CARGOTEC CORPORATION, TRADE PRESS RELEASE 3 SEPTEMBER 2012 AT 10 AM (EEST)
75 years on, Cargotec's MacGregor range of reliable, innovative technologies continues to provide shipowners and operators with unrivalled expertise and performance in the most demanding marine environments
"This year marks the 75th anniversary of MacGregor, Cargotec's global market-leading brand in marine cargo handling and offshore load-handling solutions. Although much has changed since its foundation, it continues to provide customer-driven innovations to the marine and offshore markets. Today, half of the world's oceangoing ships carry MacGregor equipment on board," says Pekka Vauramo, Executive Vice President for Marine.
The MacGregor name made its first impression on the industry during the 1920s when engineer brothers Joseph and Robert MacGregor developed the first steel hatch cover in Whitley Bay in the north of England, and patented it in 1929. This was a success and MacGregor & Company was founded in 1937 to promote and sell the hatch covers.
Through development, acquisition and merger, the MacGregor product range has grown continuously since then. In 2005 Kone acquired MacGregor International and later in the same year, Kone demerged and Cargotec was listed. Cargotec Corporation is the world's leading provider of cargo handling solutions and in addition to MacGregor, has two other market-leading brands, Hiab and Kalmar.
Some notable MacGregor milestones in the past twelve months include: the introduction of the first fully automatic MacGregor twistlock, the CA8; winning Offshore Support Journal's innovation of the year award for the MacGregor Chain Wheel Manipulator; establishing a new joint venture company in China, Rainbow-Cargotec Industries Co Ltd (RCI) to grow the company's offshore MacGregor crane portfolio; and the introduction of a new range of electrically-driven offshore anchor handling/towing winches.
Electric drives are both economical and commercially competitive, they are also easy to install, monitor and service. Cargotec's growing electric-drive portfolio includes MacGregor RoRo cargo access equipment such as quarter ramps, internal ramps and car decks, MacRack side-rolling hatch cover systems, and MacGregor variable frequency drive cranes and winches. Electrically-driven equipment minimises environmental impact by saving energy and eliminating oil leaks that can pollute the sea and damage cargo.
Cargotec's electric drive technology is part of a broad range of marine and offshore cargo handling equipment. Through its MacGregor brand, Cargotec offers hatch covers, lashing systems, cranes, RoRo cargo and passenger access equipment and self-unloading systems. For ports and terminals, Cargotec delivers MacGregor linkspans, shore ramps and passenger gangways as well as Siwertell bulk handling equipment. And for the offshore industry, its product portfolio includes a broad range of advanced solutions for subsea load handling, anchor handling and towing and mooring operations.
Cargotec believes that the value of its products and services is not confined to their ability to function well; it extends to their through-life performance, reliability and managed costs, achieved through quality assurance on a global scale.
As for the future, Cargotec aims to continue to grow, both in merchant marine and offshore business.
Photo 1: Wooden hatch covers in 1949
Photo 2: Single pull steel hatch covers after conversion in 1963
Photo 3: One of the first folding type hatch covers
Photo 4: Break bulk handling in the past
For further information:
Heli Malkavaara, Communications Director, Marine, tel: +358 2 4121 252
Email: heli.malkavaara@cargotec.com
Cargotec improves the efficiency of cargo flows on land and at sea - wherever cargo is on the move. Cargotec's daughter brands, Hiab, Kalmar and MacGregor are recognised leaders in cargo and load handling solutions around the world. Cargotec's global network is positioned close to customers and offers extensive services that ensure the continuous, reliable and sustainable performance of equipment. Cargotec's sales totalled EUR 3.1 billion in 2011 and it employs approximately 10,500 people. Cargotec's class B shares are quoted on NASDAQ OMX Helsinki under symbol CGCBV. www.cargotec.com
MacGregor is the global market-leading brand in marine cargo handling and offshore load-handling solutions. Customer-driven MacGregor engineering and service solutions for the maritime transportation industry and the offshore load-handling and naval logistics markets are used on board merchant ships, offshore support vessels, and in ports and terminals.
Editor's notes:
Key MacGregor dates
1929 First MacGregor steel hatch cover patent accepted
1937 MacGregor & Company formed
1945 Henri Kummerman appointed agent in France
1949 MacGregor-Comarain formed
1949 First single-pull hatch cover installed
1952 First flush tweendeck hatch cover developed
1954 First flush weatherdeck hatch cover developed
1957 Navire company formed - later to merge with MacGregor
1958 First purpose-designed RoRo entered service
1958 First hatch cover/ramp designed
1959 First hydraulically-operated stern door marked beginning of short-sea ferry RoRo
1961 Mechanised portable decks for ferries introduced
1967 Mechanised lift and roll covers for cellular container ships installed
1968 First quarter ramp fitted
1969 Navire Cargo Gear AB formed
1973 Slewing ramps introduced
1983 MacGregor merged with Navire to form MacGregor-Navire becoming part of the Kone Corporation
1989 Dan-Elevator acquired
1993 Conver-OSR acquired
1993 Incentive acquired MacGregor-Navire's shares from the Kone Corporation. Incentive already owned Hägglunds Marine. Company now called the MacGregor Group
1995 Partnership with YORK International
1997 Hatch cover production cooperation with Nantong Ocean Iron & Steel Co (OISCO) in China
1997 First order for StackBeam container concept
1998 MacGregor Flexipads won prestigious Innovation award
1998 Incentive sold MacGregor to Industri Kapital
2000 Linkspan specialist Norent acquired
2000 US galley specialist Atlas Marine Services acquired
2001 MacGregor centred crane production in China with Nanjing-based Lüzhou Machine Works
2001 Otecnor acquired and business activities in the Middle East expanded
2002 MacGregor Group AB became majority owner in MacGregor-Kayaba Ltd
2004 Fire-extinguishing systems added to the portfolio with Softonex
2004 MacGregor Onboard Care service concept introduced to the market
2005 Kone Cargotec Corporation acquired MacGregor Group
2005 MacGregor's marine elevator business transferred to KONE
2005 AllSet Marine Lashing acquired
2006 Company expanded into dry bulk handling by acquiring BMH Marine, now known as Cargotec Sweden Bulk Handling AB
2006 Ship hydraulics service company Grampian Hydraulics acquired
2007 New joint venture production partnership with Vinashin
2007 Company joined forces with Baltic shiprepair specialist BLRT Grupp
2007 First MacGregor hopper and blow pump bulk handling system for offshore supply vessels commissioned
2007 First MacGregor VFD electric crane prototypes installed on board M/V Pacific Flores
2007 Hydramarine, Plimsoll and Vestnorsk Hydraulikkservice acquired to expand offering into offshore sector
2008 New offshore equipment factory for MacGregor equipment in Tianjin, China opened
2008 US service company Platform Crane Service acquired
2008 First contract for a full suite of electrically-driven MacGregor RoRo equipment for PCTCs received
2009 Innovative MacGregor ultra-deepwater lifting system (UDLS) for offshore cranes introduced
2009 MacRack, an electrically-driven MacGregor hatch cover operating system for side-rolling hatch covers, introduced
2010 New offshore service centre in Brazil established
2011 Offshore load handling competence centre in Kristiansand, Norway established
2011 Offshore winch service competence centre in Singapore established
2011 Remote-controlled MacGregor Chain Wheel Manipulator (CWM) introduced
2011 First fully automatic MacGregor twistlock introduced
2012 New offshore service centre in Houston, Texas established
2012 Cargotec established a new joint venture company with Jiangsu Rainbow Heavy Industries (RHI) in China, Rainbow-Cargotec Industries Co Ltd (RCI)
2012 New range of electrically-driven offshore winches introduced