Page 32 - Wire Rope News & Sling Technology - August 2019

continued from page 30 wealth of Virginia.” Gantry Crane, which they’ve delivered,
Terry R. McAuliffe. “The site will also “I am proud of the great confidence and with a lifting capacity of 2,000 tons
have the channel depth to handle the that The Port of Virginia has placed in combined with a 210-meter rail span in
biggest ships in the Atlantic trade and us,” says Panu Routila, President and a single crane.
double-stack rail service offered by Nor- CEO of Konecranes. “We will make Looking beyond the nuts and bolts,
folk Southern and CSX to some of the sure that we deserve their confidence cargo moving through the Port of Vir-
nation’s most important markets.” as these projects move forward and the ginia facility is transported from and
The agreement between Konecranes new terminals go online.” to markets around the globe, carrying
and the VPA covers two projects. The This Virginia concept is the bench- the goods and supplies that manufac-
first is redevelopment of container mark, according to Mika Mahlberg, turers, corporations, and individual
handling operations at Norfolk Inter- senior vice president and head of consumers use in their daily lives all
national Terminals (NIT). The second BU Port Cranes, Konecranes. “Kone- the time. This cargo is moved by way
is expansion at Virginia International cranes also supplied the Port of Vir- of these six terminals on 1,864 acres
Gateway (VIG). Konecranes supplied ginia’s current automated stacking at berth of up to 50 feet in depth. The
the Automated Stacking Crane system crane system in 2007. The concept we place also has 30 miles of on-dock rail
currently working at Virginia Interna- developed with the Port of Virginia at to do the work.
tional Gateway. It has been working, the time, the ‘Virginia Concept’, has This deep water harbor–the deep-
reliably and productively, for ten years. established itself as the benchmark est on the US East Coast–shelters the
Both projects involve the formation around the world. Since 2007, every world’s largest naval base; a thriving
of new automated container handling new automated stacking crane con- shipbuilding and repair industry; ro-
operations. Konecranes supplies the tainer terminal has used the Virginia bust export coal trade and the sixth
automated stacking cranes (ASCs) Concept to a greater or lesser degree.” largest containerized cargo complex in
based on automated rail mounted gan- The United States is a strategic coun- the United States.
try cranes (ARMGs). Sixty ASCs will try for Konecranes across many indus- The port offers 50-foot channels, in-
be delivered to NIT. They will stack tries, including container handling. The bound and outbound, and is the only
containers one-over-five, and then in Americas headquarters in Springfield, US East Coast port with Congressional
turn nine containers wide. Twenty-six Ohio, has over 2,100 employees in the authorization to dredge to 55 feet. In an
ASCs will be delivered to VIG. They USA and branch offices in 44 states that era where container ships are carrying
will stack containers one-over-five, carry out sales and service activities. tens of thousands of twenty-foot equiv-
eight containers wide. Globally, Kone- Konecranes will work dependably in alent units per voyage, deep water and
cranes has delivered 174 ASCs of the the weather conditions that prevail at a the absence of overhead restrictions is
same type in 11 projects. shipyard. The company has even deliv- a significant competitive advantage.
“Konecranes is able to take complete ered cranes to the Arctic north, where According to an economic impact
responsibility for this type of very large they typically withstand extreme sub- study conducted by the Mason School
delivery because the company has ex- zero temperatures. Konecranes have of Business at the College of William
tensive crane knowledge and experi- been sent to desert environments as well, & Mary, 374,000 Virginia jobs – nearly
ence from similar large projects,” adds where they endure dust storms and ex- ten percent of the state’s resident work-
John F. Reinhart, CEO and executive treme heat. And everything in between force – are linked to port activity across
director of the Port of Virginia. “The has been experienced by these cranes too. our six terminals. Those jobs generate
product is field-proven, the delivery is They function well in every kind of $17.5 billion in annual compensation
on-time and ultimately, on-budget. climate and they come in all shapes and $1.4 billion in state and local taxes.
“We are looking forward to putting and sizes. Konecranes shipyard lifting The Port of Virginia is a hub port;
them into use. And this in turn should equipment ranges from small chain an important distinction for the ship-
further increase our ability to serve as hoists that can raise a few dozen kilos, ping public. Nearly 30 international
an economic engine for the Common- all the way up to the enormous Goliath shipping lines offer direct, dedicated
service to and from Virginia, with con-
Konecranes gantry crane being put to the test at The Port of Virginia.
nections to 200+ countries around the
world. In an average week, more than
40 international container, breakbulk
and roll-on / roll-off vessels are serviced
at our marine terminals.
The current U.S. President has stat-
ed he would hit Mexican and China
with tariffs of 35% tariff and 45%, re-
spectively – China is also the biggest
importer to the Port of Virginia. “But
almost every piece of clothing you have
on you is made oversees,” explains Pro-
fessor Vinod Agarwal an economics
professor at Old Dominion University
who’s analyzed potential effects of the
political climate on Hampton Roads.
“When we participate in international
trade, the basic principle is countries
will specialize in commodities that they
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32 Wire Rope News & Sling Technology August 2019