18.10.2005

ABB to automate 76 Rotterdam cranes

ABB has won the contract to supply automation and electrical systems for 76 terminal cranes at the new Euromax container terminal in Rotterdam.

The 76 cranes include 16 ship-to-shore units, 58 unmanned rail-mounted gantry cranes and two intermodal gantry units. The cranes will be supplied by Shanghai Zhenhua Port Machinery Company, Ltd. (ZPMC) of China.

The first phase of the EUROMAX project includes a new 1,500 metre long quay and storage yard to accommodate 40,000 Twenty-Foot Equivalent container Units (TEU).

The new terminal is designed to handle two million TEU per year, with the potential to double this capacity. The terminal's deep-water location at the entrance to the port of Rotterdam and the installation of cranes with an outreach of 64 metres will permit handling of future Suez-Max class ships with up to 12,500 TEU capacity.

ABB will supply full crane automation and support systems, including controllers and software, low-voltage AC motors and drives, electrical transformers and switchgear. ABB services will also provide the project management, engineering, customer training and commissioning.

This contract follows on from a number of similar projects that ABB has completed in ports such as Singapore, Tokyo and Hamburg.

ABB will apply a range of sensors, control and vision systems and optimum motion algorithms that offer maximum productivity for automated terminals.

The Euromax terminal is due to open in several phases starting in 2007 and ending in 2008.

“We are delighted to play a key role in this milestone project, said Dinesh Paliwal, head of ABB's Automation Technologies division and president-designate,

“ABB Global Markets and Technology. Our deep technology expertise in both the marine and terminal automation businesses will help ensure improved productivity for this key transport hub”.