As of 2008′s second quarter, we have recorded our strongest ever Order Book, up 8.7 percent for the year, on the back of a series of successes in the Ports and Maritime, Airports and General Industry sectors.

Our Order Book was worth €44.4 million on June 30th, up 8.7 percent on the year and up 9.5 percent on the quarter.  Order Intake for the 12 months to June also rose, up 5.9 percent to €135.7 million.

Also noteworthy is the successful connection of a post-PANAMAX container vessel to shore-based AMP™ at the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) in California  – a key breakthrough with our Alternative Maritime Power (AMP™), or  ‘cold ironing’ technology.

We’ve signed major deals for different versions of our vacuum-based mooring technology with Nordic Ferry Services AS in Denmark, and with the Port of Salalah in Oman.  Also, the Airports division has deals with UAE-based airline Emirates and Moscow’s Sheremetyevo and Vnukovo airports.

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We are delighted to incorporate Cavotec Belgium NV as the newest edition to our international operations. Cavotec Belgium NV has been acting as a branch office for Cavotec MSL for past two years.

Sam Eeman has been appointed as Managing Director. The other members of the team include Patrick Schroots as the sales engineer and Ludo Eeman, who will act as a consultant for special projects.

The Port of Antwerp is one of the largest in Europe and ranked as one of the top twenty ports worldwide, offering Cavotec Belgium potential for many future projects. This year also saw an important order from Brussels International Airport for ground support equipment from Cavotec Fladung.

AMP in use at POLA

We are proud to announce the successful connection of a post-PANAMAX container vessel to shore-based Alternative Maritime Power (AMP™) at the Port of Los Angeles (POLA) in California.

AMP™, or ‘cold ironing’, involves vessels turning off their engines while in port, and connecting to shore-side electricity, thus helping to reduce pollution in port areas and surrounding communities.

China Shipping Line vessel, Xin Ya Zhou, successfully transferred its power supply for on board systems from its engines to a shore based AMP™ system. Post-PANAMAX ships have dimensions that are too great to allow passage through the Panama Canal.