Kalmar Industries has reported a surge in orders for rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs), having secured 100% of RTG sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa in the first quarter of 2004.

The company says the orders reflect the growing interest in its 16-wheel RTG and its Smartrail® autosteering and container positioning system.

JSC PetroLesPort, at the Port of St Petersburg, has ordered one 16-wheel unit, while Liscont Container Terminal, at the Port of Lisbon, has ordered three 16-wheel RTGs with Smartrail.

Turkey's Kumport has ordered one eight-wheel unit with Smartrail to join the three already in operation, and Laem Chabang Container Terminal 1 Ltd, in Thailand, is increasing its fleet of eight-wheel RTGs to five with an order for three more Smartrail units.

Kalmar yard cranes vice-president Keijo Parviainen said half of Kalmar's order backlog was for 16-wheel models.

"In theory, a 16-wheel model puts less stress on the terminal surface as the ground pressure is lower," he said. "A second advantage (is) that, unlike the eight-wheel model, the wheels counter-rotate when the unit is turning, which means less wear on the tyres."