Kalmar straddle carrier handover supports South African supplier development

CARGOTEC CORPORATION, TRADE PRESS RELEASE, 22 NOVEMBER 2017 AT 1 PM (EET)

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has reached another landmark in its commitment to local suppliers with the handover of 23 straddle carriers to Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) in Durban, South Africa. Transnet ordered these diesel-electric machines in November 2016 to TPT Durban Pier 2, a dedicated straddle carrier operation in South Africa handling a throughput of 2.6 million TEU.

Over the last 15 years, Kalmar has delivered in excess of 150 straddle carriers to TPT. The significance of this latest order is that the machine structures were built locally in partnership with Transnet Engineering, an advanced manufacturing division of Transnet that employs more than 12,000 people across six locations and more than 130 depots in South Africa.

The straddle carrier components produced at the Transnet Engineering facility in Durban comply with strict European standards and are made to the same high standards as those produced by Kalmar in Europe.

The spreader beam was one of the key elements of this project. Kalmar had never manufactured spreader beams outside its European supply chain and the fabrication of this device, which automatically locates and locks the container, is an extremely complex process as all the parts are manufactured independently before being assembled.

"This was the first time our engineers had an opportunity to manufacture straddle carrier component kits with an OEM of Kalmar's calibre," explains Thamsanqa Jiyane, Transnet Engineering Chief Officer Advanced Manufacturing.

"Since 2002, Kalmar has invested significantly on localisation and has always exceeded its supplier development commitments to the local economy," says Amanlal Kumkaran, National Service Executive Manager Southern Africa, Kalmar.

Image 1 photo caption (from left to right):
Mr. Amanlal Kumkaran, National Service Executive Manager, Southern Africa, Kalmar Industries, Mr. Themba Gwala, Transnet Port Terminals Chief Operations Officer and Mr. Thamsanqa Jiyane, Transnet Engineering Chief Officer: Advanced Manufacturing, cutting the ribbon.

Image 2 photo caption:
The spreader beam was one of the key elements of this project.

Further information for the press:

Mikko Mononen, Vice President, Intelligent Horizontal Transportation Solutions, tel. +358 40 536 0596

Maija Eklöf, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, Kalmar, tel. +358 20 777 4096, maija.eklof@kalmarglobal.com

Kalmar offers the widest range of cargo handling solutions and services to ports, terminals, distribution centres and to heavy industry. Kalmar is the industry forerunner in terminal automation and in energy efficient container handling, with one in four container movements around the globe being handled by a Kalmar solution. Through its extensive product portfolio, global service network and ability to enable a seamless integration of different terminal processes, Kalmar improves the efficiency of every move.www.kalmarglobal.com

Kalmar is part of Cargotec. Cargotec's (Nasdaq Helsinki: CGCBV) sales in 2016 totalled approximately EUR 3.5 billion and it employs over 11,000 people.www.cargotec.com