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Sisters are Doing it For Themselves

When Associated British Ports at Newport opted to invest in a new quayside cargo-handling crane, they didn’t need to look any further than the sister operation at its Port of Swansea given the performance of their Mantsinen 120M for quayside operations. The 120M, acquired from Cooper Specialised Handling Ltd, has been in service for 3 years and the management information it has yielded in that time told Newport everything they needed to know when investing in a Mantsinen 120M of their own.

A recognised centre of excellence in the handling of steel, ABP’s Port of Newport also handles dry bulks, forest products and renewable energy cargoes.  Regular shipments of bulk cargo including coal, coke, clay, aggregates, and agribulks are accommodated at the port where an upgraded bulk terminal can discharge two 40000dwt vessels simultaneously.

Along with 8ha of open storage, Newport has more than 25,000sqm of multi-purpose covered storage available within the port estate and large areas of open storage for non-weather-sensitive cargoes. The port offers full stevedoring services and value-added services such as pick-a-pack, and distribution.

In searching for new quayside cargo-handling capability, the port needed a versatile machine to handle a diverse range of commodities, including steel, agribulks, scrap and timber. The new 120M has been specified to handle to and from various size vessels and is supplied with a 15m boom and 13m stick offering 27,5m horizontal outreach. The slew ring is mounted at 5.7m high mounted on a pylon but serviced by a mid-mounted service platform to offer 360-degree access thus enabling the machine to park in any position.

It is however the management data where the 120M at Swansea yields an accurate picture of utilisation, speed, productivity and throughput. The system records statistical operation data such as, cycles per hour, litres per hour, the tonnes per hour and, quite importantly, the ultimate operational KPI, tonnes moved over the quay per litre of fuel. The machine transmits via a SIM card through to Mantsinen’s data centre which is then accessed via a portal. Once added to Cooper’s own maintenance software, it creates a total picture of operational and up-time machine performance.

Chris Barnes, Sales Director of Coopers said “ABP Newport not only will benefit from the same operational performance of the machine in Swansea, but they also will have the same data and performance access as Swansea”.  Chris added “The two machines are near identical and purposely so, in order ABP can accommodate any future fleet interchange ability”

Speaking on behalf of ABP, Gareth Perry, Engineering Resources Manager commented “We are constantly looking at ways to make port operations more efficient for our customers. The operational performance and reliability of the 120M at Swansea was a major factor in acquiring a ‘sister 120M’ in Newport. We also considered feedback from our crane drivers who play a major role in the purchase of new equipment in order to ensure its fit-for-purpose. The performance data is also incredibly valuable as it provides statistics on performance that will allow us to continue to improve the service we provide to customers.”

The new machine entered service in November 2019 and will be fully maintained by Cooper’s after-sales arm, Cooper Handling Solutions Ltd.

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Editor’s Notes

Operating in all sectors of heavy lifting across the UK and Ireland, Cooper Specialised Handling is the exclusive UK distributor for SveTruck , RAM Spreaders and Sany mobile handling equipment, sole UK importer and exclusive distributor for Mantsinen cranes, Movella Translifters, TEC Containers and a long-term specialist in Konecranes lift trucks.  The company, which celebrated 20 years in business in 2018, also has a dedicated after-sales division, Cooper Handling Solutions, which specialises in engineering support.

Independently owned, Cooper offers total solutions in both solids and bulk handling. Its customised solutions comprise high quality, high value products and reliable service for businesses operating in the most challenging heavy handling environments, including ports, freight handling, inter-modal terminals, manufacturing and other heavy lifting industries.