Transglobal, part of the Dávila group, offers a wide range of services to maritime and container terminals, port machinery, refrigerated containers, goods warehousing, innovation and development for the maritime sector, as well as R+D+I.
In addition, for several years it has been developing a research and development activity focused on the creation of new products and systems for the port sector, mainly aimed at container terminals and marinas.
What is your assessment of your participation in Mindtech this year?
Very satisfactory, it was the first time we participated in Mintech, and our feedback is that we want to participate again in the III edition. It has also been very gratifying to return to the celebration of industrial business fairs with Mindtech because of the quality and post-Covid-19 security offered by the fair; Mindtech has been an added value to publicise Transglobal’s activities, a showcase and a quality business meeting point, with great potential to grow in importance on an international level.
You have created a port crane operations simulator. What does it consist of and how does it work?
Pterm 4.0 is Port Equipment Training Simulator, a simulator created together with Poseidon that consists of the construction of an immersive environment based on virtual reality techniques analogous to the real environment of a port crane control cabin. The simulator recreates the different types of port cranes with the aim of training and educating the operators of this type of equipment, and can recreate any situation that operators may face. The objectives are to train operators to improve the learning speed curve, improve control in adverse situations and visualise the excellent quality of the Port of Vigo for this type of operations and its port terminals.
What did winning the award for Corporate Social Responsibility mean?
It has helped the company to renew its effort and interest in CSR and that means greater depth of action which is ultimately beneficial for all those actions in which we embark and entities with which we develop CSR.
The Mintech award will really make us work harder and has refreshed the responsibility we want to exercise in our social environment.
What developments can you anticipate in the short term?
Right now the most current process is that we are awaiting a collaboration with the CTAG (Galician Automotive Centre) and the Port of Vigo for the development of autonomous robots for logistic-port loading and unloading.
What changes have caused this time of pandemic and how is the sector recovering?
There have been changes such as the fall in production, disruptions in logistics chains, supply, distribution, and the financial impact on companies. The first thing to recover is to manage to resume ordinary activity in a safe way to avoid outbreaks that could paralyse everything again, to have tax and social measures that can benefit the liquidity of companies and preserve the fabric of companies and the self-employed, and to help activity to recover in all areas, in short, to reactivate the industry.
For our sector, digitalisation is fundamental, as are R&D activities to increase industrial and business competitiveness.
How is the sector facing the current challenge of container shortage?
There is a lack of containers because they are sitting in collapsed ports or are empty in destinations where they are not needed, and demand has increased after the pandemic, which has led to increased shipping costs (shipping accounts for 80% of global transport). Companies that depend on Asia for their imports are suffering from this extra cost, when they expected to recover after the vaccination and the increase in industrial and commercial activity, which can even lead to total stoppages and temporary or definitive closures of companies, as we are seeing in Vigo. With this panorama, the measures to mitigate this are neither simple nor are there many, but it may be important to review the dependence on Asian markets and look for alternative suppliers.
And how do you assess the work of Asime?
Fundamental and necessary for metal companies, of which there are many, and it does so through various channels: advice on projects, assistance, subsidies, representation of the sector, both in terms of labour relations and social dialogue in Galicia, training, guidance… and, above all, events such as Mindtech; in short, it is fundamental.