Indian customer chooses Model 7 portal harbour crane to handle coal

One of Gottwald’s most recent projects involves a G HSK 7432 B
portal harbour crane, a Generation 5 variant of Model 7, for
APM Terminals Pipavav in Gujarat India. Port Pipavav, offering a
broad range of cargo handling services, including container,
general, project and liquid cargo as well as bulk, is run by APM
Terminals, part of the Danish-based A.P. Moller-Maersk Group,
one of the largest container terminal operators in the world.
With a 57.9% stake, APM is the majority shareholder in Port
Pipavav.
In the field of bulk and general cargo, Port Pipavav handles a
variety of goods, such as coal, cement, clinker, fertilizers, steel,
iron ore, agribulk, salt and soda ash. With modern handling
facilities, excellent road and rail connectivity and the capability to
berth Panamax vessels, the all-weather port is being developed
to become the most competitive port on the West Coast of
India for handling bulk. The port was one of the first in the
country to invest in modern bulk handling equipment and it was
the very first Indian port to welcome a Gottwald mobile
harbour crane, which was also the first ever mobile harbour
crane in India for the efficient handling of bulk materials and
general cargo, a Generation 4, HMK 296 E crane. In addition,
the port commissioned a 1.2km-long conveyor belt.
In the course of the years, Port Pipavav has developed an
extensive support infrastructure including warehousing, open
stockyards, weighbridges and a dedicated on-dock rail facility
with rail sidings inside the port. To further streamline the
movement of bulk, APM Terminals Pipavav has recently ordered
an additional Gottwald crane, this time a portal harbour crane,
which will primarily be used for handling coal. Flexibility to
handle a broad range of other cargoes if the situation arises, low
specific investment costs, a much reduced deadweight compared
to purpose-built equipment, Gottwald’s ability to supply a
customer-orientated solution which can seamlessly be integrated
in the complex logistics chain within a very short time plus the
excellent experience with its existing crane, were some of the
major reasons for the port to opt for a Gottwald crane instead
of purpose-built equipment. The cargo handling performance of