Dr. Saanen is Managing Director and Founder (1996) of Portwise (formerly: TBA), a leading terminal design and simulation company in The Netherlands. He is in charge of all port terminal related projects all over the world in their planning and optimization process of container terminals by means of simulation and emulation.
In this role, he has participated in various projects, ranging from long term development, process improvement, terminal extensions and redesign of handling systems to design of greenfield terminals. Examples are the APM facility in Virginia, DPWorld’s facility in Antwerp, and HPH’s Euromax facility in Rotterdam. Currently, he is involved in the implementation of APM’s facility at the Maasvlakte, OOCL’s facility in Long Beach, and DPWorld’s facility in Rotterdam; all three fully automated terminals.
Dr. Saanen holds an MSc in Systems Engineering and a PhD on the design and simulation of robotized container terminals, both from Delft University of Technology. He is a professor at the Rotterdam School of Management teaching Maritime Economics and Logistics and, in various bodies, lectures about terminal design by means of simulation, and publishes regularly about his work in scientific magazines as well as business magazines.