Kalmar Industries has received orders for its rubber-tyred-gantry cranes (RTGs) from China.

The China National Technical Import & Export Corporation has ordered three units for delivery in August 2005.

The machines, which will be one over five high and 6+1 wide, will be delivered to the Shanghai Yangshan Deepwater Port project.

The project involves construction of a hub terminal on two islands 30km from Shanghai.

Yangzhou Yuanyang International Ports Co Ltd, a major port on the Yangtze River, has ordered two RTGs for delivery in September 2005.

The units will also be one over five high and 6+1 wide.

Kalmar Asia president Ken Loh hailed the two RTG orders as particularly important achievements because relationships between customers and suppliers were "perhaps more crucial in China than anywhere else in the world".

"Obviously this is an excellent opportunity for Kalmar to introduce its RTGs to the Asian market on a wider scale," Loh said.

"But it is also a positive development for the customers. They are looking beyond traditional suppliers and focusing on procurement of products and services to more efficiently serve the massive trade growth - and consequent facilities' expansion - being experienced across Asia and most notably in China," he said.