Jim Newsome, CEO, SCSPA will give the  keynote speech at this year’s highly successful Port & Terminal Technology USA conference & exhibition to be held in Charleston March 22 & 23. A targeted event specially designed for, and aimed at, representatives from operations, maintenance and engineering from port authorities, terminal operators, consultancy firms, dredging contractors, maritime construction firms, corrosion and piling companies, consulting engineering firms and suppliers of cargo handling and terminal equipment and those involved in the effective development and operation of container ports and terminals around the globe.

Previous events have attracted over 150 participants from more than 95 global companies!

Visit www.mcimedia.com for the event brochure & speaker agenda of email claire@mcimedia.com

The machine became operational at the south harbour of the North Sea port in December 2015. The cost effective, service friendly and ergonomic reach stacker will operate the twice weekly container service and stack yard. The machine will also be used for client port training purposes. With a wheelbase of 6,200 mm, the Terex Liftace 5-31 reach stacker offers a maximum load capacity of 45 t in the first container row and 31 t in the second container row.

The Port of Blyth is the operating division of Blyth Harbour Commission, a modern Trust Port operated for the benefit of all stakeholders. It is used as a strategic hub by many shippers looking to serve northern England, Scotland and the Netherlands. The port handles a diverse range of cargoes but has a strong reputation for servicing the energy sector, forest products, container and dry bulk sectors. Port of Blyth’s Technical Director, Alan Todd, stated that the high performance and manoeuvrability of the Liftace 5-31 reach stacker would help improve productivity: “We have a
leading position in the north-east of England, and our container operations are developing rapidly. This investment has been made to speed up our container
handling activities and provide an unparalleled level of service to our growing customer base.” He added: “We operate in the immediate vicinity of a residential area and we have an environmental responsibility to our neighbours. The low level of emissions from the Liftace-31 reach stacker was an important factor in the decision making process.”

Alex Stogianidis, Director United Kingdom, TPS, was delighted to secure the first UK order for a Liftace 5-31 reach stacker. “We have enjoyed strong sales of Liftace reach stackers in Europe, since the product launch in early 2015. The combination of competitive operating costs, ease of maintenance and operator comfort meets the requirements of many operators and we expect the order from the Port of Blyth to be the first of many in the UK.”

This was one million tonnes or four percent more than in the year 2014. 25.1 million tonnes of freight were loaded and unloaded at Rostock overseas port. According to the port and shipping authority another 2.1 million tonnes were moved at the cargo and fishing port, the chemical port and other port facilities of the Hanseatic city. All told, Rostock overseas port logged 7,883 port calls by ferry and ro-ro vessels, tankers, freighters and cruise liners last year, of which as many as 6,076 port calls were made by ferry and ro-ro vessels.

Jens A. Scharner and Dr. Gernot Tesch expressed their great satisfaction with this trend in their first year at the helm of Rostock Port Development Company: “At 25.1 million tonnes (gross) of goods handled in 2015, the port companies in Rostock achieved the fourth best handling result in the history of the overseas port, recording a plus of four percent compared to 2014″, states Jens A. Scharner. „This very positive result is all the more remarkable since an accident in the grain division of the port caused several hundred thousand tonnes of handling to be lost and the high-tonnage handling of liquid goods was weak in 2015. We are particularly gratified by the fact that the growth in high value-creating cargo types such as ferry and ro-ro cargo, paper and general cargo managed to more than make up for the decline in high-tonnage cargo types”, Dr. Gernot Tesch adds.

The number of ferry passengers carried on the lines to Denmark, Sweden and Finland increased by 200,000 to 2.2 million travellers. This makes Rostock the largest German ferry passenger port with several scheduled connections to northern Europe.

There was strong growth in wheeled cargo, ferry and ro-ro goods and general cargo. Dry bulk handling suffered a slight setback and liquid cargo handling a larger one.

Last year’s handling of dry bulk cargo was just below the high level of the previous year, at a total of seven million tonnes. Apart from the slight growth in grain handling of 3.3 million tonnes the 623,000 tonnes of cement pumped over the edge of the quay also made a positive difference. By contrast the handling of split gravel declined by 130,000 tonnes to 315,000 tonnes. “Grain handling could have turned out even higher if a grain loader hadn’t broken down as the result of a fire towards the end of the year”, explains Dr. Gernot Tesch. “This stresses the urgent necessity of building another efficient grain loader at the overseas port in order to provide all grain traders active here now and in the future with a reliable basis for extending their business activities.”

At 2.4 million tonnes the handling of liquid goods showed a deficit of 600,000 tonnes or 19 percent compared to 2014. Last year lower amounts of petrol, biodiesel, gas oil and fuel oil were pumped over the edge of the quay in Rostock.

Handling of general cargo was doubled to 956,000 tonnes loaded and unloaded. Especially sheet metal, slabs, pipes and wind power plants increased in handling.

The new solution continues Kalmar’s long-term commitment to developing solutions that help customers meet their sustainability targets and minimise the environmental impact of their operations. Kalmar K-Motion’s combination of hydrostatic and mechanical technologies delivers a more efficient transmission and allows for a smaller engine, all without compromising drive and lift power. All of this adds up to a reduction in both fuel consumption and exhaust emissions of as much as 40%.

K-Motion’s smart control system improves precision in both low and high drive-speed modes by splitting the power to increase overall drive and lifting efficiency, while the improved joystick enables more precise driving. As a result, daily operations are safer as operators can focus on the task at hand and react more quickly to potential problems, while the improved ergonomics also help reduce fatigue.

Ken Loh, Executive Vice President, Kalmar Asia-Pacific, says: “Kalmar K-Motion has been developed as a result of listening closely to the needs of our customers. The support and feedback we receive from our customers and dealers is a key input to our R&D process. K-Motion is a continuation of our commitment to offering innovative technologies and world-class solutions that help our customers achieve their operational and environmental goals.”

The first equipment to feature K-Motion technology is the Kalmar Gloria DRG450 reachstacker, designed for container, intermodal and industrial handling. Because K-Motion technology allows for a smaller engine with a maximum speed of 1700 rpm, it helps reduce engine noise, thereby improving comfort both for drivers and anyone in the surrounding area.

Stefan Johansson, Director, Sales and Marketing, Kalmar Reachstackers and Empty Container Handlers, says: “Now more than ever, terminals are under pressure to increase their capacity, cut costs and reduce the environmental footprint of everyday operations. We at Kalmar have a long-term commitment to developing efficient and sustainable technology, and this includes the possible application of K-Motion technology across our entire range of reachstackers in the future.”