KALMAR Industries has launched a new straddle carrier design, the Edrive ESC, which combines an electrical drive system with the established CSC straddle carrier.
Claimed benefits are improved fuel consumption, lower operating costs, greater acceleration and smoother operation when compared to the CSC straddle carrier.
To avoid the problems associated with many new products, the AC technology has been drawn either from Kalmar’s rubber-tyred gantry cranes or its HS straddles.
The first EdriveE ESC has been undergoing customer evaluation with Terminal de Contenidors de Barcelona SL (TCB) in Spain since the end of 2001. A second has also been delivered to Maher Terminals’ Fleet Street Terminal in Port Elizabeth, New Jersey, USA. This unit is an ESC350, which is a 50t twinlift straddle carrier.
TCB technical director Eduardo Giró said: ‘We already operate a fleet of 41 Kalmar CSC straddle carriers, the oldest of which was built in 1982. They have performed with the utmost reliability. The ESC improves significantly on what was already an excellent product. ‘ Giró continued: ‘As a company we are most impressed by the reduced fuel consumption, which is in the order of 30%. The ESC is achieving 17 to 18 litres/hour. With 41 machines, a reduction in fuel consumption of 30% represents a considerable saving.’
