SINCE starting its distribution business in Malaysia in 1996, international marketer, processor and distributor of agricultural food, financial and industrial products and services company, Cargill has had a good partnership with Westport.

Cargill is among the largest grain handlers in the terminal.

“Both Cargill and Westport’s management have a good relationship built over the years. We have a common understanding, constructive dialogue and active collaboration.

“Because of this understanding, I have seen Westport shift from trouble-shooting to being more productivity-focused,” said Cargill general manager Freddy Yap.

He said Cargill and Westport were working closely to bring the grain industry to greater heights in the country.

He said Cargill and Westport were working closely to bring the grain industry to greater heights in the country.

“Cargill is committed to working with Westport to ensure that we both maintain world-class productivity standards in port operations and share the best practices.

“We want to continue with this collaboration to make Westport the port of choice in the ocean freight chartering community,” he said, adding that Westport now discharges dry bulk cargo at 15,000 tonnes a day, allowing Cargill to plan their distribution routes more effectively.

On their part, Cargill will be engaging larger vessels capable of carrying larger amounts of dry bulk cargo.

“In a similar development, Central Sugar Refinery Sdn Bhd (CSR), the largest sugar supplier in Malaysia, also has plans to expand with Westport.

“Westport is an excellent port with world class facilities. It has the infrastructure needed to service the needs of our company,” said CSR chief operating officer Muzamli Mohd Nor.

With continuous research being conducted at the terminal, vessel operations productivity is frequently being enhanced, while equipment and machineries are constantly upgraded to cope with the surge in demand and need for faster discharging of cargo.

“We are impressed with the skills of the port workers in mending the cranes and handling operations. Westport is able to handle our rising demand,” said Muzamli.

“In this industry, value-added service is everything. Not many ports today provide such services as Westport does. This makes them a niche player in the industry,” he added.

Last year, CSR imported 507,000 tonnes of raw sugar from Australia, Brazil, Guatemala, South Africa and Thailand. The raw material was discharged at Westport and brought to CSR’s storage facility within the Free Trade Area at Westport before being transported by road to the processing plant in Shah Alam.

Forty per cent of the processed material is then exported as finished goods.These products are then exported through containers and also in the form of break bulk cargo.

In 2003, Westport handled 3.8mil MT of dry bulk cargo. The terminal aims to move 4.2 million MT this year.