04.05.2004
TCS' Investment Programme Leaps Forward - Ahead of Schedule
This week saw the arrival of two new, Paceco Twin Lift ship/shore gantry cranes, on TCS’ Northfleet Hope Riverside berths. The two additions represent the latest phase in TCS’s “Investment for Growth” programme.
The cranes, expected to be delivered from Paceco Spain in June, arrived well ahead of schedule, and will be in service within the next few weeks. When commissioned, and the smallest of the cranes currently in place has been removed, the two deep water berths will have a total of six modern, high speed cranes, to provide the impetus for TCS to move towards it’s next phase of business growth.
Director and General Manager, Mike Gibson, says that “the timing of the crane arrivals could not be better. They come at a time when the UK is looking very hard at ways of increasing it’s container handling capacity, and in this respect we are very fortunately placed. During the past three years we have made capital investments of some £50 millions, to increase our number of berths, add the extra equipment to match the extra capacity that this has given us, and not least of all in providing the labour that makes it all work. We are happy that this investment has now provided us with sufficient additional capacity to meet not just the increasing needs of our customer base, but the ability to attract new business into the terminal too. We have taken the capacity of the terminal already to around 500,000 Teu’s, and when the present investment programme is finished we should add a further 100,000 Teu’s to this figure. Given that our expected throughput this year will approach 400,000 Teu’s, it may be judged that we have every reason for optimism”.
The New cranes have a SWL of 60 tonnes (70 tonnes under the heavy lift beam), an outreach of 50 metres, an air draft below the spreader of 36 metres, and electronics and control systems that are technologically state of the art.
Editor’s notes:
TCS is wholly owned by Associated British Ports. Forth Ports, and P & O Ports.
It specialises in the larger North/South services, including those to Australasia, South Africa, and South America. It is one of the largest specialist reefer terminals in the Northern hemisphere.
Last year the terminal handled more than 370,000 Teu’s. A Teu represents twenty-foot equivalent unit.
For further information. Please contact:
Mike Gibson +44 (0)1375 363700 email [email protected]
Malcolm Lambard +44 (0)1375 363700 email [email protected]
