Bromma eyes replacement market

Lars Meurling, vice-president of marketing, Bromma , explained to Port Strategy that the typical replacement cycle of a spreader on an STS crane is 10-12 years, while the lifetime of an STS crane is around 20 years, so spreaders do not last the lifetime of the crane. Therefore, the spreader is usually replaced halfway through crane’s life.

The boom in terminal development and consequently equipment orders in 2006 and 2007 will drive a spreader replacement boom from 2016 onwards. Bromma believes that a “significant part” of the coming replacement cycle will be in China.

On the flipside, a slump in the growth of terminal capacity in 2009 could lead to a comparatively fallow year for replacement sales.

RTG spreader replacements paint a different picture, according to Mr Meurling. “The replacement cycle for RTG spreaders is longer so we haven’t seen that wave coming in yet. That’s 15-20 years rather than 10-12.”