Kuenz has been awarded a contract for delivery of 32 fully automated stacking cranes (ASCs) for the Port of Tangier; this will be Kuenz’s debut in Africa.
Following successful ASC projects in both Hamburg and Rotterdam, Kuenz fought off strong competition and won the contract for the 32 ASCs for a brand new automated terminal in the Port of Tangier, Morocco, from APM Terminals.
In a terminal such as this, large ships are loaded and unloaded using ship-to-shore cranes. In the stacking area, all incoming and outgoing containers are temporarily stored before being loaded onto trucks or other vessels for further transport. The stacking area in Tangier is organized into 16 storage blocks, with each block being operated by two fully automated ASC’s from Kuenz.
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Apart from cranes for intermodal container handling, automated stacking cranes have emerged as a bestseller for Kuenz in recent years. A total of 100 stacking cranes from Kuenz are currently in operation in Hamburg and Rotterdam, with almost 20 more in the process of being commissioned.
A subsidiary of the Maersk Group, APM Terminals is one of the world's largest shipping companies. In recent years, APM Terminals has established the most modern sea-terminal in the world, utilizing the automated stacking cranes supplied by Kuenz
Guenter Bischof, CEO of Kuenz, said: “The main reason for the latest success in Tangier was the high satisfaction of the customer with the cranes in Rotterdam.”
Tangier is a greenfield project, similar to the Port of Rotterdam, and will be completed for operations in H1, 2019, if the schedule is kept.
An additional key to Kuenz’s success is an entire new generation of stacking cranes. In contrast to the traditional construction, the main beams of the new cranes are designed with a round girder; this aerodynamic main girder design results in a number of advantages for the operator.
Technical Paper: Landing Made Smart and Easy
Areas with lower wind resistance require less drive power, which leads to lower energy consumption and reduces dynamic forces on drive wheels, crane tracks and civil works.
Factfile: Kuenz was founded in 1932; Kuenz is an Austrian based crane manufacturer. The company offers innovative and efficient solutions for container handling in intermodal operation and automated stacking cranes for port and rail yard operations.
Today, Kuenz is the market leader in intermodal rail-mounted gantry cranes in Europe and North America. While the group’s headquarters is located in Hard, Austria, additional fabrication facilities are located in Gross St. Florian, Austria, and Kechnec, Slovak Republic.
Earlier in October, 2016, APM Terminals announced the partnership and their order for 12 remote-controlled Ship-to-Shore (STS) cranes and 32 Automated Rail-Mounted Gantry Cranes (ARMGs) from Kuenz to equip the new five million TEU APM Terminals MedPort Tangier facility.
