Kalmar equipment in demand

Crane and container-handling equipment manufacturer Kalmar Industries has announced three big orders for facilities in Korea, Vietnam and South Africa.

Transnet Ltd., parent of Transnet Port Terminals (TPT), has ordered 22 E-One+ rubber-tired gantry (RTG) cranes for use in South Africa's newest port development, Port of Ngqura, on the eastern Cape. Deliveries of the cranes will commence in October with the final units expected to arrive in April 2009, before the port goes fully operational by mid-2009.

The Port of Ngqura, some 20 kilometers east of Port Elizabeth, received its first vessel earlier this month. The deepwater port will initially be able to handle up to 970,000 TEUs utilizing two berths, before expanding to 2 million TEUs with four berths.

The Port of Ngqura is destined to be South Africa's answer to its booming export market, said Hamilton Nxumalo, general manager equipment at TPT. Transnet Ltd. is confident that with Kalmar's reliable equipment and excellent aftermarket support, we will help the country prosper by efficiently handling its growing container volumes.   

TPT (previously South African Port Operations) recently awarded Kalmar a maintenance contract for all rubber-tired equipment in use at the Port of Durban's new Pier 1 Container Terminal.

Meanwhile, Vietnam International Container Terminals (VICT) has agreed to purchase 17 of the same cranes to cater for a sharp rise in container traffic at its Ho Chi Minh City facility. The new units, to be delivered from 2008 to 2010, will replace some of the older RTGs at the facility.

VICT is strategically located at the crossroads of inland transport serving both road and waterways, therefore, it was paramount that our boom in containerized traffic be handled in a safe, productive and cost-efficient way, said Joseph Wann, managing director of VICT.

Kalmar said requests for its cranes in Vietnam have gone from strength to strength with repeat orders last year from Saigon Newport Co. (SNP) for a total of 20 RTGs for the first phase of its Tan Cang-Cai Mep International Container Terminal, under construction on the Thi Vai River.

Over in Korea, Hanjin Shipping has placed an order for 96 terminal tractors for operation at its new container terminal as part of the Pusan New Port terminal opening next year. The first terminal tractors will be delivered starting in June 2008 with the last machines arriving in 2009.

Kalmar is part of Finland's Cargotec Corp. 

Source: American Shipper