From Port Technology (6/21/2014) – “GCT unveils new semi-automated container yard in NJ”

“Following four years of careful planning and construction, more than 400 of GCT’s valued customers, vendors, stakeholders, staff, contractors and workforce were shown the level of efficiency by which the new Global Terminal can operate.

“The terminal is the first semi-automated terminal in the NY/NJ harbour. To maximize density, the new automated yard area has 10-yard gantry blocks with 20 Konecranes and semi-automatic RMGs running at 45 degrees.

“The RMGs, which feature the TMEIC crane control system, have remote control over road trucks, and operate fully automatically over the stacks and waterside exchange.

“GCT’s expansion was designed with safety in mind and managed by many of the key players involved in APM’s Virginia terminal including Rich Ceci, (the project manager), Guy Buzzoni and Pete Giugliano.

“Global believes its semi-automated Rail Mounted Gantries, plus the advantage of decoupled shuttle stacks serving the quay cranes, will support sustained crane productivity of 40 moved per hour.

“”Stephen Edwards, president and CEO of GCT said: ‘With the modernized terminal now online, we look forward to providing the most productive capacity and capability to support our customers in realizing their growth plans.’

“There are still some tensions over the extent to which automation has replaced long-shore jobs but, as a port authority leader remarked, ‘this is the future.’” —

Hmmm. “Semi-automated,” huh? Our patented system is fully “automated.”

“20 Konecranes and semi-automatic RMGs”? We use no multi-million dollar cranes or RMGs.

“… fully automatically over the stacks and waterside exchange.” Over the “stacks”? We don’t “stack”, we slot in storage racks, the way storage and retrieval is done in warehousing operations all over the world – except in the largest of all warehouses, the primitive container terminals. And our fully automated system of storage, retrieval and delivery requires no “waterside exchange.”

Straddle carriers, stacking cranes, top-lift trucks, reach trucks, and gantries of any kind are also absent in our patented system. This dramatic difference saves many millions of dollars in purchase costs as well as in annual maintenance and repair costs.

And we guarantee to increase the numbers of long-shore jobs in any terminal we convert.