14 brand new Kalmar straddle carriers have arrived at the Port of Tilbury, owned by Forth Ports, this month as part of a £20million investment programme at the port’s London Container Terminal.
The deal reflects a strong relationship between both companies, with many of the port’s existing straddle carriers having been previously provided by Kalmar.
Kalmar, one of the worlds most advanced handling solutions providers, delivered the 4-high machines to the port where LCT’s bespoke IT equipment has now been fitted into each of the carriers. All 14 carriers are now in use at the deep sea part of the terminal.
Perry Glading, Chief Operating Officer of Forth Ports , said:
“We have put in place a significant investment plan for the London Container Terminal, which will see the continued upgrading of the site and its equipment as we work to integrate container handling across both the deep sea and short sea operations at Tilbury. The acquisition of these straddle carriers has further secured Tilbury as a key shipping and distribution location with unrivalled access to London and the South East of England.
“LCT handles in excess of half a million containers per year, and is the only UK port truly servicing both deep sea and short sea customers. In addition to the new straddle carriers we have also invested in a single reception gate covering both security and container processing, new cranes, a bespoke ICT system and surfacing work.”
The specialist Kalmar carriers were manufactured at their assembly plant in Poland prior to onward delivery to Tilbury. The straddle carrier investment has been aided by the Motorway of the Sea grant, awarded to the Port of Tilbury and Port of Bilbao in 2012. The grant is for the “IBUK – Intermodal Corridor” project, which aims to reduce congestion between the Iberian Peninsula and the UK by moving trucks off the road and onto a more efficient multi-modal logistics corridor.
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Press Release, May 30, 2013