On January 16, the "Guayaquil Banana Gateway" refrigerated warehouses were inaugurated at Contecon's Pier No. 5 in the Maritime Port of Guayaquil. These state-of-the-art facilities will store perishable products requiring refrigeration before loading as part of Cool Carriers' exclusive premium service. During the inauguration ceremony, Nikolay Pavlyuchenko, General Manager of UNIREEFER, the General Agent of Cool Carriers in Ecuador, Peru, and Argentina, spoke about the Company's journey:

"Twenty-five years ago, Cool Carriers began operations in Ecuador with just a few second-hand ships. Over the years, the maritime transport market has faced significant crises, leading to the disappearance of many shipping companies and mergers between others.

Many believed our shipping company would face the same fate, especially with the growing trend toward containerisation, which appeared to leave little room for specialised refrigerated vessels. However, Cool Carriers had a different vision. Instead of building container ships, we invested in reefer ships to serve this niche market. Cool Carriers is a world leader in transporting perishable goods, running a fleet of over 50 modern refrigerated vessels with regular and seasonal services between all continents. These include routes from Chile to the United States, Argentina and Ecuador to St. Petersburg, South Africa to Europe and Asia, and New Zealand to Europe. Our market position is strong. Reflecting this, we have embarked on an ambitious fleet renewal program, constructing next generation refrigerated vessels in a Japanese shipyard renowned for its excellence in this type of ship.

With a sophisticated fleet for transporting high-value fruit, we have decided to invest in land infrastructure. Banana exporters in Ecuador have faced various logistical challenges over the decades. With this facility, we aim to address many of these issues, enabling exporters to run independently of the shipping company, streamline their internal processes, and reduce costs. Producers can harvest their fruit throughout the week, increasing productivity.

We have always prioritised our relationship with clients, offering personalised service and understanding their needs to provide flexibility in every situation. This new cold storage facility is part of our commitment to preserving the quality of Ecuadorian fruit and continuously seeking ways to reduce exporters' costs." Pavlyuchenko concluded: "I take this opportunity to thank Sol Medina and Javier Lancha of Contecon, as well as the entire ICTSI group and my team of professionals at UNIREEFER, for their tireless efforts in making this project a reality."