Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has won an order to supply 18 rough-terrain container handlers to the United States Department of Defense.

To replace older equipment, the Kalmar RT240s will be delivered to multiple military bases in the United States by the end of 2013. The customer currently operates 1,246 Kalmar RT240 machines. The parties have agreed not to disclose the value of the order.

The RT240, which can handle containerised loads of up to 53,000 lbs (24,040 kg) across all types of terrain, can quickly be made ready for operation and is simple to service, maintain and fix in the field. It can also ford through 5 ft. (1.5 m) of water and operate in extreme temperatures.

Tim Crossno, executive vice president at Kalmar Rough Terrain Center in Cibolo, Texas, says the order is "yet another endorsement of the quality of Kalmar's solutions for rough-terrain applications".

Kalmar has also won an order to supply 17 automated stacking cranes and 11 automated straddle carriers to leading terminal services provider TraPac Inc, a subsidiary of Mitsui OSK Lines in Los Angeles.

The equipment is slated for delivery in 2015 and early 2016. The value of the order is confidential and follows an order for 10 Kalmar automated stacking cranes and 17 automated straddle carriers received in October 2011.

Kalmar says it has steadily developed its track record in the field of port automation and this project was its first large automation order in the Americas region. 


"TraPac is one of the major automation projects for Kalmar where we have been able to demonstrate our ability to deliver a total solution including both the hardware as well as the software for the entire automation," says Kalmar Americas executive vice president Lennart Brelin.