he Company is among the top five Transport and Logistics companies, and among the top 150 in Brazil’s ranking of the Valor Inovação Yearbook
Wilson Sons, the largest port-shipping logistics operator in Brazil, received recognition for its leading role in innovation, and was classified as one of the most innovative companies in Brazil. According to a survey by the Valor Inovação Brasil 2023 Yearbook, released this Wednesday, August 2nd, Wilson Sons is in the ranking of the 150 most innovative companies and is among 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 this 9th edition of the yearbook, 253 companies from 25 sectors of the Brazilian economy were analysed, and the study pointed out those that add the most value to innovation in business strategies and have the best practices in Brazil.
“Wilson Sons’ results reflect the tireless ongoing effort of all our employees to pursue innovative solutions in their activities as well as our philosophy of adopting new technologies not only to develop the company’s operations and values, but to improve and develop the national maritime and port infrastructure,” says Wilson Sons’ Digital Transformation director Eduardo Valença, who further adds: “As the proliferation of new solutions and technologies is increasingly faster, we are always strengthening our agenda with data intelligence and financial diligence, for the purpose of anticipating changes and expanding connections and presence in innovation ecosystems around the world.”
In this edition, in the Transport and Logistics sector, Wilson Sons moved from 11thplace in the 2022 ranking to 5th place in 2023, joining the Top Five in the category. In the general ranking, it rose 107 positions and is in the 112th place in the 2023 survey. In 2022, the company was in 219th place among the 253 participants (same number as in 2023).
According to the survey criteria, companies need to have at least 5% of private interest, and net revenues, in Brazil, exceeding BRL 500 million in one of the last two fiscal years. The ranking is based on five pillars: intention to innovate, effort to innovate, results produced, market assessment and knowledge generation.
Throughout its more than 185 years of history, Wilson Sons has always anticipated changes, creating solutions that support the development of Brazil. Since 2017, when it launched its new strategic map, Wilson Sons has been fostering innovation programs. In 2019, the company joined Cubo Itaú, Latin America’s largest startup hub, and connected with other international innovation hubs geared to the port and shipping industry. Since then, it has engaged with dozens of startups.
In July 2022, to strengthen the innovation agenda in this industry, Wilson Sons teamed up with Cubo Itaú, Port of Açu, and Hidrovias do Brasil, to launch Latin America’s first hub focusing on port and shipping solutions: Cubo Maritime & Port. “The adoption of new technologies makes port and shipping operations increasingly safer, more efficient and more sustainable,” Valença says.
Over the past three years, Wilson Sons has invested approximately BRL 25 million in minority stakes in startups. The Company’s current portfolio consists of three startups offering technologies and solutions capable of leveraging the port management infrastructure. The startups include the Israeli DockTech (which dynamically scans the seabed of ports to make shipping and dredging more efficient), the Brazilian Argonáutica (which offers vessel monitoring and management tools as well as dynamic draft tools, which optimise ship loading and berthing at terminals based on weather and sea conditions), and the British AlDrivers (conversion of conventional vehicles and machinery into autonomous equipment).
In July this year, Wilson Sons implemented a new operating system, developed by Argonáutica, at its Tugboat Operation Centre (COR), in Santos (São Paulo). Focusing on operating efficiency, safety and sustainability, the new operating system of COR, called ArTeMIS (Argonáutica’s Traffic Management Information System), monitors in real time the company’s fleet of 81 tugboats — Brazil’s largest and most modern ones — along the Brazilian coast.
Wilson Sons is also in the process of building six more sustainable tugboats at the company’s shipyards in Guarujá (São Paulo). Since 2022, three of them have already been delivered (“WS Centaurus”, “WS Orion” and “WS Rosalvo”). Three more tugs will be delivered by 2024. These new tugs are the first in Brazil following the IMO TIER III standard established by the International Maritime Organization. The new hull design helps to reduce GHG emissions and consumes about 14% less fossil fuel.
The two container terminal facilities owned by Wilson Sons, with their modern infrastructure, 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 has just broken a productivity record at the new quay. Earlier this year, Salvador Container Terminal handled 110 containers per hour, the best performance ever seen in northeastern ports. In 2022, Wilson Sons was the first in Latin America to join TIC 4.0, a global port terminal innovation committee. It brings together global terminal operators and manufacturers and suppliers of state-of-the-art port equipment and technology.
