tem, offering a longer rope lifetime and allowing the use of normal wire ropes. Says Mr Kleiss: “With moderate trolley speeds of up to 120-140 m/min a semi-rope concept is favourable. Above that speed – and we do see a lot of specs for speeds over 200 m/min – a full-rope trolley concept is preferable.”

Record-breaking gantry crane order MSC Home Terminal opts for Kalmar’s reliable technology and delivery times Continued from page 1

The biggest European ship-to-shore crane order of all time was awarded to Kalmar at the end of last year when MSC Home Terminal, a joint venture between Hesse-Noord Natie (HNN) and Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) at Antwerp's Delwaidedok, ordered ten super post-Panamax gantry cranes with an option for a further eight. With an outreach of 56 metres, these high-speed, heavy-duty cranes will be capable of handling ships over 20 containers wide. The order for ten super post-Panamax gantry cranes also includes an option from HNN for eight similar cranes for the first two berths of its Left Bank concession (Deurganckdok). René Kleiss, Vice-President, Kalmar Ship-to-Shore Cranes, explains why he believes Kalmar cranes won an order for which all major crane suppliers bid: “Simply put, the customer has put their trust in our technology and delivery times. This industry has, in recent years, seen enormous delivery-time problems. We have a good reputation for delivering on time. Customers know that they can depend on that, just as they depend on our technology.”

standardisation of equipment is all very good in theory, but it does not necessarily work very well in reality. Each terminal is its own world with its own individual requirements. Catering to those requirements has consequences throughout the design and manufacturing process.”

“With regards to this particular project, our ability to meet the delivery time is essential. The customer is refurbishing its entire existing terminal, with a quay length of over 2 km, and our ability to integrate our planning with theirs, so that the cranes are delivered at a pace of one per month starting in November, is imperative.”

A weighty issue Crane weight has always been an issue, but is becoming more and more important nowadays. Says Mr Kleiss: “We are confronted with customers specs that require us to give evidence and guarantees of the actual crane weight because terminal operators have noticed in the past that crane weights are not always what they should be. If the crane weight is higher than agreed, it can result in overloading of the rail infrastructure and, consequently, extremely high quayside maintenance costs.” Weight is particularly important for MSC Home Terminal, as Delwaidedok is an old dock and operating loads are limited to 70 tonnes/m of rail. Even with the new landside rail, which will provide a 30 m rail gauge as opposed to the existing 15 m, this is quite a challenge for such large cranes, particularly as the inside clear width has to be 17.5 m while overall width over buffers is limited to 27 m.

Another factor in Kalmar’s favour, according to Mr Kleiss, is the company’s decades of experience in providing cranes to major European operators. “Local knowledge is, in my opinion, once again becoming a valuable commodity. The global

Tailoring design to suit needs The super post-Panamax cranes to be delivered to Home Terminal will incorporate Kalmar's latest ship-to-shore crane technology and design, successfully introduced at Uniport Rotterdam and the Port of Rouen. Says Mr Kleiss: “In general, the goal in crane design is to achieve an optimum balance between the stiffness and the weight of the crane. You can increase a crane’s stiffness by adding more steel in the construction process, but that risks the crane’s natural frequency becoming slower, which reduces driver comfort and makes positioning of the spreader more difficult, thus impacting operational speed.” “Neither is it a good solution to try compensating for extra crane mass by adding more wheels,” says Mr Kleiss. This further reduces the distance between the pivot points of the bogies, meaning wheel loads increase when the crane is subject to a side wind. “The fact is that you do not achieve stiffness by adding steel but by proper design. Kalmar achieves an extremely stiff crane structure by the use of a double box girder and the so-called ‘delta forestay’ which provides continuous support over the greatest length of the boom.” Other features in the new design include a rope support sys-

Five-year service offering swings

Interforest STS deal Pictured from left to right are: Jan Jochmann, Operations Manager, Interforest BV; Cock Angevaren, Project Manager, Kalmar Industries BV; René Kleiss, Vice-President, Kalmar Ship-to-Shore Cranes shaking hands with Bob de Lange, Managing Director, Interforest and Peter van der Donk, Kalmar Industries BV (at the back).

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Existing (auxiliary trolley) and new (powerchain) technology are combined in the MSC cranes in order to improve reliability and reduce maintenance costs. The festoon system has been replaced by powerchain systems, which are advantageous in terms of saving maintenance costs. Increased capacity The MSC Home Terminal order also reflects the success of Kalmar’s cooperation with Hollandia, which produces the steel structures. Comments Mr Kleiss: “Through the alliance with Hollandia we have the capacity to build more and still achieve on-time delivery. This alliance also gives us three or four premises for production purposes and more than 1,200 employees. This year our production capacity aims at growing to over 10 to 15 cranes per year. The design and engineering competence still rests with Kalmar.”

The main parameters for Kalmar’s cranes for MSC are: Safe working load on the ropes / under spreader

80/65 tonnes

Outreach

56

metres

Railspan

30

metres

Backreach

25

metres

Hoisting height

35

metres

Hoisting depth

21

metres

Hoisting speed rated load / empty spreader

90/180 metres/minute

Trolley travelling speed

240

metres/minute

Gantry travelling speed

45

metres/minute

Forest product handling and shipping specialist, Interforest BV, has placed an order for a Kalmar shipto-shore (STS) gantry container crane for its terminal in Rotterdam. The purchase agreement, signed on 14 January 2004, incorporates a full service and maintenance contract covering the first five years after commissioning. Due to the expansion of its terminal, Interforest has decided to acquire its first container crane to shorten ship turnaround times while increasing the number of ship visits.

est’s operations will expand to 18 hectares including a 500 m quay capable of servicing two ships simultaneously. A recent deal with Star Shipping of Bergen, Norway will boost Interforest’s existing annual throughput of 30,000 TEU by an additional 60,000 TEU.

Interforest, owned by the Swedish company SCA, will begin container stevedoring activities on 1 October 2004. Up until now, containers have been handled by Interforest using vessels’ own cranes or neighbouring container terminals, such as ECT Home Terminal. However, as the operator is shipping more of its forest products in containers, this arrangement is no longer economical, says Bob de Lange, Managing Director at Interforest: “This costs time and money and for a liner service it is, of course, important to be able to follow a strict schedule.” Interforest has been renting 6.5 hectares of terminal space from the Rotterdam Port Authority – an area that was recently in use by ECT Home Terminal. The total area reserved for Interfor-

Proactive approach Mr De Lange explains why he chose Kalmar’s ship-to-shore crane: “Kalmar is known to supply quality and reliable container cranes and has many references in Rotterdam, Antwerp and various other European terminals.” “Kalmar’s short delivery time, their proactive approach in offering financing and a competitive pricing for a multi-

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European focus In the ship-to-shore crane market, Kalmar’s focus is primarily on Europe, although in exceptional cases the company may also work with selected customers elsewhere in the world. “There is so much work to be done in Europe and, for the next few years, that’s the market that offers the best prospects for Kalmar when it comes to STS cranes,” says Mr Kleiss. Cranes themselves are also developing at a fast pace, he explains: “We are working on bigger dimensions – for example, cranes with an outreach capable of serving 24-wide container vessels and a hoisting height greater than 40 metres. Tandem lift (handling two 40 ft containers simultaneously) is also under development. An 80tonne capacity on the hoisting ropes is now standard in the majority of cranes. 120 tonnes will be the next step, so why not 140 in the future?” MSC and HNN in The MSC order for ten super post-Panamax gantry cranes will boost capacity for Hesse-Noord Natie (HNN), which was acquired by PSA Corporation Ltd in 2002 and handled 4.3 m TEU in that year. The PSA group has 13 terminal locations in nine countries around the world, including Belgium, Brunei, China, India, Italy, Korea, Portugal, Yemen and Singapore. Between them they handled 24.5 m TEU in 2002. HNN’s partner in Home Terminal Antwerp, Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC), is one of the largest global container shipping lines. Founded in 1970 and based in Geneva, MSC operates a fleet of more than 200 vessels with a total capacity of over 500,000 TEU. More information: René Kleiss Tel +31 102946702 Fax +31 102946778 rene.kleiss@kalmarind.com

year full service contract sealed our decision to co-operate with them.” The gantry crane is scheduled for delivery 1 October 2004 includes features such as a 38 m outreach, a 15.24 m railspan, a 20 m backreach and a 40-tonne loading capacity under the spreader and up to 60 tons under the rotator. Aside from handling containers, the machine is also suitable for handling breakbulk cargoes. René Kleiss, Vice-President, Kalmar Ship-to-Shore Cranes concludes: “This order proves that after its recent success in selling super post-Panamax cranes, Kalmar is also competitive in the Panamaxsize crane sector.”