 Gottwald automated stacker crane for P&O |
Gottwald Port Technology has signed an agreement with Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company UK (P&O) to supply automated stacker cranes (ASCs) for a new P&O Antwerp Gateway Terminal in Belgium.
Gottwald will supply, test and commission the first four ASCs for two stack modules by June 2006. Other stack modules would be built and put into operation later, a company statement said. The number of ASCs to be supplied and their cost was confidential, a Gottwald spokesperson said.
The new ASCs would allow P&O to fully automate its cargo storage area at Antwerp and seamlessly link ship-to-shore equipment at terminals to inland storage areas, logistics systems and onward shipping facilities, including long and short sea traffic, inland waterways, road and rail, the statement said.
Gottwald chief executive and financial officer Dirk Kiessling said the company's strategy had been to use traditional crane manufacturing know-how and expertise as building blocks to gain a strong foothold in automated container handling systems.
"The new container stacking crane is an additional module to our growing product range, which now includes a variety of equipment that can be combined to suit our customers' specific requirements on a functional level while offering customers the advantages of standardisation and compatibility on a component level," Kiessling said.
Chief technical officer Dr Mathias Dobner said Gottwald had identified a growing demand for cargo handling automation in the early 1990s when it was developing automated guided vehicles, which have management and navigation systems.
Two ASCs mounted on one set of rails handle one container stack, reducing the number of rails and foundation work required to operate the stacking system.
An ASC can stack one over five containers high and the width of the modules can be varied to customers' requirements. The cranes have been designed to operate in wind strengths of up to 10 Beaufort.
Gottwald Port Technology, based in Dusseldorf, is a mobile harbour cranes and systems supplier to sea and river ports.