The intensifying debate over the need to modernise infrastructure in the US and elsewhere has focused on the scale of the challenge; but should this also be considered an opportunity for engineering and innovation? 

In a recent article, The Economist highlighted how the US is grappling with the need to upgrade its aging maritime infrastructure.

According to the article, around 70 per cent of America’s imports and 75 per cent of its exports transit its ports. Furthermore, the size and number of ships calling at US ports is steadily increasing. Despite this, only seven US ports are currently capable of handling Post-Panamax container ships.

A Cavotec cable reel powers a container crane at the Port of Salalah in Oman.

And last week, the consultancy McKinsey & Company published a report entitled “Rethinking Infrastructure”. The document, which can also be seen as a call to action, described the extent of the challenge:

“Just to keep pace with projected global growth between now and 2030, the world will have to spend $57 trillion on roads, bridges, ports, power plants, water facilities, and other forms of infrastructure.”

This would, according to the consultancy, require a considerable increase in investment levels from those of recent years, and collaboration between a broad range of public and private actors.

While these challenges are considerable, Cavotec anticipates a role for engineering and innovative technologies that will improve the transport of people and goods – at ports, airports, via road and rail – and add to the quality of life that societies have grown to expect and are likely to increasingly demand. It’s a huge challenge – but one that we relish being a part of efforts to meet.

As Cavotec Chairman Stefan Widegren outlined in the Group’s annual Report 2011:

“With the support of our stakeholders and in close co-operation with customers, we could achieve great things for the benefit of us all. This will eventually lead to smarter solutions, a better economy, better use of our resources and an improvement of the world we live in.”

For some forty years, Cavotec has developed innovative technologies – such as automated mooring for ships - that ensure cleaner, more efficient operations in industrial applications all over the world. We look forward to continuing, and expanding this work in the years ahead.

Shipping lines have the opportunity to save millions of dollars by reducing time spent in port even by the most marginal amounts: that’s the main finding of a study carried out by container shipping consultancy SeaIntel. 

Savings secured: A MoorMaster™ automated mooring unit at Port Hedland in Western Australia

The research, a joint project conducted by SeaIntel, industry group the Global Institute of Logistics and software provider Cirrus Group, found that:

“If the berthing process is systematically reduced in a given port, this will allow vessel operators to slow their vessels down slightly, and still be able to berth in a timely fashion. Of course, this is only possible if the process improvement is a genuine time saving, and hence the port changes the time set aside for the berthing process.”

One way ships can optimise time spent in port is by reducing mooring times with the help of Cavotec’s automated mooring technology MoorMaster™.

MoorMaster™ is a vacuum-based automated mooring technology that eliminates the need for conventional mooring lines. Remote controlled vacuum pads recessed in, or mounted on, the quayside or pontoons, moor and release vessels in seconds.

The innovative technology is used with passenger ferry, container and bulk handling and Ro-Ro applications all over the world. The Group is also seeing interest in the technology for offshore applications.

Cavotec AMP shore-to-ship electrical application at the Port of Ystad

In September, we were delighted to see Swedish environment minister Lena Ek officially open a Cavotec Alternative Maritime Power (AMP) shore-to-ship electrical application at the Port of Ystad in southern Sweden – the largest high voltage shore connection anywhere in the world.

Ystad is the latest of a growing number of Swedish ports that have adopted Cavotec’s shore power systems: technologies that enable ports to substantially improve environmental performance.

“Our shore power systems are now in use at several Swedish ports, demonstrating our growing role in making dramatic improvements to air quality in the industry. With the onset of stricter environmental requirements, this is a role we anticipate will expand in the years ahead,” says Cavotec Chief Executive Ottonel Popesco.

The Ystad installation, incorporating four passenger ferry berths, is used by Polferries and Unity Line for their sailings to the Polish city of Świnoujście. Ystad is Sweden’s third largest port in terms of passenger numbers.

You can see some images of the application on our Facebook page.

Working closely with local partners Processkontroll Elektriska and industrial group ABB, Cavotec supplied the cable management systems that enable vessels to connect to the local electricity grid while docked, thus reducing particulate matter emissions and so improving air quality in the port and surrounding communities.

Ystad is the latest of a number of Cavotec shore power installations in Sweden. The Port of Stockholm, the Port of Gothenburg, the Port of Trelleborg and the Port of Karlskrona all use Cavotec AMP systems. The first such system came on line in the ports of Gothenburg and Stockholm in the 80s. The Group’s shore power systems are also increasingly widely used at ports on the US west coast, as well as in Canada, Europe and the Far East.

Cavotec AMP systems make it possible for vessels to switch off their engines while docked and to connect to shore side electricity. Services such as power supply for reefer containers, lighting, heating, food preparation and cargo handling are then run directly from the port. Switching off ships’ engines and connecting to grid-generated electricity reduces fuel consumption and dramatically cuts emissions.

The Port Equipment Manufacturers Association (PEMA) will host several seminars at the upcoming TOC Container Supply Chain Americas exhibition held in Panama, December 4-6, where leading ports and terminals, equipment and technology suppliers will gather to discuss the future of container handling across the Americas. 

This year’s 12^th TOC Americas gets underway with a PEMA-hosted forum that comprehensively explores the latest developments in terminal equipment and technology. This is the sixth fast-paced interview-style forum that PEMA has held in recent years.

It is a unique opportunity for attendees to ask direct questions to the world’s top terminal handling equipment suppliers. These interactive, unscripted sessions generate active debate and substantive discussions, and will be moderated by veteran port technology journalist Paul Avery, Associate Editor at World Cargo News.

Speakers include PEMA Safety Committee Vice Chairman Stephan Stiehler and Laurence Jones of the TT Club and ICHCA International. The PEMA Forum runs from 10:00-16:30 and all sessions are free to attend for all attendees. To download the full PEMA Forum programme, visit: www.pema.org

Click here to register as a visitor for TOC Americas, including entry to the PEMA Forum  or visit www.toc.americas.com

About PEMA

Founded in 2004, PEMA provides a forum and public voice for the global port equipment and technology sectors. The Association has see strong growth in recent years, and now has nearly 70 member companies representing all facets of the industry, including crane, equipment and component manufacturers; automation, software and technology providers; consultants and other experts. www.pema.org

Cavotec continues to build its position as an important supplier of niche technologies to major Swedish industrial companies with several projects involving its radio remote control (RRC) systems in recent months.

“Cavotec has a long association with Swedish industrial groups; indeed, the Group was established in Sweden in the 1970s. These latest projects underscore our position as a trusted partner for OEMs such as ABB in Sweden and further afield,” says Cavotec Sweden Managing Director, Erik Chilò.

In one of the most recent orders for the Group in Sweden, Cavotec has supplied an advanced MC-3-5 RRC terminal to Swedish automation specialist Kelmo. The company is carrying out upgrading work on high voltage cable plant in Karlskrona, southern Sweden, on behalf of ABB.

ABB has also purchased a number of Cavotec Micro-control systems that will be used to control a cable production application. Factories in Karlskrona and in Luleå, in the north of the country, use Cavotec systems to control cable storage facilities and operate the critical extruder process when manufacturing cables.

Operators use the MC-3-5 units to control large machines that coil underwater sea cable into storage facilities before they are loaded on to ships or barges. ABB also uses a large number of Cavotec electrical plugs and cable reels for applications in ports and terminals, and in metallurgy industry.

Cavotec is also currently supporting the SEK 17-billion Stockholm City Line project in the Swedish capital. Stockholm City Line is a major infrastructure programme involving the construction of a six kilometre-long train line under the city. Cavotec has supplied cable management systems, RRCs and electrical connectors to leading contractors working on the project such as Bilfinger Berger, NCC, Zublin and PEAB. You can see images of these systems on our Facebook page here.

Cavotec has two dedicated operations in Sweden, Cavotec Connectors in Staffanstorp, southern Sweden, and Cavotec Sweden, just north of Stockholm.

We recently published our interim results, and in case you missed them, here is a brief overview of how the Group performed in the first of the year.

Cavotec equipment powers machinery at applications worldwide

Overall, the report was positive, with the Group reporting growth in most markets. Revenues increased 21 per cent to more than EUR 101,282 thousands (a record high), and our Order Book was up almost 6 per cent to EUR 100,595 thousands compared to the end of 2011.

You can download a PDF of the full report here.

The period was strong for our Ports & Maritime unit with a large number of projects. Our Alternative Maritime Power systems that supply electrical power for ships in port attracted several good orders in Asia and the US. Our orders from the Port of Oakland and Long Beach were particular highlights.

Our Airports unit registered strong progress throughout the period with orders in mature markets such as Europe and the US, and in emerging markets such as India and the Middle East.

Mining & Tunnelling was strong throughout the first months of the year, with markets in Australia and North America being especially buoyant; while investment in major infrastructure projects lifted demand for the Group’s tunnelling systems.

Our diverse General Industry unit continued its positive performance with encouraging results in the US, where our advanced radio remote control systems continued to develop an impressive profile with customers for performing highly specialised functions in niche sectors such as offshore energy.

If you would like to find out more about Cavotec, take a look at our Investor Relations website, or drop me a line here at any time.