A consortium consisting of the German and Swedish company ABB, and the Austrian crane manufacturer Hans Künz GmbH has received an order for 22 fully automatic stacker cranes.
The cranes will operate at the Altenwerder container terminal in the Port of Hamburg, Germany and were ordered by HHLA Container Terminal Altenwerder GmbH, a subsidiary company of Hamburger Hafen- und Lagerhaus AG. ABB will supply the electrical components and automation, and Künz will supply the mechanical components.
In the first construction stage, seven container cranes will dispatch the large container ships in the new terminal. The containers will be transported between the wharf and the stacking area by remote-controlled vehicles. Rail-mounted Künz stacker cranes will place the containers in and out of storage.
A system comprising two cranes with different spans (31m and 41m) will operate in each storage block. The outer crane will move freely over the inner crane. The first two cranes will be delivered in the first half of next year. Start up for the first crane is scheduled for October 2001. Contract completion is due in 2002.
Künz has earned a reputation from its projects for clients such as the Swiss Post, German Railways and BASF, as well as from its technical concept.
The deciding factor in the choice of electrical components was the system for load and final positioning developed by ABB, especially for automatic container handling, which has already been used successfully on a similar system in Singapore.
