2002-01-22

The machines, which are due to be delivered in 2002, are to be split between the La Spezia Container Terminal (LSCT) and the Port of Livorno Container Terminal, with each terminal taking delivery of five machines.

The machines, which are all 6+1 wide, 1 over 5 high, will be equipped with Smartrail, a system providing steering automation as well as a container verification system which logs the container positions within the stack, thereby improving the speed, accuracy and safety of terminal operations.

The Port of La Spezia was containerised in 1986 with the establishment of LSCT, part of the Contship Italia Group, and is ideal for Contship's intermodal needs due to its good rail and road connections to all of Italy and Southern Europe.

In 2001 the port handled approximately 900,000 TEU, almost double the number handled five years ago. This rapid increase in traffic is being matched by terminal expansion, in particular an increase in container stacking capacity.

Here, the implementation of the new Kalmar RTGs is crucial to maintaining the efficiency of the terminal as throughput climbs.

Already in use in LSCT are two Kalmar RTGs, which stack containers in blocks of six wide and five high. The five new RTGs ordered by Contship will be crucial to the major expansion programme, as Mr Paolo Mussi, Technical Manager Assistant at La Spezia Container Terminal, explains:
"The positive nature of the ports growth has led La Spezia to implement a major three-phase expansion programme that extends until 2004-2005 when throughput is expected to reach 1.5 million TEU per annum. The Kalmar RTGs are an integral part of this plan."

The situation is similar at the Port of Livorno Container Terminal. With Contship Italia's shareholding in the Port of Livorno currently standing at 50%, the Italian company has a large part to play in the port development planned for 2002. The first aim is to replace the container terminals existing RTGs with new Kalmar RTGs. Marco Simonetti, Managing Director of Terminal Darsena Toscana comments:
"We are confident that we have made the correct choice in ordering Kalmar RTGs for the Port of Livorno. With an annual throughput of approximately 400,000 TEU, the port needs reliable and efficient equipment to keep operations running smoothly. We believe that Kalmar offers such advantages."