APS Technology Group, a member of the ABB Group and a leading provider of optical character recognition (OCR) and process automation technology solutions for marine and intermodal container terminals, today announced that International Transportation Service (ITS) has selected the APS Crane OCR solution for its terminal in Long Beach, Califormia.
ITS container terminal
ITS chose APS solution to improve system accuracy, resource utilization and ultimately customer service of the terminal. The new Crane OCR system automates the process of identifying and verifying ISO containers loaded and discharged from dockside Ship-to-Shore (STS) gantry cranes with high accuracy, redundancy and unequalled reliability. The system will be fully supported by APS’ state-of-the-art remote monitoring systems and support staff located in San Diego, California.
“We recognized the need to update our OCR technology because the previous vendor’s existing solution was difficult to support and system accuracy was below acceptable levels by today’s standards,” stated Ken Southerland, Director of Operation IT Department for ITS. “We were looking for a reliable solution that would improve our system accuracy and efficiency, and we expect APS to deliver a quick and efficient, top of the line OCR system.”
The automated container handoff solution at the ITS Long Beach Pier G terminal will consist of 12 STS Crane OCR systems and X-Clerk Exception Management solution. The installation will begin in September and is expected to be deployed by early 2015. The system will fully integrate with ITS’ proprietary Terminal Operating System for seamless data exchange.
“We are excited to become a long term technology partner of ITS. Vessel operations are mission critical and we are looking forward to upgrading ITS’ current technology platform,” explained Brian Shultz, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for APS. “This is a strategic partnership for APS, and ITS’ selection of the APS platform reinforces our position as the industry leader in crane automation solutions.”
ITS is a subsidiary of Japan-based “K” Line, one of the world’s leading shipping lines. ITS is one of Long Beach’s longest continuous tenants, having opened its terminal in 1972. ITS was the maritime industry’s first terminal to introduce on-dock double-stack train operations, revolutionizing Intermodal trade in the United States.
APS Technology Group (www.aps-technology.com), a member of the ABB Group, is a leading provider of OCR and automation technology solutions for marine and intermodal terminals. The solutions improve the safety, productivity, efficiency and cost effectiveness of container handling by increasing the visibility, velocity and volume of cargo moving through a terminal's gate, rail, vessel and yard operations. ABB acquired APS in February 2013 in order to strengthen its long-term growth strategy in the container handling and terminal automation markets.
ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility and industry customers to improve performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in around 100 countries and employs about 150,000 people.