Wilson Sons named one of the most innovative companies in Brazil, according to a PwC survey

Wilson Sons, a leader in port and maritime logistics in Brazil, was recognized, for the second year running, as one of Brazil’s most innovative companies. According to the Valor Inovação Brasil 2024 Yearbook survey, released this Tuesday, August 6th, Wilson Sons is one of the Top-5 Transport and Logistics companies, and is part of the select list of 150 companies with the best innovation practices in Brazil.

The ranking is based on a detailed survey carried out by Strategy&, PwC’s strategic consulting firm, in a collaboration with Valor Econômico. In the 10th edition of the yearbook, 273 companies from 25 sectors were analysed. The survey reported the most innovative companies based on four pillars: planning, execution, results and recognition. It “reinforces the assessment of the organizations’ ability to guarantee innovation amidst growing expectations about sustainability and disruptive technologies (such as artificial intelligence) based on solid strategies that does not only consider the digital aspect, but the adaptability and transformation of the workforce and business models.”

“Our innovation agenda is built on three fundamental pillars: collaborating with startups to develop new digital businesses, using technology for greater operational efficiency and sustainability, exploring how new solutions can reduce our environmental impact. We see technology as an essential ally to boost these pillars, not only to improve the

Company’s financial and operational results, but also to support the development of Brazil’s maritime and port infrastructure,” says the director of digital transformation at Wilson Sons, Eduardo Valença, who further adds: “This achievement is a recognition of the commitment of our employees and business units, who always exceed expectations and achieve substantial results.”

This edition, in the Transport and Logistics industry, Wilson Sons ranked 4th. Last year, it ranked 5th, which means that it moved up one position in the Top Five in this category. This year, the survey included 273 companies, 20 more compared to the 253 in the previous survey.

This year’s edition set new criteria “related to disruptive technologies and ESG,” which have been reorganized into four dimensions: planning (strategy and culture); execution (processes, systems, resources and technologies, people and governance); results (general and innovation cases); and recognition (patents, market citations and media appearance).

Over the past years, Wilson Sons made minority investments in three startups to combine its wide range of assets, wide geographic presence along the coast, and deep market expertise with the emerging technology and entrepreneurial spirit of these startups. “These collaborations led to the development of new digital products that could address the company’s demands, as well as the great pains of the Brazilian maritime and port sector,” says Valença. “An example are two solutions developed by Argonáutica: ReDRAFT, a dynamic draft system that supported the entry of MSC Orion into Salvador Container Terminal (BA), the largest container ship to dock in a port based in the Northeast; and ArTeMIS, a solution we use for real-time monitoring of the Company’s fleet of 81 tugboats, integrating sea traffic data, by capturing information from more than 25 AIS antennas spread across the Brazilian coast, and metoceanographic data, such as wind, current and tide, enabling greater operational efficiency in the management and positioning of our vessels,” he adds.

Furthermore, Wilson Sons founded the first innovation hub dedicated to the maritime and port sector in Latin America, supported by Cubo Itaú (largest Latin American startup hub), Port of Açu, and Hidrovias do Brasil: Cubo Marítimo & Portuário. Currently with 24 member startups, the hub has been fostering industry innovation and collaboration, with its members making BRL 119 million in 2023, and raising over BRL 60 million in investments since 2022.

At Wilson Sons’ two container terminals, dock and gate automation projects were completed, adding greater efficiency and speed to operations at Salvador Container Terminal and Rio Grande Container Terminal (RS). These advances reaffirm Rio Grande Container Terminal’s position as the most automated terminal in Brazil, while Salvador Container Terminal ranked as the world’s sixth best terminal of less than 500,000 TEUs, according to a report released last June by the World Bank and S&P Global Market Intelligence, which evaluated operational efficiency based on the length of stay of container ships at the ports.

In Towage operations, Wilson Sons owns the most modern and powerful tug fleet in the country, with more than 80 tugboats, which are the only ones to rely on an operations centre (COR), based in Santos, which monitors speed, manoeuvring time and unnecessary movements in more than 25 ports along the Brazilian coast. This enables the company guarantees operational excellence and safety.

As part of the decarbonisation agenda, Wilson Sons is finalizing the delivery of the sixth tug that features a new hull design for an estimated reduction of up to 14% in greenhouse gas emissions, due to more efficient hydrodynamics. Besides, the company purchased 12 electric terminal tractors (TTs) that are used at Salvador Container Terminal for internal transport between vessels and container storage areas, leading to an annual decrease of up to 341 tons of CO2.

In parallel, in the social agenda, the digital transformation director says, Wilson Sons has structured and implemented a complete data analysis training program for young people in situations of social vulnerability near the operation sites “to help them find jobs and promote social inclusion.”

“We are excited about the achievements and recognition received, but we know that, although we have already trodden this path, we are yet to evolve and achieve much greater goals in the coming years,” Valença concludes.

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