30.09.2010

Cargotec wins crane refurb contract

Cargotec has won two contracts to refurbish and upgrade ship-to-shore cranes from Northport (Malaysia) at Port Klang, as part of plans to boost efficiency and capacity at its Container Terminal Two.

Eight cranes with 48 metres radius will be completely refurbished with digital electrical system technology. Upgrades will be made to the cranes' PLCs, speed drives, control monitoring systems, motors, cables, brakes, festoon systems, operator cabins and load weighing systems. Two further post-Panamax cranes will be raised in height to accommodate larger container ships. The cranes will also have their control systems modified to allow for twin-lift operations.

Collin Swee, director, Cargotec terminal business Malaysia, said: "These cranes are 10-15 years old, but they are still in good structural condition. We expect that their life expectancy will be extended by a minimum of 1 million cycles. With newer generation electrical and electronic components, the reliability and uptime of the cranes will be significantly improved. Additionally, maintenance costs are expected to be lower in the medium- to long- term. Each unit will also benefit from a new Crane Maintenance Management System - for faster diagnosis of technical faults, in turn reducing mean time to repair."

The 20-month retrofit project will see cranes redelivered progressively, with the first back in service by end first quarter 2011, and the last operational by first quarter 2012. The separate crane height increase project will commence early next year.

Interestingly the cranes being refurbished are not of, Cargotec (Kalmar) manufacture.