Giant cranes fitted with Alimak lifts

The lifts were constructed in Sweden by Alimak AB and then shipped to Zhenhua Port Machinery Co (ZPMC)’s factory in China, where the huge cranes were constructed. With the lifts safely installed, the completed cranes were then shipped back to Sweden in a sea voyage that took 64 days.

Inside each of the three crane columns, Alimak SE 400 FC lifts have been installed, each with a loading capacity of 400 kg and a maximum speed of 0.8 m/second. The lift height is 43 m, with four landing stages.

The cranes themselves, ordered by municipal port company Göteborgs Hamn AB, are each 118 m high, making them the tallest structures in the city. They are almost twice as strong as the cranes they replaced, with a 25% wider range and 30% faster operating speeds. They are able to reach 23 container rows on board, compared with 18 rows previously. Almost a third of Sweden’s trade passes through Gothenburg, and the cranes are intended to rationalise logistics at the port, boost productivity and reduce costs for shippers.