In March PD Teesport awarded Konecranes a contract for four rubber tired gantry cranes. These are the first Konecranes cranes of this type to be delivered to the UK. The eco-efficient RTGs will be delivered in autumn 2011.
PD Teesport is owned by PD Ports, a leading ports and logistics business, based in the North East of England and operating throughout the UK. Teesport’s container terminal capacity is currently being expanded from 235,000 TEU to 450,000 TEU. The company’s overall strategy is to expand port wide capacity as volumes grow to at least 650,000 TEU. This will position Teesport as a major player among the UK container ports.
“The container terminal investment here in Teesside will potentially involve some GBP 29 million of total investment and will further improve performance and productivity for the port’s growing number of customers,” comments Mark Pearson, PD Ports Project Director. “We are striving to deliver world class operations, and this increasingly means using the best equipment and technology available. The Konecranes RTG’s will be a vital and welcome addition in ensuring our expanding terminal operates as safely, efficiently and cost-effectively as is possible.”
“This is a breakthrough into the UK market for Konecranes RTG container handling cranes,” says Thomas Gylling, who is responsible for port crane sales at Konecranes. “PD Teesport is a dynamic and growth oriented port with high performance expectations from our equipment. With this delivery we aim to raise the RTG benchmark for the highest number of containers handled per hour in the UK.”
The RTG cranes will be fitted with the Konecranes fuel saving system and have been designed to take future environmental requirements into account. They will be equipped ready for a cable reel power supply in the future, so that the diesel supply can then be disconnected from the cranes and replaced by a mains power supply. The cranes are also equipped with the latest DGPS-assisted technology for container yards. This includes the Autosteering feature, which keeps the crane on a pre-programmed straight driving path, thus improving safety and increasing productivity. The RTG container positioning system is connected to the port’s terminal operating system, ensuring correct, real-time container positioning and maintaining accuracy in inventory. The 16-wheel RTGs have a lifting capacity of 50 tons and can stack 1-over-5 containers high and 6 plus truck lane wide.
