Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has signed a contract with Rotterdam Short Sea Terminal B.V. on the delivery of new Kalmar ship-to-shore (STS) cranes. The deal includes two Kalmar STS cranes and an option for further two cranes. The order has been booked into Cargotec's 2017 first quarter order intake, and the delivery of the first two cranes is planned to be completed by the end of 2018.

Rotterdam Short Sea Terminal B.V. (RST) is the largest short sea shipping hub in Europe that is currently expanding operations in the Port of Rotterdam. Kalmar will deliver wide-span monobox STS cranes which are specifically designed for RST's short sea operation. The containers are loaded directly from the truck and stacked between the STS legs with minimal container moves. The local Kalmar team in Rotterdam is responsible for crane erection and project oversight as well as supporting the customer when needed.

"We have had Kalmar STS cranes in our terminal for many years and they are some of the quickest in the world, allowing us to optimise our overall operational efficiency and keep service times for vessels and trucks the shortest possible", says Mr. Cees van Pelt, Manager Technical Department & Projects at RST. "Based on the solid performance of the current Kalmar cranes and the expertise of the local Kalmar team, we are confident that these new cranes will meet our STS productivity targets and help us continue to provide reliable service to our customers."

"Our joint history with RST dates all the way back to the 1990's. We are happy that we can mark a new chapter for Kalmar STS cranes with a loyal customer and support them in expanding their business," says Tero Kokko, Senior Vice President, Automation and Projects, Kalmar. "This will be the first STS delivery from our joint venture Rainbow-Cargotec Industries (RCI) in China. Since its opening in 2013, RCI has delivered close to 300 RTG cranes to our customers world-wide and all the deliveries have been on time and in budget. So our joint venture is in an excellent shape", he continues.

The Kalmar STS cranes will be shipped from the recently opened new jetty in Taicang. Kalmar has over 40 years of experience in rail-mounted port cranes with a track record of several STS industry firsts; including the first remote-controlled Super-Post-Panamax STS cranes in the Port of Rotterdam.