Now that it has acquired the Noell straddle carrier business as part of its purchase of Terex MHPS, Konecranes has jumped from a small player in the straddle market to one of the top two suppliers. Between them, Kalmar and Konecranes now command around 90% of global straddle carrier sales.

Konecranes first entered the straddle market in 2007, when it purchased Consens from the receivers. Ironically, Consens was formed as a breakaway from Noell after the Fantuzzi Group acquired most of its operations from Preussag. That sale did not include Noell Stahl und Maschinenbau (NSM), Noell’s crane installation, transport and crane and straddle carrier maintenance specialist based in  Langenhagen, which was sold to Konecranes separately.

NSM was gradually absorbed into Konecranes’ already strong service offer. In acquiring the Noell business lines from Terex, along with Demag and Gottwald business lines, the Noell and NSM constituents have been reunited.

One of Konecranes’ first acts after the Terex deal closed has been to reinstate the Noell brand name, which Terex had dropped. Konecranes has recognised the strength of the Noell brand in straddle carriers built in Würzburg, in particular, but also in relation to RTGs and STS cranes built at the plant in Xiamen, China.

Market share

In its review of the Konecranes and Terex transaction, the European Commission assessed market shares of the four main manufacturers (Terex, Kalmar, Konecranes and Liebherr) over 2012-2014, and found that, on a worldwide basis, Konecranes and Liebherr held between 5% and 10% market share, Terex 30-40%, and Kalmar 40-50%.  In the EEA, Terex had a higher market share at 40-50%.

Though the transaction reduces the number of ‘sizeable’ players in the straddle carrier market from three to two, the EC report accepted Terex and Konecranes’ submission that “Konecranes is not a strong player. Its straddle carrier business has been unprofitable for a number of years. Konecranes shut down its plant in Germany that was dedicated to straddle carriers and shifted to using subcontractors. Consistent with this phasing-out strategy, Konecranes has adopted an extremely selective bidding strategy”.

Ultimately, the EC accepted (after consulting with key straddle operators) the assertion that Konecranes and Terex “are not close competitors” in the straddle market, and that the transaction would not affect the main competition, which was between Terex and Kalmar.

Worth noting is the EC’s observation, also based on interviewing straddle operators, that ZPMC intends to enter the straddle market, and “is believed to be bidding to supply straddle carriers in both US and European opportunities”. However, it also reported that “in general, customers do not expect new entries in the EEA in the next three to five years”. Concluding its investigation, the Commission found that “the customers do not consider that the merger will have an impact on the straddle carriers market”.

Peter Klein, senior marketing manager at Konecranes Noell, said, now that it is official, the change in ownership has been well received. “Having been in touch with customers, we can say that the market very much appreciated the MHPS acquisition by Konecranes,” he commented.

Rolling on

Back in the market, Kalmar had a strong year in straddles sales in 2016, including an important win from Maher Terminals at the Port of New York/New Jersey. Most of Maher’s fleet consist of Kalmar machines, but, more recently, it has purchased 27 straddles (in three separate orders) from Konecranes. Maher’s new order with Kalmar is for 27 ESC350 diesel-electric machines rated for 50t twin spreader operations.

Elsewhere, Kalmar won an order for 10 diesel-electric machines for DP World’s Melbourne terminal, most of which were scheduled to be delivered in 2016. Before that, DP World Melbourne had taken delivery of eight Terex Noell NSC 644 E diesel-electric machines in 2012.

In South Africa, Kalmar booked an order for 23 diesel-electric machines and a straddle carrier simulator from Transnet Port Terminals (TPT) in South Africa for its Durban Pier 2 terminal. Kalmar delivered 10 machines to TPT for Durban in 2014, and before that TPT sourced from Terex/Noell.

In Europe, Kalmar delivered eight new machines to Forth Ports’ Tilbury terminal in May, the same month Forth Ports ordered another three units for Grangemouth. These will increase the fleet at Grangemouth to 16 machines, and are the first stage in a modernisa- tion initiative to replace the entire fleet.

Deliveries for Terex last year included 12 diesel-electric units to Kingston Freeport Terminal Ltd in Jamaica. It might have been expected that the order book suffered over the year while Terex considered and negotiated with Zoomlion and Konecranes, but Klein denied this was the case. “We are glad to say that both straddle carriers supplied and straddle carriers ordered in 2016 were above the 2015 level,” he asserted.

Automation ahead

Looking forward, 2017 should see significant progress in straddle automation, with the new VICT terminal in Melbourne, featuring automated shuttle carriers from Kalmar, set to open early this year. Across the Tasman Sea, Ports of Auckland is introducing automated machines to manage its yard stacks and the road truck interface, working with Konecranes Noell as the supplier. This project, however, is not scheduled to be completed until 2019.

The Melbourne project could prove to be a springboard for further automation, particularly at some of the ASC terminals that currently use manned shuttle or straddle carriers for the quay-to stack transfers.

Konecranes taking charge of Noell could also have a significant effect on automation uptake. Under Terex, Noell developed the automation technology that will be seen in Auckland (and possibly at a terminal in Germany), but sources tell WorldCargo News that most of this work was done in Würzburg, using different technology to Terex Gottwald’s AGVs. Konecranes is focused on a much wider  approach to port automation, and has stated its intention to bring together automaton resources from Konecranes and both the Gottwald and Noell divisions.

It will be interesting to see whether the pace of deployment  of automated machines quickens, especially at terminals using straddle/shuttle carriers and ASC cranes. Personnel at some of these facilities have told WorldCargo News they regularly consider automation, but so far none has made the move, either to automate a new berth or to convert an existing one.

Klein acknowledged that, as well as greenfield automation projects, “many terminals have general interest in the opportunities that come from automating straddle carrier fleets”, particularly in terms of lowering costs and improving safety. However, “this interest does not necessarily translate into concrete investment plans and budgets”, he added. For its part, Kalmar is convinced there will be a wave of automation at straddle terminals in the near future. Mikko Mononen, vice president, Intelligent Horizontal Transportation Solutions, noted that automation has been considered in the Kalmar straddle carrier design for many years, “so that any manual units could be easily upgraded”.

How an individual terminal would make the transition depends on its specifications and requirements, and is “also very much dependant on the condition of the existing manual fleet”. However, Kalmar maintains that, based on the experience it has demonstrated at Sydney, the transition can be made within a 12- 18 month project. “In the end,” added Mononen, “the whole terminal can be switched to automated mode in just a few days when optimally planned to minimise any disruption to the existing terminal operation.”

Complexities

Kalmar is not trying to downplay the difficulty of the conversion, noting that, whether it is done in one go or in a staged approach, “an automation conversion will require changes to the entire  infrastructure of the terminal, and, in this whole area, Kalmar is also able to assist, based on the years of experience gathered in different automated straddle carrier operations. These changes need to be planned from a wide perspective, not just focusing on the horizontal transportation equipment”.

Straddle automation encompasses the terminal layout, fencing, safety infrastructure and access control, the IT environment and wireless network and change management, in addition to the main navigation system for the straddle carriers. There is a lot to address. Nevertheless, Mononen said Kalmar is in discussions with several customers on different continents about automation. “This current interest shows that many forward-looking operators are seeking ways to stay ahead in today’s intense competition, as it is clear that this competitive advantage is especially available for the first adopters,” he added.

Konecranes Noell is also emphasising that it is both technically possible and operationally practical to bring automation to existing straddle terminals today. An important point about the Auckland project is that, as well as supplying 27 new, fully automated N SC 644 E (1-over-3) machines to work in the container yard and to serve trucks, Konecranes Noell is upgrading 21 existing 1-over-2 machines to interchange containers with the automated machines. Konecranes Noell will also be supplying all the subsystems and software systems required for the project.

Like Kalmar, Konecranes Noell emphasises that today’s straddle carriers offer a path to automation. “For terminal operators, it is important to know that the control system of diesel-electric Konecranes Noell straddle carriers is designed with a growth path to automation,” said Klein. “This means that the design is done in such a way that specific automated solutions can be added without completely modifying the existing machines. These solutions permit the operators of existing terminals to convert manually operated equipment to automated, unmanned operation.”

Electric option

Another trend developing at the same time as automation is the move towards more fuel-efficient machines and, eventually, electrification. This is an issue particularly for greenfield terminals.

It is understood that a new automated terminal in Tianjin is considering using straddle carriers for the quay-to-stack transfer. In what could be a related development, ZPMC has applied for a patent for an electrical straddle carrier system that uses a pantograph connected to overhead electrical wire netting spanning a “chargeable work area”. The machine would use electrical power when thus connected, switching to battery power at other times.

Kalmar has its FastCharge system and, Mononen said, this has already proved that it is able to cover a typical straddle carrier operation with no issues. “The next step,” he added, “is to continue testing in a real terminal environment and, for that purpose, we have initiated discussions with a few potential partners.”

Mononen pointed out that the Kalmar battery hybrid solution is based on FastCharge, and it has now booked orders for almost 100 hybrid straddle carriers in a short space of time. “With the hybrid straddle carrier, our customers are already one step closer to the FastCharge, which is a completely emission-free solution,” he concluded.

Konecranes Noell has not come out with a battery system specifically for a straddle carrier at this point, but sister company Konecranes Gottwald, of course, has battery AGVs already in operation. Klein said this continues to spur interest in other types of battery-powered equipment, and Konecranes Noell assumes straddle carrier operators too will be interested in battery powered machines.

Konecranes Gottwald continues to develop a Li-ion battery and charging system for its AGVs. Klein added that while straddle carriers used for stacking are more energy-intensive than AGVs, the  Konecranes Noel Sprinter low-height design actually consumes a similar amount of energy to an AGV, when operating in a quay-to-stack transfer role. “It goes without saying that we will continue to keep an eye on the development of Liion battery technology, including charging equipment for straddles and sprinters, to be ready if and when customers require this kind of technology,” said Klein.

Safety first

There is no getting around the fact that manned straddle carriers remain a fairly dangerous piece of port equipment, and, sadly, accidents do happen. In March, a worker was injured at NIT in Virginia, the second time the fire department had been called to the terminal in four months to extricate a driver from a straddle. Both incidents appear to have involved straddle drivers hitting a crane spreader.

In Europe, in June last year, a stevedore was injured at the Royal Seaforth Container Terminal in Liverpool after a spreader, somehow, came through the cab and pinned him against the cab wall. This month, there was an incident involving a straddle carrier hitting a crane spreader (or the other way around) at Gioia Tauro in Italy.

As technology for automatedcars and road trucks develops, it is possible that some of the systems that are emerging to operate these vehicles safely on public roads might find their way on to port equipment. It is going to be a big challenge, however, to eliminate driver error as a factor in accidents.

In an incident at Port Otago, New Zealand in 2015, a straddle carrier driver was injured after he attempted a 180-degree turn at a speed of 20 km, and the Kalmar machine rolled over. The straddle was fitted with Kalmar’s Active Stability Control (ASC) system, which has various alarms, including a continuous audible alarm and a visual display showing the machine operating in a red zone when stability goes below 30%. The official accident investigation report noted that all brands of straddle carrier have a stability system, but, in this case, the driver was “not fully aware of the functionality of the ASC and its limitations”.

The accident happened after a lunch break, when it appears the driver’s behaviour changed, in order to finish the ship and leave for home early. The ASC system recorded five “0%” stability incidents generating visual and audible alarms in 25 minutes, and the driver was also not wearing the seatbelt. The safety authority recommended no prosecution against either Kalmar or the port. 

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This complete item is approximately 2000 words in length, and appeared in the January 2017 issue of WorldCargo News, on page 29. To access this issue download the PDF here.