Balticon SA, a container traffic operator, has signed a letter of intent with the Danish headquarters of A.P. MØLLER–MÆRSK A/S regarding the conclusion of a contract for the servicing of containers intended for loading in the Baltic Sea region. According to the agreement, the company’s Gdańsk workshop will initially handle 80 refrigerated containers per day for this world’s largest shipowner. Ultimately, Balticon intends to reach a service capacity of up to 200 containers per day. The company’s revenue from the expansion of cooperation may amount to PLN 21 million annually.
The signing of the letter of intent was preceded by over a month of quality tests for container services as part of the so-called “Aarhus Project.” MAERSK chose Balticon SA from among several companies vying to handle refrigerated containers, and subsequently tested the throughput and quality of the services provided. MAERSK is the largest partner of Balticon SA. The companies have been cooperating in the container market for 19 years.
As part of the cooperation with MAERSK, Balticon will service refrigerated containers and steel containers. After repairs and inspections in the company’s Gdańsk workshop, they will be sent to the MAERSK base in the Danish port of Aarhus, or to other Baltic ports, to be loaded and transported to end customers around the world. Once the new Balticon workshop reaches full service capacity, the company intends to service 80 refrigerated containers and 120 steel containers per day.
– The signing of the letter of intent with MAERSK for container servicing is a confirmation of the trust that this world’s largest shipowner places in us. We have built it thanks to professional, comprehensive service, qualified staff, and consistent investments in service facilities. The agreement is also the result of Balticon SA starting the lease of a plot in the vicinity of the DCT terminal for a refrigerated container workshop. This investment will significantly increase Balticon’s service capabilities, enabling the takeover of an even larger volume of repairs from the Baltic Sea region. When the workshop reaches full efficiency, we will be able to handle up to 200 platforms per day. In addition to repairs, we will also perform technical condition inspections, cleaning, preparation for cargo loading, and renovation of MAERSK containers – says Tomasz Szmid, CEO of Balticon SA.
In May 2012, Balticon SA concluded a thirty-year lease agreement for property in the area of the Port of Gdańsk. On a 5-hectare plot, the company intends to expand its Gdańsk depot and create the first refrigerated container repair workshop in Poland, which will be able to take over a significant volume of repairs from centers in Bremerhaven, Hamburg, and Gothenburg. Balticon estimates that after the launch of all planned services, the company’s revenue will increase by approximately PLN 21 million annually within no more than 3 years. The development of the depot will also enable the creation of a hub for container handling in the region of Poland, the Czech Republic, and Slovakia, and in the future also Belarus and Ukraine.
Balticon SA achieved revenue of PLN 29.42 million in the first half of 2012, which is 51% more compared to the same period of the previous year. EBITDA in the first half of 2012 amounted to PLN 2.20 million, which means an increase of 221% compared to the corresponding period of 2011. The company’s capital expenditures in the first half of 2012 reached over PLN 950,000 and mainly concerned work related to the expansion of the depot in Gdańsk and the construction of the first large refrigerated container service in Poland. Approximately 45% of the company’s revenue comes from services related to the movement of containers by land and rail.