Kalmar Industries has received an order for 53 straddle carriers from South African Port Operations (SAPO), the terminal operating subsidiary of South Africa’s transportation conglomerate Transnet. The order is the second largest for Kalmar, following a 2001 order for 60 straddle carriers, also for SAPO.
The first machines will be shipped from Finland in November, and by mid 2006 all 53 straddle carriers should be in operation at SAPO’s container handling facilities in the ports of Durban, Cape Town and Port Elizabeth.
Durban is currently said to handle more than 60% of the container traffic to and from South Africa.
