Kalmar Industries has been awarded approximately 30 million Euro as part of a multi-year contract for the supply of straddle carriers to South African Port Operations, the terminal operating subsidiary of South Africa's transportation conglomerate Transnet.
Kalmar will supply the machines with its South African joint operation partner African National Engineering (ANE), a Black Economic Empowered (BEE) company.
The straddle carriers will be supplied to S A Port Operations' four main container terminals. The first order comprising several machines will be supplied to the Durban Container Terminal as part of its ambitious ZAR 1.34 billion "Port of Durban Development 2005" redevelopment and equipment replacement programme.The first units will arrive in Durban in December 2001 and the remaining machines will be progressively delivered during 2002.
As part of the S A Department of Trade and Industry's Industrial Participation (IP) programme, Kalmar and ANE will produce certain components for the straddle carriers in South Africa, sourced from BEE subcontractors. The IP programme also places great emphasis on training and the transfer of technology to previously disadvantaged individuals (PDI).
Kalmar won the S A Port Operations straddle carrier contract in close competition with three other companies and was chosen on the basis of the Kalmar straddle carrier's compliant specification, Kalmar's ability to deliver the machines quickly and the local arrangements made to comply with the South African Government and Transnet BEE and IP initiatives.
The units for Durban will be 40 tonne capacity models, capable of stacking three containers high, and are fitted with stainless steel cabins due to the corrosive atmosphere prevalent in SouthAfrican ports. They will be fitted with Sisu diesel industrial engines and ZF3 speed electronically controlled constant torque transmissions, the patented 'Smoothlift' rope hoist system and Kalmar's telescopic spreader.
All systems on Kalmar straddle carriers are PLC (programmable logic controller) monitored and controlled including condition monitoring, diagnostics and stability alarm system. Kalmar was the first straddle carrier manufacturer to introduce the PLC to its machines more than ten years ago.Development of the PLC and its capabilities have continued over this period and the Kalmar straddle carrier is currently the most technologically advanced in the industry, ready for future automation.
Note to editors:
Kalmar is a global provider of heavy duty materials handling equipment and services to ports, intermodal traffic, terminals and demanding industrial customers.
Kalmar focuses on supplying handling solutions that enable customers to operate with a high level of efficiency and reliability.
Every fourth container or trailer transfer at terminals around the world is handled by a Kalmar machine. Kalmar provides a large range of value added services such as maintenance contracts and fleet management. Nelcon and Ottawa complete the portfolio of the master brand Kalmar.
Manufacturing plants are situated in Sweden (as well as the head office), in Finland, in the USA, in the Netherlands and in Estonia.
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