The Model 6 crane – the successor to the HMK 300 E – has turned out to be a bestseller in the region, according to the company. Of the 13 new Generation 5 cranes ordered, 10 were G HMK 6407 mobile harbour cranes. Of more than 90 Gottwald cranes now in Latin America, approximately 90% have a 100-tonne lifting capacity and are employed for loading and unloading ships ranging up to the post-Panamax class. The company has also booked orders for ten floating cranes for bulk handling use.
The largest single market, with five Generation 5 cranes, remains Brazil, where the Gottwald fleet has increased to 23. Termaco in the Port of Fortaleza and TCP in the Port of Paranagua have each ordered a G HMK 6407 MHC, while WRC Operadores in the Port of Sao Francisco do Sul has bought another G HMK 6407, increasing its fleet to three Gottwald cranes.
In Ecuador, two G HMK 6407 units are destined for the Contecon Port in Guayaquil, while Hutchison Group has ordered another for the Port of Manta. In Chile, longtime customer Agunsa has ordered a G HMK 6407 mobile harbour crane for handling containers in the Port of Iquique.
Generation 5 has also been well received in Mexico, where CICE group at the Port of Veracruz, another existing customer, has ordered a G HMK 7608 unit, a variant of Model 7. In Colombia, SPRB has bought two G HMK 6407 MHCs for container handling in the Port of Barranquilla, while in Argentina, start-up company Patagonia Norte has purchased a used HMK 280 E unit for use at the Port of Bahia Blanca.
Regional sales manager Rainer Buessing commented on the first nine months of 2007: “There is no doubt that the entire Latin American region has developed into a focus market for Gottwald. In addition to the many cranes sold, we see great potential for new orders, particularly for mobile harbour cranes of the 100-tonne class, such as the G HMK 6407, which is already being successfully used on ships of the post-Panamax class in a number of ports.”
