Konecranes and Georgia Ports Authority Celebrate 1,000th RTG Crane

Konecranes’ 1,000th rubber-tired gantry (RTG) crane was painted with a special U.S. flag design to mark the occasion.

On 15 November, Konecranes and the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) celebrated the 1,000th RTG crane manufactured by Konecranes. The Port of Savannah, Georgia, took delivery earlier this year at the Garden City container terminal.

In honour of the occasion, the 1,000th Konecranes RTG was specially painted with a “stars and stripes” design, mirroring the U.S. flag.

GPA took delivery of the first Konecranes RTG in 1995. That machine was revolutionary for its time. It was the world’s first container crane without hydraulics. It had Konecranes patented Active Load Control (ALC) system for the world’s highest container handling productivity. It also had eco-efficient AC drives supplied by Konecranes.

The 1,000th Konecranes RTG now being celebrated is a descendant of that first RTG, with many evolutionary improvements. Most importantly it is electrically-driven, producing 95% less diesel emissions.

GPA has been growing steadily for decades, thanks to Savannah’s ideal demographic and geographic location. The southeast U.S. has been the fastest growing demographic region in the U.S. for decades, with a manufacturing base that is close to the eastern seaboard.

The Port of Savannah is also one of the few ports in America that has plenty of room to grow: it can offer customers well-placed locations for their distribution centres. It also has first-class rail services. Railroads operating in the eastern half of the USA are located on the GPA port grounds. Goods can be transported very efficiently and cost-effectively.

Konecranes’ 1,000th rubber-tired gantry (RTG) crane was painted with a special U.S. flag design to mark the occasion.

“Garden City is the single busiest container terminal in the United States. This star-spangled RTG is an inspiring sight here at the Port of Savannah,” said GPA executive director Griff Lynch. “We now operate a fleet of 146 Konecranes RTGs and 22 Konecranes ship-to-shore cranes. This fleet is the linchpin of our business—the link between our road and rail connections and the most shipping services calling on any port in the U.S. southeast.”

Tuomas Saastamoinen, sales and marketing director, Konecranes, port cranes, said: “In 1995 we delivered our very first RTG crane to the Port of Savannah, Garden City Terminal. As we delivered more batches of cranes over the years, I appreciate how the GPA has worked closely with us to constantly improve our crane design. It feels wonderful to have delivered our 1,000th RTG to the GPA in 2016, and to be celebrating that event with them. So much growth has occurred for both the GPA and Konecranes since 1995. I’m confident that we’ll keep on growing for many years to come.”