Konecranes Automated RTGs to three European container terminals

Konecranes has signed contracts with Yilport for the delivery of Automated RTG systems to three of Yilport’s European container terminals, two in Portugal and one in Sweden. Automated RTG operation is coming of age in Europe, driven by Konecranes. The order was booked in December 2019.    

Yilport has global ambitions to become a top-ten global operator of container terminals. This investment in three Konecranes Automated RTG systems, each with six Konecranes ARTGs operated under a supervised operation concept, is a major step towards achieving those ambitions. The systems will be built as extensions to the container yards of Yilport’s Gävle container terminal in Sweden and the Liscont and Leixões terminals in Portugal. Each system will have four Remote Operating Stations (ROSs).

Robert Yuksel Yildirim, President and CEO of Yildirim Group, which owns Yilport, said: “Konecranes have a very solid and good reputation for their reliable, automated e-RTG cranes. Since 6 of these e-RTG cranes are going to be used in Sweden and 12 in Portugal, we believe Konecranes’ technical support will be key in our decision to choose Konecranes.”

The 18 Konecranes ARTGs on order are fully electric machines powered by busbar systems. They are 16-wheel machines stacking 
1-over-6 high and 7 containers + truck lane wide in Gävle and Liscont, and 6 containers + truck lane wide in Leixões. They will be equipped with the Konecranes Active Load Control (ALC) system, which eliminates container sway and enables highly productive automated operation. They will also be equipped with a suite of smart features under the supervised operation concept.  

Ville Hoppu, Konecranes Regional Sales Manager, Port Solutions, said: “Yilport has been a Konecranes customer for some years. I’m very pleased that Yilport has decided to take this authoritative step to automated container handling operation with Konecranes. We look forward to working with Yilport’s experts to raise the bar of automated RTG operations as high as it can go.”     

 This contract with Yilport is part of Konecranes’ path to port automation, where container terminals improve productivity and safety in manageable steps. From smart features up to full automation, the path can include supervised operation and remote operation to smoothly introduce the power of automation. The path to port automation applies to all container handling equipment brands. Full automation can be the final goal, but it doesn’t have to be. Flexibility is the key.