INCORPORATING COLD CHAIN
EVENTS AND EXHIBITIONS
First TOC Africa a success – all about ports
By Ilana Koegelenberg
The inaugural TOC Africa event took place in Durban from 5 to 6 December 2017, boasting high-level visitors from across the world and a keynote address by former President Jacob Zuma— all in the name of improving trade flow across Africa and beyond.
The Terminal Operators’ Conference( TOC) has long been considered best in class by container terminal operators and their suppliers across the world. There is a whole series of TOC events across the world, with the most popular being TOC Europe. Other market-focused events include TOC Americas, TOC Asia, and TOC Middle East. And now TOC Africa has been added to the list, too.
The first TOC Africa event took place at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre in Durban and has been hailed as successful by exhibitors, delegates, speakers, and the wider pan-African audience in attendance.
The TOC augurs well for South Africa’ s economic growth prospects, using KwaZulu- Natal ' s two world-class deep-water ports of Durban and Richards Bay to bolster its oceans’ economy. The first-rate trade exhibition and networking conference coincided with big-ticket investment undertakings in the country to expand the capacity of its major commercial ports to support the projected increases of cargo volumes.
The conference also showcased to the world the vast array of investment opportunities and capabilities on offer at the top-notch ports, which also have an established history as the gateway into the rest of Africa.
All in all, a great platform for South Africa( and Durban in particular) to shine and show off our ports.
And as ports form an important‘ link’ in the cold chain, it was also very interesting to see where we are at as a continent and where we were going.
ALL ABOUT THE PORT
The TOC of today has evolved into a complete container supply chain event, delivering both technical content and offering a platform to the stakeholders higher up in the cargo chain.
Therefore, there are now two distinct elements of the event: the exhibition and the high-level Container Supply Chain Conference, which is co-located with each TOC event. This is aimed at C-Suite strategic personnel, including shippers, carriers, and third-party logistics, as well as the global operators and port authorities. According to the organisers, going forward, many of the conversations within the conference will focus on digitalisation and disruption from the viewpoint of the key stakeholders within the container supply chain.
The common denominator in each of these forums is the port. The port is firmly
established as the critical link within the container supply chain. Any bottlenecks or delays that occur at the quayside or port hinterland, dramatically affect the time it takes for cargo to arrive at its destination. Ports therefore need to process cargo in a timely and cost-effective manner, using the latest technology on the market to do so.“ At TOC, we place the port at the centre of the supply chain in line with our 40-year history and heritage,” explained Paul Holloway, event director.
COMING TO AFRICA An effective and productive port is a crucial asset for any country; this is more important in Africa than in any other region of the world. Some 90 % of trade within Africa happens by sea due to the underdeveloped regional road network and higher propensity to import because of underutilised factory capacity.
Over the past few decades, the sub- Saharan Africa container market has been challenged by the slow development of quality infrastructure, which has led to extended ship waiting times and in general, the entire system has remained underdeveloped in comparison to other port systems around the world.
With such a high dependence on external trade, productive and efficient ports are critical for Africa’ s growth and to maintain the‘ Africa Rising’ narrative.
A new wave of investment from the World Bank, logistics firms, and overseas governments( particularly those of China and Japan) looks set to drive growth over the next decade, to ensure that the region’ s ports continue their transformation and in turn, galvanise African trade and raise revenues across the region.
And so, the idea of TOC Africa was born, explains organisers.
The inaugural TOC Africa brought together cargo owners, logistics, liner shipping, ports, terminals, inland transport, finance, equipment manufacturers, and other stakeholder groups to discuss the evolution of regional maritime container logistics, transport, and supply chain operations and the equipment and technology that facilitate global trade.
In addition to the international audience that TOC delivers, KwaZulu-Natal also reached out to other counterparts across the continent to ensure that TOC Africa is a truly pan-African event.“ There is no doubt that hosting the inaugural TOC Africa in Durban helped to bring physical expression to the‘ Africa Rising’ narrative by enabling Africa’ s ports and port cities to contribute to Africa’ s growth and development agenda,” said Holloway.
Photos by TOC Events Worldwide
Two speakers catching up at the inaugural TOC Africa: Professor Trevor Jones, head of Maritime Law and Maritime Studies at the University of KwaZulu-Natal( left), chatting to Alejandro López, commercial director: OHL Concessions at the Port of Tenerife.
Panellists for the“ Business, Economic and Trade Outlook for Africa” session included, from left: Dumisani Ntuli( acting chief director of Maritime Transport Policy and Legislation, Department of Transport); Mervin Chetty( general manager – Africa, Transnet Group); David Watts( maritime consultant, South African Association of Freight Forwarders); and Tim Vancampen( managing director of International Container Terminal Services Inc., Democratic Republic of Congo).
Former President Jacob Zuma taking a walk through the exhibition space and trying out some of the new technology on show.
COLD LINK AFRICA • March | April 2018 www. coldlinkafrica. co. za 29