Terberg: Moving containers by the millions

Malaysia’s container ports are among the largest in the world, moving millions of containers a year in 24/7 operations linking Asia with the Middle East and Europe. 

Terberg is a prominent name at these ports, stamped across the front of Cummins-powered terminal tractors that hustle their way around the massive port infrastructures, hauling containers. 

Terberg Tractors Malaysia is an equal joint venture between Malaysian conglomerate Sime Darby Industrial and the family-owned Royal Terberg Group in Holland. 

The first Terberg port terminal tractor was produced in Holland in 1973 and today Royal Terberg Group is one of the world’s top manufacturers of this type of equipment. 

Boo Wei Ching, who started working for Terberg Tractors Malaysia in 2006, has been CEO of the company since 2021. 

“We build around 1000 terminal tractors a year in Malaysia for Asia Pacific markets and around 800 to 900 of those have Cummins power,” he points out. “We’re also building some fully electric units but the majority of our production is still diesel.” 

“Our customers are very comfortable with diesel engines. It’s the reliable power source they have experienced for many years and they know how to fix it.”  

Terberg Tractors Malaysia exports to around 55 countries covering most parts of the Asia Pacific region – from Pakistan and Afghanistan all the way to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific islands. “Since our humble beginning, we’ve built around 8000 terminal tractors, more than 70% of which have been exported,” Boo points out. 

Preferred powerhouse 

While several other engine brands are offered in the Malaysian-built Terberg tractors, Cummins is well established as the preferred powerhouse. 

“We’ve had a long relationship with Cummins, since 2000 in fact, when Terberg started business in Malaysia as a manufacturer,” says Boo. 

“It’s all about reliability and total cost of ownership,” he states. “Cummins engines are easier to maintain, more affordable in terms of price, and parts and service are more readily available.” 

The first Cummins engines installed in the Terberg tractors in Malaysia were 8.3-litre, 220 hp 6CTA units but there was eventually a move to the more efficient, electronically controlled 6.7-litre QSB units rated at 220 hp. 

Terberg tractors are working mainly in container port environments.  

The company’s two largest terminal customers in Malaysia are PTP (Port of Tanjung Pelepas) and Westports, each with huge active fleets of 600 to 700 tractors.

Productivity and turnaround times are vital in the port industry, and PTP and Westports are recognised as among the top ports in the world for container terminal productivity.  

Equipment reliability is obviously critical for these megahub operators as they service container vessels plying the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, linking Asia with the Middle East and Europe. 

In 2024, PTP became the first container terminal in Malaysia to handle over 12 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) in a single year. 

“Port operators want very high uptime and once this is compromised, they’ll replace with new equipment,” says Boo Wei Ching, revealing that Terberg Tractors Malaysia had 300 units on order at the time of writing. 

He points out that terminal tractors are usually kept for seven to 10 years, or up to 60,000 hours, and then replaced with brand new ones. During this life cycle, the tractors are repowered with new Cummins QSB engines at between 20,000 to 30,000 hours. 

Cost competitive 

Terberg Tractors Malaysia’s key competitive advantage is that it is the only company manufacturing terminal tractors in Southeast Asia.  

“When it comes to customisation, being able to produce a tractor in a short lead time that is specific to a customer’s needs, we have it covered,” says Boo Wei Ching. 

He points out that when Terberg in Holland saw Asia was booming, especially in ports and logistics, it knew it had to find a partner to grow business in the region.

“Shipping tractors from the Netherlands all the way to Asia was not going to be competitive,” he says, adding that Sime Darby emerged as the ideal partner to establish a manufacturing plant in Malaysia. 

“Malaysia is a competitive place to operate a business in terms of cost, we don’t have language barriers – we speak English, Mandarin, Cantonese – and geographically the country is in the right place with little time zone differences within Asia.

“Our ports also allow us to bring in raw materials easily and export easily.”