Material Handling Equipment News

The Power Systems division of Rolls-Royce has been selected to supply a further four of its mtu naval generator sets for the USS Congress (FFG-63), the second ship in the U.S. Navy’s Constellation Class Guided-Missile Frigate program, previously known as the FFG(X) program. Rolls-Royce has made significant investment at its production facilities in Aiken, S.C. and Mankato, Minn. to support the program and manufacture the gensets in the US.Rolls-Royce is currently supplying mtu gensets for the lead ship in the Constellation Class program…

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced $19.6 million in grant awards to 24 small shipyards in 19 states through the Small Shipyard Grant Program.The funds will help awardees—many of which being family-run businesses—modernize, increase productivity and expand local employment opportunities while competing in the global marketplace, MARAD said.“Small businesses are the lifeblood of the American economy, and small shipyards play a critical role in America’s maritime industry, helping us get the goods we depend on every day,” said U.S.

Fairbanks Morse Defense (FMD) announced it has acquired Federal Equipment Company (FEC), expanding its product capabilities and service solutions for shipyard, defense, and industrial customers – with emphasis on its support for and offerings to the U.S. Nuclear Navy.The transaction includes FEC Military, a global leader in designing and manufacturing mission-critical components and systems for the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard, including its advanced cargo elevators, engineered doors and specialized material handling equipment.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) on Thursday announced the designation of six new Marine Highway Projects and a new Marine Highway Route as part of the America’s Marine Highway Program (AMHP). The AMHP encourages the use of America’s navigable waterways for the movement of freight and people as an alternative to land-based transportation. Since its inception, the AMHP has designated 46 Marine Highway Projects. A designation makes projects on Marine Highway Routes eligible for grants when AMHP funding is available.

Taylor Machine Works, Inc. launched the XHRS-1000, a new model in its material handling equipment portfolio purpose-built to handle containers in the unique lift situations that barge applications present.Hal Nowell, Director of Sales of Taylor Machine Works, said the XHRS is specifically designed for inland rivers and waterway customers.This purpose-built reachstacker is suited to tackle inland waterway barge applications as well as other heavy-duty negative lift applications. The XHR-1000 has a 360-inch wheelbase and features hydraulic stabilizer jacks.

Small shipyards in the U.S. are critical to the nation’s maritime operations and economic security. Typically family-owned and employing less than 1,200 workers, America’s small shipyards support more than 400,000 jobs, employ more than 100,000 Americans directly and contribute tens of billions in gross domestic product, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD).In an effort to help support these vital assets, MARAD’s Small Shipyard Grant Program provides funds to help drive efficiency…

Allied Systems Company has been awarded a $70 million contract to design, test and manufacture up to 37 Crash and Salvage Crane units to the US Navy for use on Aircraft Carriers (CVN) and Landing Helicopter Assault and Dock Vessels (LHA and LHD). “We are a small veteran owned business and are honored and excited to be able to provide critical support equipment for the United States Navy. We are proud to design, test and manufacture the equipment here locally, supporting the local economy, helping create jobs and promoting American made equipment.” –Jeff Rink, President.The units, referred to as Crash Cranes, are mobile cranes that move aircraft with mechanical failures or battle damage out of the way on the flight deck.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced $19.6 million in grants to support capital improvements at 28 U.S. small shipyards as a part of its Small Shipyard Grant program. The grants enable small shipyards to modernize equipment and processes to fuel future growth. “These grants help create jobs in America’s small shipyards, which play a significant role in our country’s maritime sector,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.In 2013, U.S. shipbuilders produced $37.3 billion in gross domestic product.

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has signed an agreement to sell its rough terrain handling business, Kalmar Rough Terrain Center (KRTC), to the management and a Texas-based investment group, led by Independent Bankers Capital Funds (IBCF) and Congruent Investment Partners, LLC (Congruent). The contract was signed and is effective as of 29 June 2018. Kalmar Rough Terrain Center is a specialised manufacturer of rough terrain material handling equipment for both the defense and commercial markets. It is also a manufacturer and distributor of parts and a service provider to existing equipment. Its portfolio includes the RT240 Rough Terrain Container Handler and the RT022 Light Capability Rough Terrain Forklift that are specially built to military standards…

Harrington Hoists, Inc. is celebrating 150 years in the hoist business. The company was established in 1867 by Edwin Harrington, a machinist and inventor, when he started a machine shop and hoist business in Philadelphia. His company thrived as a result of his innovative ideas and continual improvements to the design and production of hoists. Throughout his lifetime, Harrington obtained several patents and was best known for developing one of the first electric hoists in 1896. In the years that followed, Harrington Hoists, Inc.

Overhead crane and hoist manufacturer Ace World Companies has made its first appearance at the Inland Marine Expo, which took place for the third time this May at America’s Center Convention Complex in St. Louis, Missouri, on the banks of the Mississippi River. The expo is the annual trade show for the inland and intracoastal marine transportation industry, which is a target market for the manufacturer and its recently acquired business, Pullift Corporation, a provider of standard and custom material handling equipment, including winches. Camron Ghanemi, vice president at Ace, said, “I was encouraged by recent comments from Michael Toohey, the president of the Waterways Council, who referenced ‘record funding’ to modernize the nation’s inland waterways transportation system.

Today Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) decided in principle to launch a new wholly owned entity to integrally oversee its current businesses in material handling equipment centered on forklift trucks, engines and turbochargers. The new entity will serve as an independent management body to provide integrated and swift responsive oversight of these three core businesses. Under this initiative, MHI looks to generate synergy benefits, streamline its organization, and explore new fields as a way of significantly strengthening its competitiveness. Going forward, scale expansion and higher earning capacity will be pursued in a quest to achieve net sales reaching 1 trillion yen.

“Agricultural commodities along with dry bulk, general cargo and containerized goods continued to enhance cargo tonnage on the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System during the month of November,” said Betty Sutton, Administrator of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation. The general cargo dock operated by Midwest Terminals had a good month of November at the Port of Toledo. “The ability to handle a diverse array of cargo at this large facility with new material handling equipment is really helping move the economy of Northwest Ohio forward…

Continuing voracious demand for mined materials in China, India and other developing nations has led to an associated requirement for increased bulk terminal capacity for both export by suppliers and import by users. Whether developing an existing facility or building from scratch it is imperative that any scheme is planned in advance from engineering, commercial and operational perspectives in order to deliver maximum value to the customer. Rajan Narayan, Technical Director at BMT Consultants India, a subsidiary of BMT Group, provides an overview of current themes in the market.

Cummins Inc. opened a global logistics hub in Singapore yesterday, one of the company's eight master distribution centers for parts and filters globally. The Singapore Global Logistics Hub boasts a total investment of $5.4 million and is part of the company’s efforts to enhance its aftermarket product delivery globally. The new location will serve markets including the United States, Europe, China, India as well as customers across the Northeast and Southeast Asia regions. Teo Ser Luck, Minister of State for Trade and Industry, graced the opening event at the CWT Pandan Logistics Center. The Singapore Global Logistics Hub is a consolidation of operations from three distribution centers in Singapore.

Royal IHC has acquired SAS Offshore, which is based in Alphen aan den Rijn, The Netherlands. SAS Offshore is specialised in designing and manufacturing high quality deck equipment for the offshore oil and gas market. This acquisition enables IHC to further secure its position as a supplier of reliable integrated offshore systems and integrated vessels in this sector. SAS Offshore was originally founded in 1896 in Gouda and it has a long track record in delivering pipelaying systems and winches, including ancillary equipment and services. The company also holds a minority shareholding in the Norwegian engineering and service company AXTech, and this stake has also been taken over by IHC.

The St. Lawrence Seaway reported that year-to-date cargo shipments of more than 24 million metric tons moved through the system for the period March 28 to September 30 – an increase of nearly 5 percent over September 2013. U.S. grain continued its upward trend posting a 14.6 percent increase over the same time last year. “Cargo tonnage moved through the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway System during the month of September continues to be robust and reflects positively on the economy and the shipping industry,” said Administrator Betty Sutton of the Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation.

American Crane & Equipment Corporation, an Eastern Pennsylvania based manufacturer of overhead electric cranes and hoist says it has appointed Karen Norheim, formerly Vice President of Marketing and Information Technology, as Executive Vice President. Karen Norheim joined the company in 2002 and has served as Vice President of Marketing and Information Technology for the past six years. As VP of Marketing and IT, Norheim coordinated marketing activities and established network and computer systems for this large manufacturing corporation. Norheim studied at Pennsylvania State University, earning two undergraduate degrees in Marketing/International Business and International Studies. She also earned a Master’s Degree in Information Science and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration.

Canadian fuel cell maker Ballard Power Systems Inc posted a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss, helped by higher revenue from its engineering services and material handling businesses. Revenue from Ballard's engineering services business, which counts Volkswagen AG among its customers, rose nearly threefold in the first quarter ended March 31. The business accounted for half of Ballard's total revenue in the quarter. Ballard said it expected to begin supplying fuel cell stacks to service Plug Power Inc's order with Wal-Mart Stores Inc in the second half of this year. Plug Power said in February it would supply 1,738 hydrogen fuel cells, used to power forklifts and other material-handling equipment, to Wal-Mart.

The MagnaShear marine duty motor brake from Force Control Industries will be featured in booth #1862 at the International WorkBoat Show, from December 3-5 in New Orleans, La. These proven brakes employs oil shear technology, providing longer service life even in demanding applications like the frequent start/stop cycles seen on cranes, hoists, winches and other marine material handling equipment. High grade castings, marine duty coatings, stainless steel fasteners and accessories make these brakes an ideal solution for onshore and offshore crane applications.

Dr. Fraser Smith of Raytheon is the President of Raytheon Sarcos, part of Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems business. He’s also the chief proponent of a new technology that could revolutionize how shipyards move, store and retrieve bulky, awkward and heavy materials. Raytheon is actively marketing the robotic device now and looking to find follow-on funding to make the product commercially viable. Based on their early findings and performance, they are well on their way to doing just that.

Ellicott Dredge Enterprises announced two personnel changes to its senior management team. Gert de Vries has joined as Senior Director of Engineering, in which capacity he will be supporting the engineering departments of all of Ellicott's brands, principally Ellicott and Rohr-Idreco. He will also be mentoring the company’s engineering teams. Additionally, Rob Schettle has been promoted to General Manager at Ellicott's subsidiary Liquid Waste Technology. He will now be responsible for running Ellicott’s plant in New Richmond, Wisconsin.

Continued demand for iron ore, coal, and general cargo for the industrial and manufacturing sectors lifted the tonnage numbers along the Great Lakes-Seaway System to the positive column. For the period March 22 to November 30, year-to-date total cargo shipments were 34.6 million metric tons, a rise of 2.67 percent over the same period in 2011. The St. Lawrence Seaway reported an 11 percent increase for total cargo shipments during the month of November – 5.1 million metric tons – compared to November 2011. “The nearly 3 percent rise in overall tonnage handled through the Seaway in 2012 is due in part to the proven formula of ‘steel in, grain out’ as steel imports rose 12 percent in November as compared to the same month last year, and combined Canadian-U.S.