Although there are differences of opinion among terminal tractor manufacturers on which market – RoRo or terminal/yard – is the most buoyant one at the moment they all share the same trend – to explore new markets and continue to develop their products. It seems that the continued development of ergonomics such as improvements to the cabin have been superseded by the quest to deliver a tractor using new power sources – be it LNG or electric – or improved serviceability. But these developments can only be justified by sales volumes.
Market review
According to Chris Booth, Vice President, Terminal Tractors at Kalmar the last 12 months’ global volumes have been representative of recent years with the market remaining steady. “There has not been any significant growth,” says Booth. Market requirements vary greatly between regions observes Booth. “For example in Europe driving comfort and ergonomics play a significant role, however a common factor overall is reliability and availability – a big portion of it is naturally service support and spare part availability. Perhaps we could say that some customers are mainly focusing on the product and cost. But then there are customers who are looking for a total solution for their operation and processes.” Booth points out that “Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) was pretty stable for Kalmar and the next 12 months looks positive especially in the MEA region. The Asia Pacific region remains on a modest growth path while the America market is finally picking up after a long slow period.”
Opportunities in Africa
For Terberg Benschop in the Netherlands “the RoRo market was relatively slow last year. This was evident as our yard and terminal market was so good,” reports Frank Oerlemans, Export Manager at Terberg but Oerlemans points out that “with the upturn in the economy we are convinced that the RoRo market will pick up again soon.” Last year was not only a good year for Terberg but also for their Malaysian joint venture TTM – Terberg Tractors Malaysia. TTM delivered a large number of yard tractors ordered by PSA for delivery to their Singapore terminals. In addition, the Middle East and Africa have been performing well with regards to orders. Africa has also been good to Germany-based MAFI Transport-Systeme, which announced earlier this year that it handed over 8 units of their MAFI RoRo tractors R 336 to TEMA ports as part of a continuous fleet renewal. Since 1988 Ghana Ports and Harbour has been a faithful MAFI customer and more than 100 tractors and trailers have been supplied over the years. The tractors are the spine of the transportation within the port as they manage the transport from debarkation to the various storage areas inside and outside the port. The R 336 tractors are fitted with Mercedes engines, ZF transmission and Kessler axles and are used both for RoRo as well as terminal operations. Outside TEMA port these new RoRo tractors also operate for the container terminal Golden Jubilee. Beside the port of TEMA there is another Ghanaian port, Port of Takoradi, which is working with another 10 units MAFI RoRo tractors. Within the next few years this port will be expanded considerably in order to relieve the port of TEMA which is handling more than 1 million TEU a year. Another company that is making big strides on the African Continent is Belgium-based MOL. According to Marc Vandenberghe, Project Engineer for MOL, the company received several large orders from African countries such as Egypt, Kenya and Algeria. For these countries MOL can still install the stage 3A engines while for European countries more and more stage 3B or stage 4 diesel engines are installed. In addition, the company recently supplied RoRo tractors to both Harwich and Felixstowe [UK] and are working on the re-design to install the latest stage 4 engines.
What’s new?
There is growing interest from the industry in alternative fuels/power sources, LNG, electric, etc. But when planning and studying for alternative fuels, a thorough cost comparison and payback calculation is needed – this would include for example capital investment on equipment and infrastructure. Often the results will show that this is still relatively higher than conventional diesel powered units. Kalmar has been involved in the development of various alternative power sources for terminal tractors for several years now. “In these projects we have seen that technology is proven already today, but unfortunately economically they are not viable yet,” observes Booth. This February Kalmar launched a totally new product for both distribution and container yard operations – the new Kalmar Ottawa T2. In the first phase it will be launched for North American market and other regions will follow soon after. The T2’s ground-breaking design, with features a strengthened chassis, faster fifth-wheel lifting, and safety enhancements also offers easier maintenance and serviceability. In turn, many routine service procedures, such as oil and transmission fluid checks, can be accomplished more quickly and safely from ground level. The T2 utilises Kalmar Ottawa’s proven three-point air suspension system and electric cab tilt, which also helps speed-up maintenance and servicing.
Simultaneously Kalmar has also actively worked together with end customers and engine suppliers to develop the use of four cylinder engines in terminal tractors. Operational tests have shown good reliability and economy. Last year, Terberg worked on the development of a yard tractor with an LNG fueled engine. The prototype was tested in the Noatum terminal of Valencia in Spain. The test was part of the European funded Green cranes project of TEN-T. A comparison has been made between a Euro5 diesel tractor and the LNG unit. The results showed that the LNG unit is as powerful as the diesel and the drivers liked the unit because it had less vibration and even less noise compared to the diesel version. The LNG engine used is an 8.9 litre Westport Cummins engine with 250 bhp while the diesel engine was a 6.7 litre Cummins QSB. Terberg opted for the bigger engine as this had the same torque as the smaller diesel engine. The test showed that LNG fueled engine performs as well as the diesel version. Another first for Terberg was the release of a new heavy RT403 4×4 tractor, replacing the RT382-4×4. The first tractors have been delivered and the feed-back is very positive. This new model will allow Terberg to supply to markets which previously had been hard for them to enter. The new RT403 has the same cabin as the rest of the RoRo tractor range that was introduced in 2010. This cabin is more ergonomic and larger than the old one still used on the RT382. The new tractor is equipped with a Mercedes OM470 engine with a 300kW/403bhp EU-Stage4/US Tier-4-final version – the greenest and most fuel efficient version in the market at the moment. Italy-based CVS Ferrari also reports improvements to their cabin design including better front and rear visibility by lowering the front windscreen, raising the rear part of the roof in order to give the driver a better view of the approaching spreader and container as they descend from a crane. The company also reduced the number of instruments in the cab by regrouping most of them to produce a more ergonomic layout. To improve driver comfort, CVS Ferrari was one of the first companies to introduce air suspension and today the vehicle’s rear suspension system has been upgraded to provide better stability and comfort under all working conditions. In addition, the suspension system for the cabin has been improved, with thicker rubber silent blocks to prevent vibrations; more noise insulation has also been added. To improve safety, the cabin frame construction has been redesigned to better resist impact, meeting the latest stringent ISO standards. The latest FYT 230 and FR 270 tractor range has been equipped with the latest version of Can Bus management control system along with complete diagnostics, enabling the vehicles to integrate int
o a more complex port control systems in real time.
Going electric
Vandenberghe reports that a number of customers are interested in their full electric terminal tractor. Since the delivery of MOL’s first electric terminal tractor YME225/4×2 at the end of 2011, the company collected a lot of information from the operation of these tractors in order to compare diesel engines against the electric version depending on the application. “Although the electric Terminal Tractor has higher investment costs, you need to look in detail to the savings on fuel and maintenance costs,” says Vandenberghe. He also highlights the zero emission and the lower noise level from this type of truck and points out that several orders for this Electric Terminal Tractor have been received. Terberg has also been heavily testing their full electric tractor units and recently started to accept orders for this product. The first 5 units have been sold to a range of customers not too far from the factory. Amongst them are a container terminal, an IKEA distribution centre and a supermarket logistics centre. “The customers all opted for this product mainly for the green image they want to portray towards their customers,” said Oerlemans. “Of course also the Zero emission of this vehicle is a huge benefit for the people working in and around the units.”