Finland goes post-Panamax with Cargotec and
Kalmar
Finland's newest container facility, Vuosaari Port in
Helsinki, will soon be capable of handling post-Panamax ships carrying up to 18
containers abreast. At the beginning of June, the Finnish cargo handling
specialist Cargotec delivered the first of four state-of-the-art Kalmar
ship-to-shore (STS) cranes to Vuosaari and this is now being commissioned. The
remaining trio are all expected to be operational by the end of 2008.
Vuosaari's deepsea container terminal will be operated
by Finnsteve Oy Ab and when completed, will have an enormous impact on the
Baltic Sea trades. For the first time, ships of 7000 TEU and larger will be
able to sail all the way from China to Finland knowing that there is a 21st
century container terminal awaiting them.
The four new STS cranes, which will serve a 750m long
quay, will incorporate the latest handling technology both in terms of capacity
and performance. Lifting capacity will be 82 tonnes, enabling Finnsteve the
option of using twin-lift spreaders able to handle two heavy 20ft containers
simultaneously or the increasingly popular Bromma-developed tandem lift mode,
whereby two 40ft containers are lifted at the same time.
As is usual in Nordic countries, special attention
has been paid to the crane operator's working environment. The spacious cabins
offer good visibility and well designed control systems for safe and
comfortable operations. Energy-saving solutions and ease of maintenance will
also be inbuilt.
A Crane Monitoring System will provide information on
the condition of each crane, the number and weight of lifts, maintenance
intervals and fault diagnosis.
Cargotec is the number one STS crane manufacturer in
Europe, having delivered over 40 Kalmar STS cranes to large European ports such
as Antwerp, Oslo and Helsingborg in recent years.
-ends-
Notes to editor:
Press information can be found on
Kalmar's website: www.kalmarind.com. Simply click on News Room to be taken to
a list of recent press releases. Photographs to accompany this release is also
available on the Kalmar website, by clicking on Press Pictures. The caption for
the photographs reads:
"The first Kalmar post-Panamax STS crane
for Vuosaari was shipped out from Cargotec's Rotterdam manufacturing facility
at the end of May. The main components included the portal and the
upperstructure, weighing 450 and 750 tonnes respectively."
Kalmar is a global provider of container
and heavy duty materials handling equipment, automation applications and
related services. It is the world's leading supplier of cargo handling
equipment to ports, terminals and intermodal facilities.
Every fourth container or trailer
transfer at terminals around the world is handled by a Kalmar machine. The
company also supplies a wide range of machines to demanding industrial
customers for applications as diverse as handling steel and paper to shunting
road trailers at distribution hubs.
Kalmar is also leading the way in port
automation applications with its application of unmanned container handling
technology, on-board smart features and remote maintenance products developed
in co-operation with customers and partners.
Kalmar's product range is complemented by
a large range of value added services such as maintenance contracts and fleet
management. Production plants are situated in Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands,
Malaysia, China and the USA. Kalmar's net sales were EUR 1.343 billion in 2007.
Kalmar is part of Cargotec Corporation,
the world's leading provider of cargo handling solutions, which are used in
local transportation, terminals, ports, distribution centres, and ships. In
2007, Cargotec's net sales were EUR 3.018 billion. Cargotec's class B shares
are listed on the Helsinki Stock Exchange. |
