Container Handling Equipment Boost

Two Sany 4540 intermodal reach stackers have entered service at the ABP Hams Hall Rail Freight Terminal located just 8 miles from the centre of Birmingham in the heart of the Midlands, ABP Hams Hall is a key UK intermodal hub. The new 4540 is the 7000mm wheelbase equivalent to the increasing popular 4531 general yard reach stacker.

The 4540 is equipped with the newly developed jacking system, that with the unique sliding rear ballast, gives the operator enhanced capacity without slowing operations down. The jacks and
residual capacity arrangements brought a specific comment from David Cooper, Executive Director of Cooper Handling, who said: “In reach stacker intermodal operations, operators jacking operations slow driver’s down and they only use jacks as an absolute last resort. The sliding ballast helps here and could be the difference between lifting and not lifting without jacks, but its deployment is immediate. Delays in deploying jacks, whilst only matter of seconds down and seconds upwards, accumulate over a working week so time saving in jack deployment increases productivity.”

The 7000mm wheelbase machine, together with the sliding ballast and the jacks, will provide ABP Hams Hall with their highest rating capacity machines to lift-off the second rail lines. Mark Thompson, Head of Asset Management for ABP said: “ABP Hams Hall is a strategic site where we depend upon high performance, reliability and machine availability. We look forward to seeing how the Sanys perform alongside the established brands”.

Other features on the machines include a hydraulic sliding cabin, head-up display as well as an Elme 817 toplift spreader which represents a first for Sany in the UK complete with Elme’s ‘Soft-
Landing’ system that softens the last 150mm of twistlock engagement.

Jann Rene Hansen, Sales Director for Sany Europe said: “We are very extremely pleased with this order from ABP done by Cooper. It shows me that we are beginning to gain market shares, also with the major operators in Europe, not only based on our strong presence in the UK, but also on the range of machines which we are able to supply to the market now.”