Kalmar Modernisation Services: Helping You Make the Most of Your Fleet

"Generally, projects land on our desk when they require something that can't be addressed with Kalmar's normal service and parts offering," says Reima Reinvall, KMS Manager, Lifecycle Solutions. "In other words, our work almost always involves some bespoke engineering."

The goal for the team at Kalmar Modernisation Services is to support customers over the entire extended lifecycle of their equipment, which can be up to several decades for heavy cranes. Keeping the machines running often involves some technical adaptation as parts eventually reach end-of-life.

 "This is a big part of the work that we do with our customers," Reima notes. "Ideally, terminal operators will address the lifecycle of their equipment proactively with planned upgrades and refurbishments. By thinking ahead, it's possible to manage the modernisation process of your fleet with minimum disruption to ongoing operations."

Increasing safety

One of the most exciting upgrades for terminals operating straddle carriers has been the addition of Kalmar's Collision Warning System to older machines. The solution offers onboard sensoring and driver assistance systems that significantly reduce the risk of collisions when operating in the stack and the yard. "When compared with the potential safety benefits and cost savings of avoiding even a single accident, the expense of installing the system on the straddle carrier is really quite marginal," Reima points out.

Improved capacity 

Kalmar Modernisation Services can improve the container handling capacity of older equipment. Many straddle carrier models can be heightened from 3-high to 4-high stacking, or under certain conditions even extended in lifting capacity to allow heavier containers to be moved, while ship-to-shore cranes can benefit from heightening and/or boom extensions in order to serve larger container ships.

Going electric

Finally, modernisation helps terminal operators improve the sustainability of their horizontal transportation operations by bringing equipment up to date with the latest technology.

"The most topical request for us at the moment is converting existing diesel or hybrid-powered straddle carriers to full-electric operation," says Reima. "For terminals that are upgrading their straddle carrier fleet to battery power, this will also involve the installation of the required charging infrastructure. So, the projects can be quite extensive, but they are the obvious next step for terminals in their green transition plans. "

Genuine Parts Strategy

Alongside electrification, other common upgrades to horizontal transportation equipment include hardware updates to onboard Programmable Logic Controllers (PLCs) as well as the upgrading of straddle carrier drive inverters, displays and other electronics parts.

"Over the lifetime of the machine, there are always some parts that will reach end-of-life, and which will eventually become unavailable," Reima points out. "We help our customers upgrade these components with newer units as part of a planned upgrade process, maximising equipment uptime while keeping the replaced components as spare parts for older machines that still have the original component installed. Alternatively the replaced components may be returned to Kalmar for second life repair service"

Any Machine, Anywhere

Kalmar Modernisation Services serves customers across the globe, operating from three service hubs in Finland, the Netherlands and Spain supported by local services teams in Europe,  the Americas, Africa, the Middle East and Oceania. The team in Tampere, Finland handles the modernisation of original Kalmar equipment such as straddle carriers and cranes, while the hubs in Europe focus primarily on crane refurbishment and capacity extensions, including the modernisation of cranes from other manufacturers. 

The possibility of extending equipment lifetimes while simultaneously improving safety, performance and sustainability has raised significant interest and the Modernisation Services team has signed several new major contracts over the last year. "With carefully planned midlife upgrades to their fleets, terminal operators around the world are utilising our help to get the most out of their original equipment investment while maximising their productivity and sustainability far into the future," concludes Reima.

* in this article we specifically refer to fleets with Straddle Carriers and RTG’s.