The spreader is light - often 4 or more tonnes lighter than the spreader it is replacing which means savings on crane energy as well as spreader energy, says Bromma. It uses an estimated 1/10th the annual fuel expense of the typical hydraulic spreader it replaces.

The firm has also received an order from Hans Kunz for eight YSX45 yard spreaders for CTA, Hamburg, for use on automated stacking cranes and featuring both fixed and retractable guide arms, cameras and Bromma's SCS2 technology which will be used both for spreader control and controlling the headblock.

Other orders included 11 telescopic ship-to-shore spreaders for P&O Ports and four STS45 separating twinlifts with four yard crane spreaders for HPH's Korea Terminal.

All this comes on top of an order for 15 STS45 separating twin-lift spreaders from Hesse-Noord Natie (HNN) for service at the MSC Home Terminal in Antwerp. The STS45 has long been Bromma's most popular shipto-shore spreader but this contract still represents one of its largest single orders to a European terminal in recent years. Key specifications of the order include 6 flippers, SCS2 technology; and the Bromma TTDS Twin-Twenty Detection System. Bromma says design advantages of SCS2 include advanced diagnostic capabilities - no PLC required; specific fault and diagnostic information - instead of identifying a fault group that is wired in series, the system monitors each individual sensor and switch; a total system architecture engineered for container handling - not pieces of linked "off-the-shelf" equipment; and superior information retention - without add-ons, and information retention in the event log, providing essential information in the event of a spreader accident.