With over 186 years of operations and nationwide coverage, Wilson Sons, a leader in port and maritime logistics in Brazil, offers complete solutions to more than 5,000 clients, including shipowners, importers and exporters, the offshore energy industry, renewable energy projects, agribusiness companies, and other industries. The company is constantly adopting new technologies to support sustainable development in Brazil, so it will exchange information, make new connections, strengthen relationships with stakeholders and present its portfolio at its F070 exhibition stand at Intermodal South America 2024, from March 5th to 7th, in São Paulo.
Its business diversification includes two container terminals (in Bahia and Rio Grande do Sul); more than 80 tugboats operating in over 30 ports and terminals along the Brazilian coast; two shipyards in Guarujá (São Paulo); more than 20 offshore support vessels flying the Brazilian flag; two offshore support bases in Guanabara Bay (Rio de Janeiro); a bonded logistics centre in Santo André (São Paulo); and one of the largest independent shipping agencies in Brazil.
Over three days, visitors to Wilson Sons stand at Intermodal will take a virtual tour of its business units. The 3-D tour presents the company’s modern container terminals, equipped with electric cranes, the WS Centaurus tug, the first tug built with more sustainable technology.
“Continuous improvement through innovation and adoption of new technologies is part of Wilson Sons' DNA. Attending Latin America’s biggest event, Intermodal, is a unique opportunity to get even closer to our stakeholders and offer solutions to make offshore and port operations even more efficient and sustainable. We pursue long-term sustainable development targeted at creating value for our stakeholders,” says Wilson Sons COO Arnaldo Calbucci.
Throughout its history of nearly two centuries, Wilson Son has been supporting the development of global trade and decisively collaborating with Brazil's competitiveness. The company strives to optimise the logistics chain, which is key to the country's economy and sustainable development, where 90% of the trade flow is transported by sea, accounting for about 24% of the Brazilian economy. It should be noted that seaports and shipping are also highly relevant for Latin America, and the foundations of the world economy: 80% to 90% of global trade uses sea transport. Transported goods are worth US$ 5 trillion in added value.
New tugboats with more sustainable technology
The two terminal facilities owned by Wilson Sons are able to operate the largest ships in the world. Rio Grande Container Terminal, based in Rio Grande do Sul, is the most automated in the country, while Salvador Container Terminal, in the Northeast, handles 41% of containers coming from overseas. The new tugboats are the first in Brazil with the IMO TIER III standard established by the International Maritime Organization. With an innovative design, they can reduce greenhouse gas emissions with an estimated decrease of 14% in the consumption of fossil fuels. At the shipyards, 150 vessels were built by Wilson Sons, which is the only one that owns a drydock in the Port of Santos. The company is in a new cycle of building six more sustainable tugboats. Since July 2022, two of them have been delivered (WS Centaurus, WS Orion, WS Rosalvo and WS Castor), and the other two will be delivered in 2024.
Wilson Sons sponsors Cubo Itaú, Latin America’s most relevant innovation hub, and manages Cubo Maritime & Port in a collaboration with other companies. The project aims to make port operations and waterway cargo transport increasingly efficient, safe and sustainable. Over the past three years, Wilson Sons has invested approximately BRL 25 million in minority stakes in startups. Wilson Sons is also a minority investor in three startups that provide relevant digital transformation technologies and solutions to support the digital transformation of our industry. The startups include the Israeli DockTech (which scans the seabed of ports to make shipping and dredging more efficient), the Brazilian Argonáutica (with the dynamic draft tool that optimises ship loading and berthing at terminals) and the British AlDrivers (conversion of vehicles and conventional machinery, such as trucks, into autonomous equipment).
Wilson Sons digital transformation director Eduardo Valença believes that Intermodal is a unique opportunity to discuss innovation and show how companies in Brazil are working on this relevant agenda by presenting the challenges involved in this industry. At the event, the Cubo Maritime & Port stand will also promote discussions on new technological trends.
Innovation and sustainability
According to a survey by Valor Inovação Brasil 2023 Yearbook, Wilson Sons was acknowledged for its prominent role in innovation, and rated as one of Brazil’s most innovative companies. It ranks among the 150 most innovative companies, and the top five Transport and Logistics companies. The ranking is based on a detailed survey carried out by Strategy&, PwC's strategic consulting firm, in a collaboration with Valor Econômico.
In 2023, Wilson Sons was awarded, for the third year running, the Golden Seal under the GHG Protocol. The program encourages corporations to prepare and publish inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The certification is a recognition for corporations that transparently report their independently audited emission sources. It is an important step towards combating climate change.
In 2022, Wilson Sons was the first in Latin America to join TIC 4.0, a global committee for port industry innovation that includes global terminal operators and manufacturers and suppliers of state-of-the-art port equipment and technology. In 2023, Wilson Sons, which has around 3,900 employees, renewed its Great Place to Work (GPTW) certification. GPTW is a reference in the rating of the best companies to work for, and announced that the company had won the seal that certifies organizations with a great work environment.
