Kalmar, an extension of Cargotec, has completed a project to increase the height of two Kalmar rubber tyre gantry cranes (RTGs) for Terminal Pacifico Sur Valparaiso S.A., Chile (TPS).
The contract, set out in September 2013, was completed at the start of the year, with the newly upgraded cranes returning to operation in mid-January 2014.
Such was the success of the project that soon after, TPS awarded Kalmar with a project to heighten a further 10 RTGs.
The new contract was signed in February.
The need for the upgrade comes as TPS continues to deal with high volumes of import/export trade with the US and Asia and hopes to increase its productivity.
Kalmar’s specialist Crane Upgrades team were tasked with increasing the cranes stacking height from five, to six containers high.
The increase will allow the terminal an extra 20 percent of stacking space.
Marcelo Massa, managing director, Kalmar Argentina commented: “Kalmar's Crane Upgrades team will be in charge of electrical, mechanical and structural design modifications to the RTG geometry, manufacturing of the new structural components, software modifications, disassembly and reassembly, painting, testing and commissioning of each crane.”
“South America is an important market, and more and more operators are seeing the immediate benefits of upgrading their crane capacities. Kalmar has established a South American Business Centre for Crane Upgrades to support our customers looking for specialist help in demanding crane refurbishment projects.”
This new solution is especially suited for terminals restricted by space who seek to increase productivity.
TPS spokesperson, Miss Nicole Jaramillo, Reliability Engineer at Terminal Pacifico Sur Valparaíso S.A. said, “Increasing the lift height of our RTGs instantly provides us with additional capacity in the yard, without having to expand the physical area.”
“Kalmar gained the latest order against tough competition through an international bid. The main criteria were based on price, design and technical capabilities. Kalmar's strong presence in Chile was also an important factor for us,” she continued
“We were very pleased both with the short time it took to complete the previous project and for the resulting uplift in capacity and that is why we decided to continue with Kalmar with the heightening of ten more RTGs.”
