Alimak Lifts On North Europe's Largest Container Cranes

In late August they arrived, the largest container cranes in North Europe, which will make loading and unloading in the Port of Gothenburg more efficient.

With an altitude of 118 meters they will be the city's highest construction. Inside the enormous crane columns, Alimak lifts have been installed.

The container cranes are intended for the new generation container ships, and were built in a factory in Shanghai, China, where the Alimak lifts were also installed. They were then transported by sea all the way to the port of Gothenburg. After a 64-day voyage the lifts are finally back in Sweden where they were first constructed, says Allan Leth, segment manager for container cranes at Alimak AB.

It is the municipal company Göteborgs Hamn AB who runs the port and who placed the order for the container cranes. The purpose of the investment is to rationalize the logistics, handle more cargo and increase the productivity.

The impressive cranes are almost twice as strong as the previous cranes, 30 percent quicker and have a more then 25 percent wider range.

This means the cranes will be able to reach 23 container rows on board, compared to 18 rows, which are what the second largest cranes handle.

This increased capacity translates into shorter port time for the ships, and significant savings. Even small shipping companies will now get access to more cranes for loading and unloading.

Inside the crane columns, three ALIMAK SE 400 FC lifts have been installed, each with a loading capacity of 400 kg and a maximum speed of 0.8 m/s. The lift height is 43 meters. Almost a third of Sweden's export trade passes through the Port of Gothenburg, something that puts high demands on capacity and service levels. With four landings, out lifts contribute to greater access to an important investment that most definitely will benefit the industry, says Allan Leth.

Skellefteå, Dec 4, 2006