Mobile harbour crane manufacturer Gottwald Port Technology reports that it passed its sales targets in 2003 and begins 2004 confident of breaking into new markets.
‘Recognising the overall difficult economic situation, we certainly have every reason to be proud of our achievements of last year,’ said sales director Giuseppe Di Lisa. ‘With 64 cranes sold in 2003 we exceeded the already ambitious sales target of 60 units set for 2003. Our accomplishments clearly demonstrate the power of our effective business strategy of providing solutions for the entire field of port logistics.’
Of the orders received by the German manufacturer in 2003, 61% (39 units) came from Europe, with Italy and Russia ordering eight cranes each. Belgium and the UK were on the rise with four units each. Additional European orders came from Croatia, Finland, France, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain and Turkey. From Asia there were 17 orders, including the company’s first orders from Japan. Seven cranes were sold to Latin America – a market gaining more and more importance, Gottwald said.
All types of harbour cranes contributed to the result, the conventional two-rope cranes segment with 40 units being again the biggest source of earnings (62.5%). Sales of four-rope cranes for bulk handling increased by 41% from 17 units in 2002 to 24 units in 2003, hence accounting for 37.5% of the total output last year. Rail-mounted portal harbour cranes were also strong, with 17 of these HSK models sold.
For many world ports and terminal operators mobile harbour cranes are a viable alternative to gantry cranes and continuous ship unloaders. At the beginning of 2003 Gottwald gained an important new customer, Hutchison Port Holding, the Hong Kong based port operator that manages 30 ports worldwide together with a number of transportation companies. Hutchison ordered two rubber tyred HMK 300E cranes for operation in the Bahamas. The HMK 300E, the current Gottwald best seller, is a universal crane for larger-sized, e.g. panamax and post panamax, vessels.
Another significant order was an HMK 170 E supplied to Matsuura Express Co. Ltd in the Port of Karatsu in Japan in November 2003, the company’s first mobile harbour crane in Japan.
The HSK portal harbour crane series also strengthened its position as a fully established new product range, with 10 units sold last year. In November France’s Port Autonome de Bordeaux took delivery of two HSK 260 EG units. Earlier in the year two HSK 360 EGLs were delivered to the Port of Quinhuangdao in China. Seven HSK 170 EG units were delivered to ports in Russia..
The first HMK 330 EG four-rope crab crane was sold to Rocha Top in Paranagua in Brazil in January 2003, where it is operated to handle a variety of bulk materials such as fertilisers, minerals and grains. It has a capacity of 1,000t per hour during peak operation. A second crane went into operation at Loxus Graneis in the Port of Imbituba in April 2003 and is used for hard coal handling.
The launch of the wide span gantries in 2003 resulted in three orders for nine units for customers in Switzerland, Germany and Italy. These cranes are intended for intermodal and trimodal cargo handling between ship, rail and road truck or for managing extensive stack yards. The first unit goes into operation at COBI Container-Terminal AG in Basel, Switzerland in January 2004. In spring 2004 three wide span gantries will be handed over to the operating company at Container-Terminal Kaiserwörth Hafen in Ludwigshafen. Hafenbetriebe Ludwigshafen GmbH had ordered the cranes for one of the largest container handling sites along the Rhine. The most recent order is for five wide span gantries for the new HUPAC Intermodal Terminal Gallarate in northern Italy to streamline the cargo handling between truck and rail and thus reduce the transit traffic in Switzerland.
‘The demand for professional cargo handling is at a high and due to its broad range of port technology products, Gottwald Port Technology is well positioned to penetrate new market segments,’ said chief financial officer Dirk Kiessling.
