Flying solo

When parent company Cargotec took the decision to allow its businesses more autonomy at the beginning of the year, it didn’t take long for its ‘chicks’ to fly the nest.

Equipment specialist Kalmar is now building on its long heritage in the container handling industry and expanding its traditional offerings to the port industry.

Pitching its offerings as the “complete container handling solution”, Kalmar is now making its own mark on the industry.

Kalmar no longer offers just straddle carriers, shuttles, rubber-tyred gantry cranes (RTGs) and reachstackers; it also offers port handling software, automation solutions and maintenance support packages. “We are responding to market need,” says Kalmar’s vice president in horizontal transportation, Dr Tero Kokko.

Hybrid first

Just recently Kalmar launched its brand new hybrid straddle carrier and shuttle which has been the culmination of three years of research and development – ironically started in 2010, the year after the global downturn bit.

And this investment in research and development during the recession, according to Dr Kokko, is why Kalmar is reaping the rewards of success now.

The first five Kalmar electric straddle carriers are bound for MSC Home Terminal in Antwerp, Belgium. In addition, Kalmar will supply one new generation hybrid straddle carrier to the customer on a rental basis, due for delivery in February 2014. Operators are undoubtedly attracted by the claimed 40% fuel savings and the promise of payback over two to three years.

“It’s the biggest development in the market for six or seven years,” Dr Kokko says. Added to which the new equipment can be easily automated upon order or later down the line – an attractive prospect for those going down the automation route.

“We are manufacturing the first batch of zero series hybrid straddle carriers and taking a limited amount of orders until the production is fully ramped up in 2014. This enables the suppliers to catch up and organise demand in a co-ordinated way,” Dr Kokko adds.

“The new hybrid machines meet the latest emission regulations and the new stage 4 engine will be available when the new emission regulations take place for smaller diesel engines in the end of 2014.”

Small success

The company garnered a lot of interest from the recent product launch at the Kalmar Competence Centre in Tampere, Finland, from both large and small terminals.

And this he says is key: Kalmar is not only looking at the largest players who can afford to re-equip their terminal in one hit; it wants to provide smaller operators with a means to ‘improve productivity’ right away.

This is true for Kalmar’s automation offering too. Through Kalmar SmartPort the company has a variety of software based process automation solutions on offer that are within the reach of smaller brownfield operators. As Dr Kokko says, there’s no point targeting smaller terminals with a total automation solution. Instead Kalmar works with the customer to give them the tools they need to take small steps towards it.

This was a view expressed by attendees of Kalmar’s product launch where smaller terminal operators remained somewhat hesitant over total automation, although far more receptive over process automation solutions.

One attendee told Port Strategy that “cost per box is the bottom line” and that total automation is not realistic due to expense and space. “Many operators don’t know that Kalmar offers so many solutions for ports,” one said. “We all need failsafe systems in place.”

Balancing act

For this operator, it’s a case of getting the balance right between automation and manual parts of the terminal: “Automation can’t stop someone going through a red light.”

Another way that Kalmar has managed to buck the trend through hard times is by moving some of its manufacturing closer to customers to improve lead times. Kalmar’s factory in Tampere, Finland, was building straddle and shuttles up until 2011 when the assembly moved to Poland.

Smaller machines are usually ordered, built and delivered within five months. So Kalmar explains that it makes more economic sense to produce them closer to customers. Cranes on the other hand are mainly manufactured in China.

Kalmar says that the economic outlook is good for the next year and the company has positioned itself well to take advantage in terms of its investments and manufacturing.

While it remains tight-lipped about what’s on the drawing board today, the manufacturer confirmed it has other new product innovations in the pipeline – both in terms of automation and R&D.

“We have good people, good customers and great facilities,” Dr Kokko concludes.