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G HPK 8200 B Harbour Pontoon Crane from Gottwald (first floating crane of the Generation 5) handling coal at Rietlanden Stevedores’ terminal in the Port of Amsterdam, The Netherlands. |
Düsseldorf, 30. August 2006 – Since its official launch to the market in March 2006, Gottwald’s new Generation 5 of Harbour Cranes has been received well by both existing and new customers. The innovative concept conceived to offer individual crane solutions for customer specific requirements covers all types of Gottwald Harbour Cranes:
Following the successful operation of the first four installations in Carrara, Italy, and Antwerp, Belgium, Gottwald has received an impressive number of orders, including Harbour Cranes for container and general cargo handling, but also several Generation 5 four-rope grab Harbour Cranes for professional bulk handling.
The company’s most recent installation was a G HPK 8200 B Harbour Pontoon Crane, the first floating crane of the Generation 5. The G HPK 8200 B, suitable for mid-stream as well as quayside handling, was ordered by Dutch Stuwer Crane Support b.v., a new customer to Gottwald. Since July 2006, the crane is operated by Stuwer’s subsidiary, Rietlanden Stevedores that handles predominantly coal on the Noorderbuitenkanaal near Ijmuiden and in the Port of Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
In 2004, Gottwald successfully launched the first floating crane, an HPK 330 EG Harbour Pontoon Crane for mid-stream handling, operated on the Mississippi River by St. James Stevedoring. The total number of floating cranes installed or on order since the debut now comes to seven units, including the new G HPK 8200 B for Amsterdam.
The G HPK 8200 B is fitted with a four-rope grab for professional bulk handling and offers a 50-tonnes grab curve, permitting excellent handling rates. Depending on lifting capacity the crane offers hoisting speeds of up to 140 m/min and is classified in appliance group 8 as per F.E.M for longer service life and thus suitable for continuous-duty bulk operation under extreme conditions. Like all the Generation 5 Harbour Cranes, the G HPK 8200 B features a two-storey superstructure with clear heights of 2.5 m. This provides ample space for upright working and enables good access to the machines and drive units. The high tower with the high and forwarded mounted cab offers an excellent view of the ship.
“As our activities continue to progress we were looking for a flexible and reliable crane to expand our capacities,” says Henk Dames, Terminal Manager at Rietlanden Stevedores. “Gottwald’s technological advanced harbour crane concept convinced us, the more so since we learned that Gottwald floating cranes are in operation successfully in the US. The first months of commercial operation have been extremely good and we are sure that Gottwald is the right choice to satisfy our needs and meet our customers’ requirements.“
Rietlanden Stevedores with currently two and in the near future three terminal locations in the Port of Amsterdam handle some 6 million tonnes of bulk materials per annum, including mainly imported coal (approx. 90%) and some scrape metals. About 40 percent of the annual throughput is handled directly form vessel into barges, leaving 60 percent indirect transfer over the terminal. With the new G HPK 8200 B crane from Gottwald the bulk stevedoring company has now further expanded its fleet of floating cranes that do most of both the direct and indirect handling.
Gottwald’s floating cranes offer maximum independence since they can speedily be towed to wherever they are needed. On the Noorderbuitenkanaal near Ijmuiden, at the lock to the Noordzeekanaal (North Sea Canal) the new G HPK 8200 B is used for lightering large coal vessels that cannot enter the Noordzeekanaal and the port due to their draught. At the lock the crane transloads the coal from ocean-going vessels to barges that ship the bulk material directly to its final destinations, i.e. German power plants along the Rhine. The lightened vessels proceed through the lock to the port, where the flexible G HPK 8200 B Harbour Pontoon Crane from Gottwald is already waiting to continue to discharge coal either in mid-stream operation for direct transfer or in quayside operation for indirect transfer over the terminal. “Thanks to their flexibility we see a bright future for floating cranes in our type of operation”, says Henk Dames.
Commenting on this order, Dr. Mathias Dobner, new CEO of Gottwald, says: “This is a fairly important order for Gottwald in several aspects. With the Harbour Pontoon Cranes we have entered a promising new market segment. Until now, all floating cranes deliveries went to the US. This first installation in Europe is an important reference for further market development. On the other hand, this order shows that customers have accepted the new Generation 5 Harbour Cranes, not only those fitted with a chassis. It reflects that we are on the right course with our ability to offer individual crane solutions precisely tailored to customer specific cargo-handling requirements.
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