On 24th June, Mr Koji Matsuno - President of Toyota Caucasus, Mr. Tomoya Yamaguchi - Director of Sales & Marketing of Toyota Caucasus and Ms. Rusudan Meladze - Head of Logistics for Toyota Caucasus, visited APM Terminals Poti to meet the management and operations team of the port, and to understand more about how the port handles the discharge, storage and release of new Toyotas to Georgia and the region, APM Terminals Poti reports.

Since early 2021, APM Terminals Poti has had an agreement to receive and handle new Toyotas being shipped on Ro-Ro vessels to Georgia, to serve the markets of Georgia and Azerbaijan. New cars are a cargo which need to be handled with great care, to ensure that they can be delivered to their first owner in pristine condition. Recognizing the importance of careful discharge of cars from the vessel, and their delivery and storage at the container yard, APM Terminals Poti established new processes to ensure safe, consistent, and sustainable service quality.

“We are delighted to welcome Toyota’s senior regional representatives to the port, to better understand the needs of our valued customer, meet and exceed their expectations in regards to service delivery, and to further explore our collaboration potential both locally and regionally into the future.” said Iain Rawlinson, Chief Commercial Officer APM Terminals Poti.

During the visit, the Toyota Caucasus representatives were met by senior management of APM Terminals Poti. After discussing the process of handling their product/cargo the visitors have been taken around the Port to see facilities, observe port operations and brief about future expansion project.

“A point of discussion was the transformation journey that APM Terminals is undergoing known internally as the APMT Way of Working, the central pillars of which were readily recognizable to the Toyota Caucasus representatives as it is based around the world renowned Toyota Management System. It was pleasing to speak the same “lean language”. Through our transformation journey APMT continues to develop its KaiZen (Improvement) culture as a central pillar of our Way of Working as we continue to strive for operational excellence.” said Matthew Rantanen, Chief Operating Officer APM Terminals Poti.

“I am very impressed with APM Terminals’ proposed expansion project and the plans to develop links into Central Asia through Poti, which we recognize is the natural gateway between Europe and Asia. I also very much appreciate how the logistics industry has continued to operate throughout the pandemic. There is no question that those people working within the global supply chain are truly essential workers, and we would not have been able to survive without them.” stated Mr. Koji Matsuno, President of Toyota Caucasus.

APM Terminals, part of the A.P Moller – Maersk, operates a global network of 75 operating ports and terminal facilities spread over 58 countries. In April 2011, APM Terminals purchased Poti Sea Port, the largest port in Georgia, a multi-purpose facility with 15 berths for cargo and RoRo service, with total quay length of 2,900 meters and more than 20 quay cranes. Since assuming operations, APM Terminals has invested over USD 85 million upgrading the outdated port infrastructure and service facilities, including the construction of a new Customs Center, as well as new rail and truck facilities. During this period Poti Sea Port has continued with upgrades of the current port infrastructure and equipment to make it the most productive and safest port in the Region while maintaining its preeminent position as the leading gateway to and from Central Asia.