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Positive news and views from straddle carrier makers

The company states that an increasingly important consideration in the development of straddle carriers is the mega-terminals that use manual or automated shuttle carriers as a horizontal transport system between ship-to-shore (STS) cranes and the automatic stacking cranes (ASC) area. A typical type of this application, the company tells WPD, is Hanjin Shipping’s new Greenfield mega-terminal TTI Algeciras in Spain, which operates with 20 Kalmar shuttle carriers at the waterside and landside horizontal transportation system. These SHC240H shuttle carriers have a single-lifting capacity of 40 tonnes and can stack containers 2-high, and were delivered in January last year. Cargotec states that the key productivity benefit of its shuttle carrier in this set-up is its ability to leave and pick up containers from the ground – eliminating waiting times. This is how the system at Algeciras works: STS cranes place containers from the vessel on the ground, under the crane’s back-reach, from where the containers are then collected by the shuttle carriers and transported to the ASC buffer area. Cargotec states that this combination of equipment working together achieves high productivity with the lowest number of horizontal transportation vehicles. TTI Algeciras is the second mega-terminal operating with Kalmar shuttle carriers, the first being APM Terminals in Virginia, USA, which started operation with its Kalmar shuttle carrier horizontal transportation system in September 2007. Pointing to another case study of developing an innovative application for shuttle carriers, the company cites Muuga Container Terminal in Estonia. Here, in a system devised with the customer, Kalmar shuttle carriers are used as a horizontal transportation system at the rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) crane terminal instead of trailer tractors.  A further notable, longstanding example of Cargotec straddle carrier operations can be found in Brisbane, Australia. Here, together with Patrick terminal operations and Patrick Automation, the manufacturer pioneered the world’s first and only free ranging robotic straddle carrier terminal. This automated facility won Terminal of the Year at the 15th Annual Lloyd’s List DCN Shipping and Maritime Industry Awards last December. The unmanned fleet consists of 27 fully automated Kalmar Edrive straddle carriers. The terminal, which operates “unmanned 24 hours a day, 365 days a year,” commenced large-scale operations in December 2005.  The Kalmar Edrive model was also the source of a notable recent order for the company. In September last year, it received an order for 14 Kalmar Edrive straddle carriers from Générale de Manutention Portuaire (GMP) – a joint venture between terminal operator DP World and shipping company CMA-CGM at the port of Le Havre in France. The units will be delivered in the first quarter of 2011. These new all-electric straddle carriers will come equipped with twin-lift spreaders capable of lifting loads of up to 50 tonnes. Built to stack 4-high, the machines will help GMP meet the demands of its expanding container handling operations at the port, which handles more than 60% of France’s annual container traffic and has been consistently adding more capacity as part of GMP’s terminal expansion plans. GMP has opted for Kalmar 7+ generation ESC W straddle carriers, featuring electrically controlled engines, a variable speed generator (VSG) system and a winch hoist system with full AC drives. The Kalmar 7+ generation is Cargotec’s latest development in the straddle carrier market, and was launched at TOC Europe in June last year, under the title ‘Intelligent regeneration’.

Cargotec states that the modular 7+ generation series carriers adapt easily and can be tailored to all customers’ requirements. These vary from the most modern diesel-electric hybrid straddle or shuttle carriers with the lowest total cost of ownership (TCO) to the more simple and rugged SC/SHC technology applications. The company adds that it places an onus on providing an after-sales service and support network with remote monitoring and diagnostics tools to facilitate maintenance and to optimise the uptime and performance of straddle and shuttle fleets. Based on the evolution of Kalmar’s 7th generation SC/SHC product family, the 7+ product range now includes a modular hyrdo-dynamic CSC model, a diesel-electric ESC W model, and both hydrostatic and diesel-electric shuttle carrier models. All diesel-electrical models are available in both ‘regular’ and hybrid versions. Consistency in technology is a further important facet of 7+ – Cargotec uses the same cabins, spreaders, control system, electrical and hydraulic systems across the entirety of this product range. The manufacturer states that this focus on standardised component solutions across the range affords the customer enhanced component reliability and longer periods of uptime. With straddle and shuttle carriers often operating for more than 6,000 hours a year in main terminals, Cargotec stresses the importance of this onus on providing continuous operations. The main new features of the range include an updated power package and power electrics. Cargotec states that the emission level stage 3B/tier 4 interim engines offer the “cleanest engine technology available today for off-road machines”. The Cargotec solution is based on utilising specific catalytic reduction (SCR) technology to combine the “best fuel consumption in both regular and hybrid use.” The Kalmar 7+ product family also includes optimised power electrics for improved fuel consumption and reliability. The new system is ready for hybrid use and other planned future power saving features.

 

Strong interest

To complement a year in which it recorded a surge in global demand for STS and RTG cranes, Liebherr says that interest in its straddle carriers in 2010 was strong. The manufacturer only officially entered the market last April with its first straddle carrier, placed into operation at Belfast Container Terminal alongside two existing development prototypes. Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd, based in Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland, spent three years testing and finalising its straddle carrier machines.

Paul Bolger, Product Manager Mobile of Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd, states that during 2010, the firm participated in a couple of tenders for replacement fleet machines at various ports. According to Bolger, feedback from prospective port customers has been encouraging, with some of the notably well received features of the company’s straddle carriers being the four-axle steering system, which results in reduced tyre wear, and t
he fine positioning features on the travel drive, which enables better handling of 45-foot containers for truck loading and discharge.

He adds: “The load measurement system employed by Liebherr, utilising four load cells for more accurate container weight measurement and hoist control, has also been well received along with the Liebherr build quality and hoist drive with external disc brake. Liebherr has seen a recent rise in inquiries, although breaking into this competitive market segment is expected to take some time.” He adds: “Liebherr’s first machines were 4-high singlelift, and the company now adds twinlift machines to its range with a number of machines in production. The interest shown from the market clearly demonstrates that ports want alternatives from a reliable and proven manufacturer such as Liebherr.”

 

Demand doubles

Guido Luini, Managing Director of Terex Cranes, Würzburg, and in charge of the company’s straddle carrier business, states that the manufacturer saw the worldwide demand for new equipment double from the previous year in 2010. “We have very successfully augmented our share in the market,” says Luini. “We have established our company as the clear leader in sprinter carriers, the one-over-one straddle carriers, by receiving the award of the two largest projects offered by the market – in South Korea and in the United Arab Emirates – and one in the USA, for a large railway terminal. In 2010, the after-sales service business reached the level we were at before the global financial downturn, so we are satisfied by our results and the Terex straddle carriers are coming out of the global downturn stronger.” The Managing Director explains that sales to new markets such as the aforementioned South Korea and UAE have helped this recovery. However, he adds that it has also been underpinned by orders from the geographic regions in which straddle carriers are traditionally popular. Luini states that low TCO combined with high quality makes Terex straddle carriers a compelling choice for customers. “Our straddle carriers are 95% made in Germany – this means high quality,” details the managing director. “In itself, this is an important point. Fuel consumption, low cost of parts and a very high availability ratio of our fleets and, in a nutshell, a low total cost of ownership, all combine as factors to provide our customers with a very high return on investment.” He adds that Terex’s continued investment in the after-sales aspects of the business is vital to its success: “Our customers know that by investing in our straddle carriers, they are investing their money in equipment that maintains a high value in the long term and responds to their expectations for productivity and total operating cost.”  Luini states that the manufacturer maintained a focus on investing in research and development in both 2009 and 2010, and is concentrating on keeping itself at the forefront of technological development. “In the second half of 2010 we handed over our first straddle carrier with the new Tier 4 engine, which is already in operation in the Benelux,” he states. “Our energy saving solution, with ultra-capacitors, is now also available to retrofit on our diesel-electric latest generations. Our automation projects for unmanned operations with straddle carriers and sprinters are at an advanced stage. We added new modules to our fleet management software. This system draws our customers’ interest as it helps operations managers to further optimise their service and workshop operations by eliminating wasted time as, with that, they can have the whole feet under control and at a glance can identify the service situations that need attention. This way, they can better plan and manage their fleet’s maintenance.”

 

 

 

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