Port totaling €1.15 billion, with the aim of expanding it over the next five years to the largest container port in the United Kingdom, Boxbay stated in a press release on October 23. The Boxbay facility is intended for handling empty containers and, according to the company, marks an important milestone in the global transformation of container terminal operations.
Christoph Roth, CEO of Boxbay: “This contract
represents a decisive step for Boxbay on the path from the concept phase to real-world application. In this project we will implement our system for the first time specifically for handling empty containers. We see enormous potential in this segment: Almost every port in the world handles empty containers, but only a few have efficient solutions for this purpose. Our specially designed Empty Superstack system for this task overcomes this challenge through space savings, reduced operating costs and full automation. With this project we are opening a new chapter in terminal design and are creating a strong foundation for future growth.”
The new Boxbay facility at London Gateway Port can – unlike conventional six-story
storage – stack 20-foot ISO containers (TEU) up to a height of 16 units and offers a storage capacity of 27,000 TEU, with both 20- and 40-foot containers accommodated. Sultan Ahmed Bin Sulayem, Group Chairman and CEO of DP World, said: “Boxbay is a significant advance in how ports manage the storage of containers. The solution is scalable, automated and sustainable. By bringing this ingenious design to London Gateway, we are introducing an advanced technology that enables faster throughput rates and contributes to higher safety standards.
To ensure optimal space utilization, the Boxbay facility at London Gateway Port will feature ten aisles and will comprise 15 storage/retrieval machines (SRMs) for transporting containers in the
high-bay warehouse. The Boxbay-HRL can handle more than 200 containers per hour on the water side, according to the company. The system has 40 transfer points: 20 transfer points on the landside for trucks and 20 transfer points on the waterside for shuttle carriers.Ernst Schulze, head of DP World Ports and Terminals for Northern Europe, explained: “BOXBAY will fundamentally change the daily operation of our port. Direct access to any container, comparable to the principle of a vending machine, makes the time- and labor-intensive re-handling unnecessary, shortens throughput times and reduces emissions. This benefits our customers with greater reliability, our employees with a safer workplace, and we gain expanded capacity to meet future requirements.”
