The crippling worldwide recession is now seen as old news as demand for bulk commodities such as coal, iron ore, grains, cement and other bulk products increases. Dominated by the mobile harbour crane, the grab crane market is alive and well and heading for a better year in 2011 for most major crane manufacturers. Barge or pontoon mounted floating grab cranes are also increasing in popularity, plus slewing jib cranes and gantry cranes mounted on vessels. And buyers are demanding higher handling rates, greater grab crane flexibility, and improved environmental performance. Most grab crane makers are experiencing stronger order books in 2011. World-leading mobile harbour crane manufacturer, Liebherr Group, Austria, has left the economic crisis behind it thanks to a strong start in the 1st Quarter of 2011. “It’s quite promising compared to the last two years,” says Joachim Dobler, Marketing Manager Mobile Harbour Cranes, a division which includes grab cranes. “I believe we will increase sales, the market is catching up again.” Sales turnover reached EUR 210 million in 2010, up slightly on 2009 performance. At December 31, 2010, Liebherr had an order backlog for mobile harbour cranes totaling over EUR 100 million, with the company’s new LHM 550 model accounting for 25% of the contracts. In all, some 51% of the order backlog total is equipped with grabs for bulk handling.
Profit steady
Gottwald Port Technology GmbH, now a part of the Demag Cranes Group, has sold over 1,300 mobile harbour cranes to customers in more than 100 countries and after a steady 2010 the German manufacturer is faring well in 2011. And Finish Konecranes also ended 2010 “quite well” as profit at EUR 115 million remained close to the 2009 level of EUR 119 million while volumes were down. For NKM Noell Special Cranes GmbH in Holland, which specialises in floating grab cranes for bulk loading and unloading, the recession is officially over, according to Gino Cherradi, Sales Director. Part of the French Reel Group, the Dutch company saw a noticeable jump in Requests For Quotes (RFQs) as 2011 opened, particularly from Asia, Africa, and Australia. “Even if we only get 10% of the RFQs, we will have a great year.” Sales in 2008 and 2009 were better than in 2010, despite the recession, but NKM Noell has seen “tremendous growth in service, repair and refurbishment” work, according to Cherradi. “We have just started a one-stop repair and refurbishment department and it has been very busy,” he adds.
Acquisitions
However, it’s doubtful than any of the Top Five grab crane makers has been more aggressive than Konecranes of Finland when it comes to growth through global acquisitions. For more than a year, Konecranes has been acquiring related businesses and expanding its footprint throughout the world as it seeks to position itself better in the emerging markets. The list of companies bought is extensive and the strategic buying of complementary companies will continue in 2011, says Mikael Wegmuller, Vice President Marketing & Communications for Konecranes.
Among recent Konecranes acquisitions have included:
WMI Cranes Ltd., an Indian cranemaker, bought in two phases ending late in 2011 for about EUR 60 million
Techniplus S.A.R.L. in Morocco, a port crane service and modernisation company in Morocco which previously distributed Konecranes lift trucks and port equipment
Gruas Koman Limitada, the former licensee of Konecranes in Santiago, Chile; including a Peruvian startup subsidiary Koman Gruas Peru
Marine Control Engineers Limited, a UK machine tool maintenance company based in Coatbridge, Scotland; and the Scottish company Axis Machine Tool Engineers located in East Kilbride
Dynamic Cranes Systems, a leading crane and service company based near Johannesburg, South Africa
AH Maskinservice A/S, of Denmark, a company specialising in safety inspections, CE labeling, hydraulic presses and offering an overall machine tool service.
And the only negative in the bunch was the closure late last October of the Konecranes plant in Windsor, Wisconsin, in the United States. Operations have been relocated to other US plants owned by the Finnish company. The aim of acquiring smaller machine tool and equipment plants, says Wegmuller, is to enhance Konecrane’s crane service support around the world, but particularly in the developing markets. “We’re offering buyers a one stop shopping experience around the world for grab cranes and the other crane types we make,” he adds. Konecranes now boasts machine tool servicing facilities in Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Estonia, Ukraine, the UK and the US as well as the recently acquired facilities in India, Morocco, South Africa and Chile.
Contract successes
Gottwald sold three mobile harbour cranes to South Korea last September to two customers – Ssangyong Engineering & Construction ordered two Generation 4 cranes, while Dongbu Express acquired its third Generation 5 four rope grab crane. Ssangyong expects to have its two new cranes on general cargo duties this summer at the Port of Gunsan, while Dongbu saw its grab crane in service earlier this year at the Port of Dangjin. Both are repeat customers for Gottwald. In another contract, two Gottwald HMK 260 EG four rope grab cranes were sold to Brazil for bulk handling duties. In all, about 25% of Gottwald cranes sold in 2010 were intended for bulk handling applications. Liebherr, which also makes tower cranes, mobile cranes, harbour and crawler cranes, outsells most grab crane manufacturers with 38% of the sales going to Europe, 18% to Latin America, 15% to India, 12% to Africa and the remaining 17% shared between North America, the Middle East and Australia. Emerging markets are gaining in importance as European sales dropped below 40% for the first time last year for the first time. In 2010, Liebherr’s LHM 500 model with as turnover of up to 1,500 tonnes per hour won the IBJ Award for “Crane of the Year” and is by the far the best selling mobile harbour crane on the market, according to Joachim Dobler. Konecranes had 10 major grab crane orders in 2010 with sales to the Middle East more active than in the past. The company’s most popular seller is its gantry type grab unloader using Advanced Grab Drive – the most modern drive system in the market – and the most advanced automation features available. There are now 19 in operation around the world. Konecranes delivered two 40 tonne 1,900 tph AGD grab unloaders to Dong Energy in Denmark and one 48 tonne 2,300 tph version to Rio Tinto in Yarwun, Australia for contractor Sandvik. In September, 2010, Konecranes received an important order from Nippon Steel in Japan for one 80 tonne 3,000 tph grab unloader. In the summer of 2011, two 34.5 tonne 1,500 tph AGD grab unloaders will be commissioned in Hamburg, Germany for FL Smidth. NKM Noell has several contracts underway in Africa and Europe for its floating or Lemniscate grab cranes, but details have not yet been released. The cranes allow loading and unloading of bulk vessels midstream to barges or to the dock, between barge and barge, and even between two sea-going vessels.
Hybrid excitement
Two of the Top 5 manufacturers have launched new hybrid grab cranes in the past year. Liebherr is offering “power without pollution” with its Pactronic hybrid system, which adds a hydraulic accumulator to the drive system. The Liebherr Pactronic hybrid drive boasts “unbeatable charge and discharge times,” combined with robust performance needing no additional cooling, conditioning or isolation. The whole crane is 100% recyclable. Perfectly suited for mobile harbour cranes, the new hybrid boosts turnover capacity by 30% compared to a conventional crane and brings customers reduced terminal costs and higher productivity while cutting long docking times and the risk of demurrage. The hybrid also cuts fuel/energy consumption as well as emissions in the range of 30% and has been introduced to the market on the Liebherr LHM 550 model. “The introduction of the Pactronic hybrid drive system was definitely a quantum leap,” says Liebherr’s Dobler. “And it is already reflected in the figures of our order backlog.” Not to be outdone by its Austrian rival, Gottwald through its parent Demag Group won an innovative technology award from IBJ in 2010 for its new hybrid drive, which was created in response to economic needs, but also customer wishes for sustainability in their working methods. The Gottwald hybrid technology, which uses state-of-the-art diesel generators in connection with dynamic brake resistors and short-term energy storage, allows terminal operators to reduce not only fuel consumption by the double digits and overheads, but also exhaust gas emissions. As well as fitting new cranes with the technology, Gottwald is offering the hybrid system to existing cranes if customers desire, particularly the four-rope grab mobile harbour cranes. And the company intends in the medium term to take advantage of its new drive system to down-size its on-board diesel engines to achieve even higher economical and ecological savings as part of its continuing development of greener technologies.
Innovations
In its continual quest for lower fuel consumption, lower moisture levels, and other energy savings, NKM Noell has incorporated these advances in its latest crane designs. Innovations have included the introduction of a new fly wheel, which helps cut energy use when lowering the grab and it uses that energy saved in lifting the grab. The advance will also allow the use of smaller engines in the future. And at Konecranes, advances have been made in grab crane automation enhancements and in new sway controls for better crane and bucket positioning.