The world forest products transport symposium gets underway in Tarragona’s Amphitheatre

Some 400 executives and experts from the world’s paper industry are taking part in the sector’s international summit meeting on 16, 17 and 18 September

The president of the Port of Tarragona, Josep Maria Cruset, emphasised the Port’s leadership in paper pulp handling in Spain and the Mediterranean

The Port of Tarragona, with the support of its strategic partner, Euroports, is currently hosting the 23rd world meeting of the paper and paper pulp transport sector. The event began today in Tarragona’s Roman Amphitheatre with the participation of almost 400 paper sector company executives from all over the world. The ceremony was presided over by the Catalan Government Minister for Territory and Sustainability, Damià Calvet, together with the Mayor of Tarragona, Pau Ricomà, and the President of the Port of Tarragona, Josep Maria Cruset, accompanied by Pablo García, general manager of Euroports Ibérica, and Alan Bog, president of the International Forest Products Transport Association, the event organiser.

Mr Cruset took advantage of the welcoming speeches to emphasise Tarragona’s leading role in the sector, highlighting that “it is the number one paper pulp handling port in Spain and number three in the Mediterranean”. In a brief speech in English, Mr Cruset explained that “Tarragona is a hub port for paper pulp that serves the paper industry in its hinterland and a strategic node that acts as a centre for redistributing paper pulp to other countries in the Mediterranean Basin”. He also confirmed that the Port of Tarragona’s “objective is to consolidate and increase that leadership”.

Next, the Catalan Government Minister for Territory and Sustainability, Damià Calvet, emphasised Catalonia’s role as an enterprising country that welcomes new businesses and investment. He continued by pointing to the Port of Tarragona as a continuously growing infrastructure.

The last of the welcome speeches was given by the city’s mayor, Pau Ricomà, who stated that “the best periods of the city of Tarragona and its people have come through trade, specifically through the Port of Tarragona”.

This is the first time the Pulp & Paper Industry Transport Symposium has been held in Spain, specifically in the city of Tarragona and the PortAventura Convention Centre. The event brings together some 400 representatives from the sector and approximately 50 exhibitors from Europe, North and South America, Asia, the Middle East and Oceania.

The objective of the conference is to analyse world trends in the transport, handling and distribution of forest products and it is aimed at the senior management of paper pulp production companies, wood product manufacturers, seaports, logistics providers, hauliers, value chain technological providers, warehousing companies and transportation consultants, among others.

Tuesday and Wednesday

The symposium’s inaugural event included a tour of the Amphitheatre and an exhibition of human towers. Another of the activities on the inaugural programme was a visit by the delegates to the Euroports terminal in the Port of Tarragona, which handles more than 600,000 tons of paper pulp every year.

The rest of the conference programme will be held in the PortAventura Convention Centre on Tuesday 17 and Wednesday 18 September. The 2 conferences, 9 round tables and 4 workshops to be organised over the two days will analyse the major trends in the world economy, the future evolution of means of transport (ship, train), the role of emerging markets (especially China and the Middle East) and digitalisation, among other subjects.

The Port of Tarragona will run one of the workshops to be held in the afternoon of Tuesday 17 in which it will explain the competitive advantages of operating through its facilities, highlighting its good communications with the centre of the Iberian Peninsula and northern Europe by both rail and road.