The company has said it is opening a facility in China, with a number of sites being considered. It is the first time Kalmar’s STS cranes have been available outside the European market.
Moves into global manufacturing will see Kalmar introduce a new monobox design and more pre-assembly to make transportation easier and less expensive, and aid on-site assembly. It is also introducing a new crane control system to all STS cranes, which includes the crane’s controls, crane management and fault diagnostics, to make it easier to deal with customer-specific issues.
The majority of each crane will be fabricated in the region, with the control system coming from Europe.
Monobox is a design concept where the trolley runs on one box girder, which results in a rigid crane design. Rigidity is a major requirement for productivity and operator comfort, Kalmar said. “Production and pre-assembly of this design are relatively short and it also enables erection on-site in a short period,” said Jorma Tirkkonen, president of Kalmar container crane system division, Cargotec.
“We decided that now it is a good time to target increased volumes by starting to offer our STS cranes in all continents,” Mr Tirkkonen continued.
“The decision supports our strategy of growing our business and presence in the Asia Pacific region and the Americas, where we also have a strong local service network.”
Production in Asia will see Kalmar’s Rotterdam unit in the Netherlands switch from manufacturing to a crane competence centre, offering marketing, sales and product support, as well as customer-specific engineering. It will also continue to provide spare parts, maintenance, inspections and training.
