Press Release
For Immediate Release
Media Contact:
Marketing@SaviNetworks.com
Phone: 650-316-4900
SAVI NETWORKS EXTENDS GLOBAL REAL-TIME VISIBILITY
SERVICES OF SHIPMENTS TO MTC’S U.S. PORT FACILITIES
Partnership with Marine Terminals Corporation (MTC) to Provide RFID-Enhanced Real-Time Information on the Location, Status and Security of Ocean Cargo Containers
SUNNYVALE and OAKLAND, Calif. – Jan. 9, 2006 – Savi Networks, a provider of RFID-enhanced information services for global container shipments, and Marine Terminals Corporation (MTC), announced today an agreement to extend SaviTrak™ real-time, supply-chain information services to MTC’s port facilities. MTC is a leading U.S. stevedore and terminal operating company that handles more than 25 percent of the cargo container shipments on the U.S. West Coast.
The partnership brings MTC terminals into Savi Networks’ growing global community of ocean cargo terminal operators leveraging SaviTrak’s managed information services.
MTC operates 26 terminals in 13 ports across the U.S. West coast and at major ports in the U.S. South Atlantic region. Savi Networks is building an automated information service that leverages RFID and other ISO-compliant Automatic Identification and Data Collection (AIDC) technologies at global ports to further improve the efficiency, effectiveness and security of global supply chains.
“MTC is proud to build on its 75-year history of pace-setting services for the shipping community by partnering with Savi Networks,” said Douglas A. Tilden, MTC’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “Savi Networks brings a new generation of innovative technologies and proven information services that can dramatically enhance supply chain visibility and security for our customers.”
“Our agreement with MTC enables Savi Networks to expand its global footprint throughout some of the largest US load centers for import container traffic,” said Lani Fritts, Chief Operating Officer of Savi Networks. “MTC is one of the most respected names in the terminal operations business, and we’re gratified to be working closely with them.”
Initially, implementations are focused on the highest-volume ports, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Seattle, Tacoma and Oakland. Los Angeles-Long Beach is the highest-volume load center in the United States and Seattle-Tacoma is the third largest.
Savi Networks and MTC are committed to provide their customers with industry-leading services and products based on international standards. In 1997, MTC became the first container terminal operator in North America to be registered ISO 9002 (International Standardization Organization). Savi Networks deploys RFID networks based on ISO 18000-7 standards and is actively involved with the maritime industry to further develop standards for container tracking and security.
Both companies also emphasized that the information services currently being deployed are built on an open technology platform accommodating multiple and interoperable AIDC technologies, such as barcodes, passive RFID technologies such as EPC, and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) used to track ships and trucks that transport ocean containers.
SaviTrak™ information services are based on technology solutions deployed worldwide the past decade by the U.S. Department of Defense and allied defense organizations to track and manage more than 1.5 million RFID-tagged shipments. The commercial cargo solution has been successfully applied in a number of industry- and government-driven initiatives the past four years to improve the efficiency and security of container movements.
About Savi Networks LLC
Savi Networks LLC operates a global information network that uses active Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) equipment and software to provide users with information on the identity, location and status of their ocean cargo containers. The company partners with ports and terminal operators to provide a global infrastructure for tracking shipments and their contents. Shippers, logistics service providers and transportation companies can connect to the network by installing compatible equipment at their own locations, further improving the efficiency, effectiveness and security of their global supply chains. Savi Networks functions much like a telecommunications network service provider, and owns and operates the network’s core infrastructure while providing the SaviTrak™ information service on a per-container trip basis. In addition to active RFID, the network is built on an interoperable architecture designed to accommodate Automatic Identification Data Collection (AIDC) technologies, such as barcodes, passive RFID technologies such as EPC, and Global Positioning Systems (GPS) used to track ships and trucks that transport ocean containers.
About MTC
Oakland-headquartered Marine Terminals Corp., a family-owned contract stevedore and terminal operating company, has served the U.S. West Coast shipping community since 1931 and the U.S. East Coast since 2001. Combined, MTC has stevedoring and terminal operations in more than 26 West Coast locations and five East Coast ports. The company handles more than six million TEUs each year in addition to providing a comprehensive network of stevedoring, terminal operations and related cargo-handling services for automobiles, refrigerated commodities, steel, forest products, general cargo, bulk, rolling stock, yachts, heavy lifts, military and special projects. MTC’s diversified services to the transportation industry are enhanced and expanded through joint ventures with major ocean carriers and their many affiliates that specialize in insurance, warehousing, equipment, M&R, and software development. MTC also has joint-venture partnerships with ocean carriers to perform the terminal operations functions at the carriers’ U.S. West Coast container terminals: Hanjin Shipping and MTC formed Total Terminals International (TTI); Evergreen Marine and MTC created Seaside Transportation Services (STS); and Yang Ming, China Shipping and MTC joined together as West Basin Container Terminals (WBCT).
