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Recently, a new Gottwald AGV series – now the fourth at the Port of Rotterdam – went into operation |
Düsseldorf, 5 June 2007 –
The field of port logistics is gaining in importance to Gottwald Port Technology in addition to the
Mobile Harbour Cranes sector where this member company of the Demag Cranes AG Group has been world
market leader for many years. Globalisation, increasing transport volumes, ever larger container
ships and the growing pressure of costs are the main driving forces behind this development. For
the next few years alone, an annual growth rate of
9 percent and more is forecast for container transport. These are all factors that are making
automation increasingly attractive for the operators of container terminals in large
transcontinental ports. It is therefore hardly surprising that Gottwald handling equipment for
horizontal transport and storage of containers are already successfully in operation at three major
ports in European high-wage countries: Rotterdam, Hamburg and Antwerp.
AGVs – Unmanned, Computer- Controlled Container Transporters
The Port of Rotterdam, the largest in Europe and ranking 7th in the top 100 international container
ports, was the starting point for Gottwald’s activities in automation back in 1988. Gottwald
developed and built the first prototypes of diesel-hydraulic Automated Guided Vehicles (AGV) for
the customer ECT, one of the world’s leading container terminal operators based in Rotterdam. These
unmanned, computer controlled vehicles for automated container transport from the quay to the stack
area are employed to optimise the logistics chain, in particular with respect to increased
productivity and simultaneous cost reduction per transport cycle. Over the years, Gottwald Port
Technology regularly produced new series of AGVs and today, some 20 years later, has already
supplied hundreds of these efficient, reliable vehicles to the customer in Rotterdam who belongs to
Hutchison Port Holding (HPH), one of the world’s largest port logistics companies.
AGV Fleets in Operation
Gottwald Port Technology is the world’s only supplier of complete AGV fleets together with the
associated operating software. CTA Container-Terminal Altenwerder at the Port of Hamburg, ranked
8th in the list of the world’s hundred largest container ports, also benefits from these
developments. CTA, regarded as the most modern container terminal in the world, has had a fleet of
AGVs equipped with the management and navigation software also developed by Gottwald in operation
since 2000. This contributes to the constant improvement in performance of CTA container terminal,
whose operator is the Hamburger Hafen- und Lagerhausgesellschaft (HHLA). Since the launch of the
AGV in the 1980s, a total of more than 440 vehicles has been sold worldwide – with an upward trend.
As with other automated handling equipment, the AGVs are built on special assembly lines at the
Gottwald factory in Dusseldorf- Benrath, Germany. Before delivery, the vehicles undergo a 24-hour
endurance test on the test field at the factory premise. Further tests are then conducted directly
at the operator's plant under terminal conditions. Only then are the AGVs put into full operation.
Environmentally Safe Technology
Against the background of growing “Green Port” efforts, Gottwald also launched the first E-AGV onto
the market last year. This is the diesel-electric version of the AGV that until then had been
exclusively diesel-hydraulically driven. It makes the AGV more environmentally friendly, as well as
more reliable and more efficient. A fleet of such lower-emission vehicles was also ordered by CTA
in Hamburg and is successfully in operation alongside a large number of diesel-hydraulic AGVs. The
customer Euromax, which also belongs to the HPH Group, has also selected the environmentally
friendly technology of the new E-AGV and has placed an order for 96 vehicles for a container
terminal currently undergoing construction in the Port of Rotterdam.
ASC – Automated Stacking Cranes
A further outstanding field of activity for Gottwald is the Port of Antwerp, the 12th-largest
container port worldwide. Not only can the largest density of Gottwald cranes anywhere in the world
be found here, with over 100 Mobile Harbour Cranes together with its own service station, Gottwald
has also erected and tested its first Automated Stacking Cranes (ASC) for Antwerp Gateway Terminal
that is operated by a consortium headed by DP World. The cranes are used for automated storage of
containers in large terminals. Designed as a portal crane, an ASC spans nine rows of containers in
a 1-over-5 solution. This means that the automated crane can transport containers over other
containers stacked up to 5 high. This ensures space is utilised to the best possible degree and the
time required to place or pick individual containers can meet even the highest productivity
demands.
Pacesetter in Automation and Systems Integrator
After successful solutions for automated container transport using AGVs, Gottwald Port Technology
is now taking the next step into a successful future of automated port handling with the ASC. These
naturally also employ the software developed in-house at Gottwald. An additional strengthening of
the competence in the field of software development has been achieved by the acquisition of a
majority shareholding in the Dutch software company, TBA Nederland. The latest software now permits
the AGV and the ASC to be linked. This opens up new perspectives – also for Gottwald as systems
integrator and pacesetter in the automation of port handling.
Further information available from:
Gottwald Port Technology GmbH
Postfach 18 03 43
40570 Düsseldorf, Germany
Peter Klein
Tel.: +49 (0)211 7102-3355
Fax: +49 (0)211 7102-3660
Mobile: +49 (0)173 722 10 74
peter.klein@gottwald.com
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