6 December 1999

Quayside Ceremony Celebrates Arrival Of 30 Millionth Container At Modern Terminals

Modern Terminals Limited today (December 6) celebrated the passage of the 30 millionth container through its facilities since it opened Hong Kong's first dedicated container handling terminal in 1972.

The company organised a quayside ceremony to mark this milestone event. The guests of honour were Mr S. Y. Tsui, JP, Director of Marine of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Mr Alex Fong, JP, Secretary of the Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board, and Mr Gonzaga Li, Chairman of Modern Terminals and the Wharf Group.

Welcoming the guests to the ceremony, Mr Gonzaga Li said that Modern Terminals has come a long way since its modest beginnings, and that the company is determined to continue its steady march along this road of development and expansion.

"We are committed to live up to our name, namely to be modern. Today, we also take the opportunity to launch a new company logo, which denotes our corporate vision to develop Modern Terminals into a substantial container logistics service provider in Hong Kong and China for the 21st century." he added.

In his speech, Modern Terminals' Managing Director, Mr Erik Bogh Christensen, pointed out that the company operates in a rapidly-growing, fast-moving and highly competitive business.

"The needs of our customers are constantly evolving, and their expectations of us are continuously increasing. To maintain customer satisfaction, we believe in delivering flexible, innovative and efficient services.

"We achieve this by adopting the most advanced technologies and by implementing the most effective working practices. One example of the success that these strategies produce is our steadily rising level of productivity, which is already one of the highest in the industry worldwide.

"In fact, just two weeks ago, while working on one of our customer's vessels, we set two new records within our company. During this operation, we achieved an average of 192 container moves per berthing hour, which beat our previous record of 166 moves. Also, one of our cranes handled an average of 44.35 moves per hour, which bettered our existing record of 43 moves," Mr Christensen said.

He added that, despite prevailing economic conditions in Hong Kong and throughout the region, Modern Terminals expected to achieve about ten per cent increase in throughput during 1999. Throughput at the Container port as a whole was expected to grow by around three to four per cent next year.

Mr S. Y. Tsui noted that Modern Terminals has been at the forefront of the rapid development of containerised shipping operations in Hong Kong ever since 1972, when it set a world record by building and opening Hong Kong's first purpose-built container terminal in just 20 months.

"Modern Terminals has contributed a lot to the success of turning the Port of Hong Kong into a container cargo hub. The company's unceasing commitment to efficiency and quality, as well as the professionalism of its staff have enabled it to keep pace with fast-growing demand. As an environmentally-friendly and safety-conscious company, Modern Terminals always maintains high standards of customer services. I am confident it will continue to strive to improve its already high standard of containerised shipping services."

Mr Alex Fong pointed out that, over the years, Modern Terminals has expanded considerably and acted with determination and vigour to set the highest standards in container terminal operations.

"These twin terms of increased throughput and efficiency underline the port policy set out by the Hong Kong Port and Maritime Board, which is to meet forecast cargo demand with productive, high-performance port facilities, and to promote the competitiveness of the port.

"Over the years, Government and private sector members of the Board have guided our Port's astonishing growth. Modern Terminals has been an active participant in the Board's discussions. I know I can continue to count on the support of your company," Mr Fong added.

As part of the ceremony, the guests of honour unfurled a banner showing the new corporate logo which Modern Terminals has adopted to emphasise its status as a forward-looking and dynamic leader in the container shipping industry in Hong Kong and China.