Ship to shore container cranes have been delivered in Tauranga, New Zealand and Melbourne, Australia, while Liebherr straddle carriers are now operational in ports at Lyttelton and Tauranga, New Zealand.
In Australia, the Liebherr Mobile Harbour Crane has been flavour of the day, with two LHM 550s and one LHM 420 handed over to Patrick Stevedoring Pty Ltd in Henderson, Western Australia at the turn of the year. Also on the Australian west coast, a LHM 280 has been commissioned in Geraldton for operation with the environmental bulk handling system the Rotabox, while LHM 280s in both Fremantle and Bunbury are been assembled now. All three machines are for the company Qube Ports & Bulk, which provides services and facilities in 28 Australian ports. In total, Qube handles more than 40 million tonnes per annum of bulk products and expects volumes to increase. For that reason, a fourth LHM 280 has just been ordered for its Melbourne facility. In total, Liebherr has sold seven advanced mobile harbour cranes to Australia in only twelve months.
“Our machines are adaptable to all kinds of handling products, and the Rotabox is somewhere between a grab application and container handling, so it was no trouble for our experienced designers to come up with suitable solutions,” said Gordon Clark, Liebherr sales manager for the Oceania region. The Rotabox technology is an environmentally friendly bulk handling solution based on a rotating container concept, optimised for mineral concentrates and ores.
“The Geraldton crane is now fully operational and has delivered the promised productivity gains anticipated to support the investment” said Todd Emmert, the Director of Qube Bulks in Perth. “I’ve known Liebherr for a long time in various ports in Australia, and their machines are always a welcome addition to our operation. The local service through Morrow Equipment means we have an excellent combination of machine and support.”
“The Australian ports market is riding on the back of a boom in the mining industry, so other projects are still possible,” said Clark. “We also have other projects and deliveries scheduled for later in the year, including one to the Pacific Islands.”
The LHM 280 is an 84 tonne unit with 40 metres outreach, and is available for container, bulk, general and project cargo. Its highly flexible propping system has made it a must for the older wharfs in the region.