Reducing maintenance on container handling equipment reduces downtime, making equipment more productive, which results in saving money – it’s as simple as that. Currently, one of the major changes is the elimination of hydraulics on the straddle carrier. Leaking hydraulic hoses cause downtime, running oil-pumps increases fuel consumption and as a result these types of machines need more maintenance. Therefore, all of the manufacturers that WPD contacted have moved away from hydraulics by switching to diesel-electric, hybrid systems or even futuristic battery powered straddle carriers. “We think that the straddle carrier which considers the environment will be the mainstream in the [near] future. We have developed an environment-friendly vehicle with hybrid technology for fuel savings and oil usage reduction, which brings our customers financial and economic benefits,” said Masao Watanabe, Port & Logistics Equipment Division, TCM Corporation, Japan. “We are also working on a hybrid vehicle with lithium ion battery which expects to be completed towards the end of 2010.” According to Tiia Kero Marketing Manager, Port Cranes at Konecranes the company is only marketing Diesel-Electrical technology. “Our current diesel-electric model includes technology to provide a more environmentally-friendly machine for our customers and we are continuously working on improvements.” Interestingly enough, Konecranes has not only been reducing the amount of oil and grease on the machines, it has also reduced noise emissions, optimised the power supply to reduce fuel consumption and optimised the steering system to reduce tyre wear. Konecranes are currently testing different options with regards to fuel economy, reduction of emissions and further reduction of the amount of oil on the machines. “With regards to fuel savings there are various technical options available. The clear trend is related to energy storage systems, but the main question is which kind of storage system is the most favourable in regards to performance, dimensions, durability and disposal after lifetime? “We are checking and testing the different options in our R&D department and will come up with a well engineered and proven solution,” Kero added. For Cargotec, Finland, hybrid technology based on energy storage is nowadays a regular option in their electrical straddle and shuttle carriers. In 2008, the company launched its first hybrid straddle carrier [they claim that the launch was about 12 months earlier than any other manufacturer] and in the summer of 2009 they launched the hybrid shuttle carrier version of our 7th generation ESH W shuttle carrier. “Cargotec can offer its Kalmar CSC and ESH W straddle/shuttle carrier range and also the SCR (specific catalytic reduction) based fuel consumption optimisation system as a first supplier in the world at the stage 3a diesel engines,” said Ilkka Annala, Vice President – Sales, Port Cranes at Cargotec. “With SCR technology in stage 3a engines they can achieve at the same time low specific fuel consumption (about 7% lower than standard stage 3a engines) and low exhaust emission – this combination can’t be reached with any other technology currently available.” Nowadays, Cargotec’s VSG (variable speed generator) technology is, according to Annala, also a normal feature on their electrical straddle/shuttle carriers and hybrid packages that can be optionally updated to any existing VSG straddle/shuttle carriers.
Energy recovery
Italian-based CVS Ferrari has also been developing an environmentally-friendly straddle carrier by concentrating on developing an energy recovering system. “In the use of straddle carriers we have positive and negative energy,” explains Marco Tosi, Area Manager for the Mediterranean countries at CVS Ferrari.
The recovery system is using the negative energy in order to increase the positive energy. “I’ll give you an example,” Tosi adds. “When you brake, the brake is generating negative energy. We convert this negative energy into positive energy to be used when we need extra energy. Today the container handling market mainly concentrates on pollution and saving fuel consumption. We are manufacturing a system with which we are able to save around ten to fifteen percent of the fuel consumption. We are the first ones using a hydraulic pump with variable capacity. All machines have an engine that drives a main hydraulic pump. Most of our competitors have machines where the engine must always be run at full power in order to maintain full pressure to the system. Our system does not need to do this. We can use variable power so the engine doesn’t need to run at full speed all the time and it can run between 800rpm up to 2100rpm. That is a big saving on fuel consumption.” The system Tosi refers to is designed for their electrical straddle carriers with an electrical Hybrid Permanent Motor (HPM). The electrical system for the HPM motors has been patented by CVS. “A competitor has tried to “copy” our variable rpm concept but they were not able to recover and store the negative energy,” adds Tosi. CVS has also worked hard on reducing noise control – in general all of their straddle carriers operate below 60-75dB. Tosi claims that this is not just due to the insulation system for the engine but simply because it doesn’t have to run at full speed all the time. Other improvements to reduce the total cost of ownership (TCO) includes longer life of the wheel – normally they have to be replaced every 500 hours, while the wheels on the CVS straddle carriers only need to be replaced every 2000 hours. Another add-on bonus is the quality of the cabin. According to Tosi their (CVS) cabin is a comfortable working place for the driver with all-round visibility being a major priority.
Future focus
So, what will be next for straddle carriers? Although no manufacturer has revealed any new developments or technology that they are working on, the market will closely follow developments from other industries, and in particular that of the car industry, which can be easily applied to ‘[fast] moving’ port equipment. For example car manufacturers are now applying a ‘stop-start’ engine to their cars and this could be easily copied by manufacturers of straddle carriers, forklift trucks, terminal tractors, shuttle carriers, etc. We have seen the introduction for hybrid systems for straddle carriers so why not? However, for now most manufacturers are concentrating on an improved or better TCO, but Cargotec looks to the future by developing and designing products more and more for automated terminals. According to Annala, the company is further developing the AutoShuttle automation and related TLS software package. By fine tuning the straddle carrier automation, new features are being added or developed including fully automatic road truck handling. A fully automated empty yard interface has been developed for the straddle carrier and taken into use at an automated straddle carrier terminal and a normal manual empty container handling depot. With these features the Kalmar automated straddle carrier is capable of performing in fully automatic mode all
the tasks that the normal manual straddle usually does in the container terminal. According to Annala, this effectively means that the automated straddle carrier is the best value for money in container handling regarding operating costs [there are no drivers], dramatically reduced maintenance costs [no operator related accidents], at least 30% lower maintenance costs [accident repairs are eliminated], much better uptime than in manual terminal [no accidents] and 24/7/365 operation possible without any additional operator costs.
The economic downturn
Last year was a very difficult year for the industry in general but it seems that many straddle carrier manufacturers have survived the downturn, although some of them experienced the effects with clients postponing or cancelling orders in 2009. “We have not been so heavily affected by the worldwide crisis. We have been ‘attacked’, but not so heavily,” says Tosi. “Today the biggest sales we have are in South Europe and Northern Africa. All these countries are still investing and purchasing machines. We are also now working on turn-key projects. We supply what is required and are also contracted to carry out full maintenance of the machines”. Watanabe also confirmed that they (TCM) are not an exception to the rule and that they have been affected by the downturn. “Our customers examine the possibility of fully utilising their existing assets and take longer time before making a purchasing decision. They weigh the cost between a new purchase of the vehicle against the refurbishment of the old one. But we offer our customers a reasonable price for a new vehicle and cost for refurbishment work for a wiser decision,” he adds. In 2009 TCM sold a total of 30 straddle carriers before the global economic downturn kicked in. But Watanabe is confident that for 2010 they will sell at least half of that. Some of the highlights for Cargotec in 2009 include an order for 10 straddle carriers (CSC and ESC) – stacking 3-high from Piraeus Port Authority, Greece and from TTI Algeciras in Spain, an order for 20 shuttle carriers for the new Hanjin mega-terminal using automatic stacking cranes for stacking and shuttle carriers for horizontal transportation between stacking cranes and STS container cranes. But there is one issue that all manufacturers have to deal with and that is that the prices are now lower than before. Currently, competition is fierce and prices have dropped considerably. And as if that was not enough another issue has recently surfaced – third party deliveries or as Tosi explains the lack of efficiency in the components supply chain. “Some of the manufacturing companies have adopted a low stock policy. That has started to give us some problems because people do not keep anything in stock. That makes things more complicated for us when trying to fulfill orders for our customers.” But there is light at the end of the tunnel. “We have started to see a positive sign that we have already reached the lowest level. The market is starting to show signs that it is going to improve. But it is clear that we will not be able to reach the same level as three year ago,” Tosi concludes.
Evolution is key
We asked manufacturers what they believed were the most important changes that have taken place over the last 10 years for straddle carriers. Masao Watanabe, Port & Logistics Equipment Division, TCM Corporation, Japan enclosed two photographs in response – one of the SC400 and S3E. The SC400 is the straddle carrier of ten years ago which had torque converter and transmission type for travelling and cylinder and chain type for hoisting. The S3E is their latest straddle carrier, which is a diesel-electric with an electric motor for travelling, and an electric motor and wire rope type for hoisting. Kalmar’s Ilkka Annala highlights several technology improvements in Kalmar straddle carriers over the last ten years. He cites the launch of an electrical straddle carrier offering a diesel engine generator package with AC inverters, electrically controlled viscous fan, variable speed diesel generator set, AC electric travel motors and AC electrical winch hoist lifting system. Another innovation was the launch of a shuttle carrier – a completely new self loading handling concept and equipment series for horizontal transportation between automatic stacking cranes and STS cranes. Thirdly, the hybrid straddle carrier provided energy storage for energy recirculation, for lower emissions and lower fuel consumption. Last but not least Annala points to the new diesel engine technology, including low emission Stage 3A/Tier III diesel engines and a new SCR Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) engine technology. The list is endless and is testimony to the efforts made by manufacturers to continually improve their products.