Katoen Natie has started operating its first driverless truck at ExxonMobil\u2019s world-scale integrated manufacturing site in Singapore, transporting products between the company\u2019s packaging and intermediate storage facilities. The pilot truck will operate on a 24\/7 basis moving some 250,000 tons of product annually. After a six-month test run, the project will be gradually expanded to 12 trucks, moving some 3 million tons of product annually.<\/p>\n
Innovative and tailor made solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. Koen Cardon, CEO of Katoen Natie Singapore, said, \u201cWe combine engineering, technology and logistics operations to offer innovative and tailor made solutions to customers in a variety of sectors. This project is a perfect example of the innovation we bring to the forefront to create value for our customers as well as creating the opportunities to upgrade the skills of our workforce.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe are excited to support Katoen Natie in making this innovative breakthrough in chemical logistics, and helping the world envision how the future of transport will look like,\u201d said Damian Chan, Executive Director, Energy & Chemicals, Singapore Economic Development Board. \u201cThe transformation of our industry cannot happen without a well-trained and future-ready workforce, and Katoen Natie\u2019s commitment to retrain and upskill their workers exemplifies Singapore\u2019s continuous efforts to ensure our talent is ready to take on jobs of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n Automation to improve productivity<\/strong><\/p>\n Mr. Robert W. Johnston, ExxonMobil\u2019s Singapore Chemical Plant manufacturing director said, \u201cDriverless trucks are an example of how the industry continues to adopt automation to improve worker productivity. We are glad to be supporting Katoen Natie in its efforts to safely operationalise new and innovative solutions at our manufacturing site.\u201d Katoen Natie also worked with Dutch industrial VDL Groep as partner for this project, who carried out the truck conversion and automation at its local VDL Automated Vehicles technology centre here in Singapore. Mr. Theo Toussaint, Executive Vice President of VDL Groep, said, \u201cWe\u2019re delighted to partner with Katoen Natie in this driverless truck project. The ambition of VDL is to become the leader in electric and automated heavy-duty vehicle applications and we see this project as another big step towards our goal.\u201d<\/p>\n
\nMr. Cardon added, \u201cWe operate 165 logistics terminals in a network of 36 countries. We selected Singapore as the location for this project given that it has both the vision and the right business environment to undertake such projects. Our partnership with the Economic Development Board has been of key importance for the realization of this project. In addition, many other parties including a team of MBA students from the Singapore Management University (SMU) and the IE Business School have been pivotal for this project.\u201d
\nSMU\u2019s Associate Professor of Operations Management (Practice), Professor Lieven Demeester, who guided students in his previous role as Associate Dean of MBA Programmes commented, \u201cWe are proud of our MBA students. They helped Katoen Natie identify the technology partners, initiate a productive collaboration between them, and assure the financial viability of the project.\u201d<\/p>\n