Just as APM Terminals announced that it will use a 5G network to connect all cranes, vehicles and operators in the Port of Barcelona. Jenny Eagle looks at the latest news in Spain and its rebound from COVID-19.
APM Terminals Barcelona is working with Telefónica and Barcelona, the world’s mobile capital, to use 5G technology to improve the security of its ports as part of the 5G Barcelona plan.
The purpose of the project is to connect all cranes, vehicles and operators through advanced communication and localization technologies to minimize the potential risk of collisions between mobile machinery and fixed components, vehicles and personnel working at the terminal.
Telefónica's 5G network and its low latency will mean improved communications in the port's cellular car networking (C-V2X). By using the edge computing technology of the Telefonica Virtual Data Center (VDC), all data of crane, truck and pedestrian communication will be safely sent to the geographical location hosted on the edge in order to get instant response from the intelligent collaborative transportation system (C-ITS) Comes with a dashboard for APMT to view a map of everyone's location.
The alarm system will notify crane drivers and trucks or pedestrians about potential collisions with fixed and mobile fixed devices, and send instant notifications to the control center in the event of a collision.
The straddle carrier crane will be equipped with an on-board unit to communicate between itself and other participants in the port through 5G and C-V2X. Trucks, truck drivers, and terminal personnel will have a 5G smartphone and install the C-V2X application.
"Such projects are part of our work at APM Terminals, aiming to seek innovation and continuous improvement, and to make our terminal operations safer, more sustainable and more competitive," said Carlos Arias, MD, APMT Spain Gateway.
Telefónica’s innovation manager, Mercedes Fernández, explained that the same technology can be extended to other ports, airports and industrial sites with similar traffic. The goal is to "reduce the accident rate between workers, vehicles and goods," Fernandez added.
The project will be put into operation in the summer of 2021, will be in various stages of development, and will use APMT Barcelona as a test site.
Ficosa will work with the three initiators of the pilot to assist in the implementation of C-V2X on cranes, the integration of C-ITS systems and geolocation services. Harmana International will participate in the application development of C-V2X on smartphones.
Damià Calvet, President of the Port of Barcelona, met with the head of APM Terminals Barcelona to discuss the improvement projects and investments that this container operator will promote. In the future, the terminal operators of the Maersk Group will play a fundamental role as the operating base of the Barcelona 5G pilot project. To its success.
According to the British Financial Times, factories in Italy and Spain are increasing production to meet increasing demand, but are also facing increasing shortages of raw materials and rising input costs. In addition, a survey conducted by IHS Markit in Europe showed that Spain's manufacturing PMI (Purchasing Managers Index) rose faster than most economists expected, rising to a seven-month high of 52.9, higher than 49.3. A reading above the 50 mark indicates that most companies are reporting expanded activity.
Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, said this is "a level rarely surpassed in more than two decades of survey history." "Producers are benefiting from the recovery of demand for commodities in the domestic and export markets. This is related to the hope of a post-Covid recovery, which has promoted the construction of new inventories and investment in commercial equipment and machinery, as well as improved consumption."
According to IHS Markit, many Spanish manufacturers report that “supply shortages, increased global demand and continued shipping delays have pushed up delivery times”.
The Spanish factories said their backlog of work has increased for the first time in nearly two years. Despite supply chain issues, Italian and Spanish manufacturers have increased confidence in the coming months as they expect further relaxation of restrictions on activities related to the pandemic may further boost demand.
For example, the Liebherr Group delivered its first LTM 1650-8.1 mobile crane to Grúas y Transportes Ibarrondo in Spain in May. The crane is available in two telescopic boom lengths, Y-type cable and a 91-meter-long luffing boom
The high performance and flexibility of Liebherr's 8-axis cranes prompted the Bilbao-based company to place an order at the 2019 Munich Bauma show. The prototype of the crane was unveiled there, as the successor to the best-selling large crane of all time, LTM 1500-8.1. The first LTM 1650-8.1 unit has now been delivered worldwide.
When Grúas Ibarrondo decided to purchase the Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 mobile crane in 2019, it was impossible to know that a global pandemic would break out in just one year. But despite all the challenges, the company believes that it is a wise decision to continue investing.
Grúas Ibarrondo stated that since its first opening, it has adhered to its policy of continuously updating its fleet to keep up with the most advanced technology. This is the only way to achieve its goal, which is to always provide customers with the best service in the form of a modern fleet.
This is also the main reason for investing in Liebherr's LTM 1650-8.1 all terrain crane.
"The purchase of this new Liebherr mobile crane is another step to consolidate our competitive position in the market. Thanks to its high-tech development, the 8-axis crane will bring us profit. In addition, the concept behind LTM 1650-8.1 is ECOdrive The form is designed for sustainability," said Mikel Ibarrondo, managing director of Grúas Ibarrondo.
"With its multiple equipment versions, the LTM 1650-8.1 is a flexible multifunctional crane. We can use the LTM 1650-8.1 for a variety of tasks. This is very important to us because we operate in different areas, including Public and private buildings, industries, ports and wind farms."
The power of the 8-axle crane is 15% to 50% higher than that of the LTM 1500-8.1, which means it can handle the challenging lifting work of 700 tons. Technological developments have made this possible because since its predecessor first went into production 20 years ago, the Liebherr plant in Ehingen has been working on the improvement and development of crane technology.
It also inherits the two concepts of LTM 1500-8.1-firstly, it offers two telescopic boom lengths, 54 meters and 80 meters, and secondly, it has a Y-rail specially developed for telescopic booms. This increases lifting capacity and improves lateral stability. In addition, the crane has a 91-meter luffing boom and a 62-meter fixed boom.
LTM 1650-8.1 completes the Grúas Ibarrondo fleet, which includes 66 cranes, 41 of which are provided by Liebherr. They cover almost the entire range of the LTM product portfolio, from LTM 1030-2.1 to LTM 1750-9.1. The fleet also includes a 750-ton LG 1750 lattice boom crane.
Just before the Covid outbreak, Konecranes executed an order for busbar modification of its rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes to improve its sustainability in the Port of Valencia, which handles more than 4.2 million TEUs per year.
MSC Terminal VLC (MSCTV) is a main terminal in the Port of Valencia. In addition to purchasing a new Konecranes RTG that is fully bus-ready, it also converts the existing Konecranes RTG to fully electric operation.
The busbar modification can reduce CO2 emissions by approximately 20%, while generating less noise, requiring less maintenance, and operating at a higher level of productivity and reliability.
Konecranes Mediterranean Port Services Director Vicent Lladó said that although some orders were suspended during Covid, the market is currently resuming all equipment-related activities in Spain.
“It turns out that the new features installed in RTG are better than expected, so the customer’s future orders will undoubtedly have the same specifications. We see more and more customers follow in the footsteps of MSC by planning brownfield renovations, and More requirements for RTGs with alternative power options," he said.
As another sign of post-Covid descent, HMS Industrial Network, a part of HMS Networks, acquired 60% of the Spanish company Owasys Advanced Wireless Devices, which is headquartered in Bilbao and has 20 employees.
Owasys is a wireless communications company that designs and manufactures products for utility vehicles and industrial machines. It provides a wireless embedded communication platform for remote monitoring and control of mobile machines.
"Owasys allows HMS to enter the vertical field of mobile machines and utility vehicles. This is an interesting part of our strategically important "information-centric" competitive field. With Owasys, we strengthen our role in remote access and data The position in terms of solutions surpasses our current advantages in the field of factory automation." said Staffan Dahlström, CEO of HMS Networks.
"For a company of this size, Owasys has an impressive technology and customer base, and HMS will provide a good platform for future development."
Its product portfolio includes owa4x, an IoT gateway for processing data from wired and wireless sensors, devices and peripherals and transmitting it to the cloud, and owa450, a gateway for controlling and monitoring vehicles and industrial machines from the edge IoT platform for your data.
"We are very pleased to be able to continue to develop our market with HMS. We see good opportunities for technical cooperation, and HMS's international influence will be of great benefit to Owasys' continued expansion," added Owasys CEO Javier Gurtubay.
HMS acquired a 60% stake in Owasys from the existing management team, which still owns 40% of the shares and will continue to manage the business. Owasys expects net sales of 5.5 million euros in 2021 and an EBIT of 1.4 million euros.
TC/U.S. Cranes Company firmly believes in Spanish products and signed an agreement with JASO Industrial Cranes to distribute its products in the United States.
JASO Industrial Cranes was established in Isazondo, Spain in 1965 and has served the steel industry for more than 50 years. It has production centers in Spain, India, Mexico, and Argentina, and a distribution network in more than 20 countries.
"We are very pleased to work with JASO to provide these components in all states," said Dustin Krauth, regional sales manager for TC/American Crane Corporation.
"They are committed to providing high-quality components at competitive prices, which makes us first hope to cooperate with them"
Although all JASO product lines will be provided through TC/American, it plans to stock various cranes, terminal trucks and crane kits in the United States to reduce delivery time and transportation costs.
The portfolio includes; lower cantilever beams and top running beams that can be connected to structures or box-shaped end trucks. TC/American will provide single-beam and double-beam JASO end truck options.
In addition, Gourd-JASO produces two different styles of gourds: "N" series and "V" series. Each is designed for its own specific application. Both can lift 100 tons and have OP 55 protection to keep the operation running smoothly. The "N" series have two-gear lifting motors, and the "V" series are variable-speed drives.
TC/American Crane Company designs and supplies bridge cranes and monorail systems. The company focuses on a patented under-track crane system, TC/A box girder and wide flange top-running crane, and Spanmaster enclosed track workstation crane. The company has developed into a "one-stop shop for overhead material handling applications in Minnesota" shop".
In other news, JASO has cooperated with Tecnalia, Spain's largest applied research and technology development center, and is a member of the Basque Research and Technology Alliance. "Turn industrial cranes into robots."
The result is an alliance that includes Tecnalia's cable technology knowledge and Jaso's experience in the lifting field. This means that the crane is no longer limited to vertical and horizontal movement, but increases its freedom and accuracy of movement.
The cable technology allows the crane to handle very heavy and/or high-capacity components, the remaining volume is +/- 2 mm, and the total degree of control of the component orientation is 6 degrees. The project was named "Cranebot".
The technology is oriented to industrial applications, including molds, aviation, civil engineering, logistics; manual processing, precision and positioning of large parts, and wind power generation, most notably the polishing of wind turbine blades in the manufacturing stage.
"Nowadays, when blades are getting bigger and bigger, most manufacturers need to do this task manually. The new system automates the process, which means improved quality and safety (reduce work accidents by 50%), while reducing costs (reduced 20%) and increase productivity (50% increase). The prototype has proven to be effective and has entered the commercialization stage,” said Raúl Fernández Niso, Director of Sales and Marketing. JASO industrial cranes.
"Cranebot" will make its debut at MetalMadrid at IFEMA in Madrid (November 17-18, 2021) and at the Bilbao Machine Tool Biennale (BIEMH) from June 13-17, 2022
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