A contract for the supply of 26 Automated Stacking Cranes (ASC) and 2 Rail Gantry Cranes (RGC) has been signed last week.

The highly automated equipment will be delivered in 2013 and 2014 and be ready for full commercial operation of the terminal as from November 2014. “In this project, APM Terminals and Kuenz intend to set a new standard for productivity, reliability and availability of terminal equipment worldwide” says Michael Geiger, Director Sales of Kuenz. This includes several innovations for both, the ASCs and the RGCs. A key innovation on the RGCs is the automated handling of containers on the water side, a new combination of manned and unmanned operation. From a mechanical perspective, the Kuenz flex drive for the gantry travel gear and a pioneering Kuenz hoist system in the ASCs are examples for superior technological solutions.

Kuenz is the market leader in Rail-Mounted Gantry Cranes for Intermodal use in Europe and North America and a pioneer in Automated Stacking Cranes. Between 2001 and 2005, Kuenz delivered a total of 52 ASCs to HHLA’s Container-Terminal Altenwerder (CTA) in Hamburg together with ABB. CTA is still one of the most successful automated terminals worldwide.

For the APM Terminals Maasvlakte II project, Kuenz will use ABB as the supplier of the electrical and automation system. . “ABB’s extensive know how and capabilities in crane automation and our common experience of the CTA project made this decision a no-brainer.” says Günter Bischof, Managing Director of Kuenz.

Kuenz is based in Hard, Austria. It has two production facilities in Austria and one in Slovak Republic. The company’s core businesses are Rail-Mounted Gantry Cranes, Special Purpose Cranes and equipment for the Hydro Power Industry. Kuenz Management sees the order from APM Terminals as a confirmation of the company’s strategy to provide high quality solutions and develop long-term partnerships with customers.

In 2011, port and logistics company Zuidnatie, introduced two new Hyster H22-12EC empty container handlers to its operation in Antwerp, Belgium. The Hyster 5-8 high empty container handlers feature the Tier 4i / Stage IIIB Cummins QSB 6.7 engine and include performance optimisation developments from Hyster to reduce fuel consumption, such as cooling on demand, auto-speed hydraulics, RPM management and alternate engine idle speed.

“The new empty container handlers are extremely quiet and double green” explains Chris van der Werdt, Sales Manager for Hyster Big Trucks. “They have low exhaust emissions and are painted in Zuidnatie’s corporate green.”

As a result of the support from the local Hyster dealer Barloworld Handling and excellent performance delivered by the Hyster equipment at the container terminal, Zuidnatie placed an additional order for seven high capacity Hyster forklift trucks which feature similar fuel saving technologies.  Hyster Big Trucks over 16 tonne lift capacity include Tier 4i / Stage IIIB engines and other energy efficiency features, and use Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) technology, so the operators can fill the fuel tank as normal. The customer can also select either an HiP “high performance” or ECO-eLo “fuel efficiency” mode.

The new fleet includes two H18XM-12 forklift trucks with 18,000kg lift capacities, also powered by the Cummins 6.7 engine. Zuidnatie also ordered H25XM-12 forklift trucks with 25,000kg capacity and an H32XM-12 forklift with 32,000kg lift capacity, which feature the same engine and energy saving characteristics. 

 The forklift trucks and the container handlers deliver rapid boost at low engine rpm and then maintain high boost at higher rpm, independent of engine speed. This is due to the Variable Geometry Turbocharger (VGT™) which varies the exhaust gas flow into the turbine wheel delivering excellent performance and productivity.  The trucks also only provide maximum power on demand, when it is really needed, with load-sensing hydraulics that ‘feel’ the load weight that is lifted.  As maximum loads are not always handled, even less fuel is consumed.

The high capacity forklift trucks are to be used in the port operation where steel and non ferrous metals are received, stored, repacked and distributed through the road or rail networks. 

All the trucks feature the Hyster ‘Vista’ Operator Compartment which offers excellent comfort, outstanding ergonomics and a low noise level. The design of the cab provides the operator with excellent all-round visibility, and particularly of the operating area, with the cab ideally positioned, mid-high and towards the front on the forklifts and at the rear on the empty container handlers for stacking up to 8 high.

The Hyster equipment provides a low cost of operation and is highly reliable for the demanding operations on the quayside in the Port of Antwerp.  They are fully supported by the local Hyster distribution partner, Barloworld Handling, providing rapid engineer response and planned maintenance.

Founded in 1870, Zuidnatie (http://www.zuidnatie.be) has expanded significantly over 142 years, now providing a full range of services including stevedoring, logistics, transport, warehousing, customs department and container department, across various industry sectors

In 2011 fully 84% of Bromma yard crane orders were for all-electric units, and in 2011 Bromma sold more yard crane spreaders than all its competitors combined.

(The attached photo features the 2,000th all-electric delivery ceremony, held at the port of Ningbo Daxie in China. Featured is the Chief Executive Officer of China Merchants International Terminal Co., Ltd., Ningbo Daxie, Mr. Geng Hong Hai, together with Mr. Christofer Pilo, Director, Bromma OEM Sales and Commercial Management.)

Bromma all-electric spreaders are being specified by customers due to their inherent reliability, as well as their environmental and economic benefits. Due to fewer service points, lighter weight, and the absence of any hydraulics,  Bromma all-electric spreaders have higher availability, simplified maintenance requirements, require less power, produce fewer emissions, and offer tough durability. As one indicator of spreader reliability, these all-electrics are increasingly being specified for many large automated operations in the industry, with more than 100 Bromma all-electrics purchased in 2011 for automated terminals including TraPac in Los Angeles, the London Gateway in England (20 units),

Khalifa Port in Abu Dhabi (34 units) and Barcelona, Spain (40 units), among others.

 Moving From Strength to Strength in China

Bromma’s 2,000th all-electric spreader delivery is part of a wider trend toward all-electric growth in the China region. Bromma today has more than 1,000 crane spreaders in service in container terminals in mainland China, while the percentage of those spreaders that are all-electric continues to increase year after year. The reduced number of service points on all-electric spreaders is an especially attractive feature of these spreaders, as lifetime costs of operation are reduced.

The patent relates to situations when a container is in motion, such as being loaded or unloaded to/from a truck using a crane such as a quay crane and associates the information from the container on the crane and the specific UTR onto which it has been transferred, creating one event.

“There has been increasing demand from HTS customers to provide such a system for increased yard efficiency to more fully automate all activities in the yard” said Phil Elovic, President and CEO of HTS.

HTS has also been awarded an additional patent  for its Character Recognition Systems. The patents cover HTS’ core applications, a method and system for character recognition for shipping containers on trucks, cranes and trains as well as character recognition of license plates. 

 HTS current patents   include OCR applications such as chassis recognition and access control via OCR, mobile and GSM. Included among these features are operations that enable the capturing and deciphering of alphanumeric information and passing it to a management system such as a TOS (Terminal Operating System), billing, or command and control system.

HTS was a first mover in the marketplace with the first large scale gate commercial OCR system at Pier 400 in the port of Los Angeles – Long Beach over ten years ago.  As a pioneer in the development and manufacture of commercial OCR systems, HTS has achieved worldwide recognition as an authority in developing OCR and computer vision technology. Today, HTS provides advanced OCR solutions at sea ports in over 40 countries around the globe for container content Inspection, border crossings, port automation, and special tailor-made solutions.

HTS has developed and installed hundreds of truck, crane and train OCR systems worldwide, constantly upgrading its capabilities and maintaining its place as an industry leader.