NEW FORKLIFT TECHNOLOGY FROM KONECRANES

During CeMAT which is the world’s leading fair for intralogistics between 2-6 May, 2011, in Hannover, Germany, with a focus on sustainability, fuel efficiency, durability and safety Konecranes will showcase a wide array of offerings, such as one Reach Stacker with 45tonnes capacity and 1 Forklift truck with 16tonnes capacity, both units equipped with the latest safety and engine technology “Now Konecranes has all the technical solutions and also the engine platform needed to fulfill the EU Stage IIIB and US EPA Tier 4i emission regulations which govern all off-road equipment powered by engines of 130kW and above that go into effect 2011,” said Patrik Lundbäck, General Sales and Marketing Manager. Alongside its hard products, Konecranes will present a comprehensive range of soft solution services at its stand like the award winning NearGuard, Magic Watch, Tire Pressure, Remote Service the Konecranes telematics system, Customer Support Agreements and genuine Konecranes spare parts.

SAFETY

NearGuard system from Konecranes

The NearGuard system developed by Konecranes was awarded the Technology award at this year’s IMHX Design 4 Safety Awards in Birmingham. The panel of judges consisted of independent industry specialists and health and safety practitioners from prominent UK companies.

NearGuard brings a powerful new dimension to lift truck operational safety that can cover employees, payload and infrastructure in general – it depends on each customer’s particular requirements for the system.

A result of listening to the customer

Konecranes has been placing a strong R&D emphasis on safety for many years. The impetus for developing NearGuard came from a customer asking for a system that would protect its drivers and operation when its Konecranes forklift trucks travelled under a belt conveyor – which happened many times a day. In answer, Konecranes provided a system that alerts the company’s fork lift truck drivers when they are in danger of colliding with the overhead belt conveyor.

In the cab, an alarm display flashes and an audio alarm activates when the forklift is driven towards the conveyor with the forks raised above the freelift height of 1,600 mm. Detection is based on a Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technique: a directional RFID transceiver on the fork lift truck recognizes the active RFID tag that is mounted on the conveyor. This is just one example of how the NearGuard system can be used. It is very flexible.

The Konecranes NearGuard System was launched in early 2010 and is available for use with all Konecranes Fork Lift Trucks, Container Lift Trucks and Reach Stackers. NearGuard can also be retro-fitted to any Konecranes lift truck. 2/3

How NearGuard works

NearGuard consists of a minimum of two sensors that are mounted on the lift truck, one at each end of the truck, and RFID tags. The tags can be attached to a wide range of customer-defined subjects including work clothing worn by employees, other items of mobile operating equipment, or stationary obstacles. Once a tag is located, NearGuard activates a radar-like screen that gives drivers a clear visual indication of the direction and proximity of any RFID tag within range of the machine. The system engages at a range of 50 meters.

What impressed the judges

At IMHX 2010, the Design 4 Safety judges were impressed by how RFID technology is used in the NearGuard system to track the location of personnel and believe this is a trend for the future. They commented that the system is an excellent example of how technology can form part of best practice to ensure that moving machinery and personnel always maintain a minimum safe distance.

Fewer deaths and injuries

Investment in technology has increased over the last few years and has helped to reduce the number of deaths caused by moving vehicles. Statistics from the IMHX Health & Safety Executive show a 34 per cent reduction in 2010 compared to the same period in 2009. There is every reason to believe that the Konecranes NearGuard System will help to effect a further reduction in 2011.

Magic Watch from Konecranes

Reversing sensors have quickly become the minimum requirement for reversing safety equipment in the car industry. Konecranes have taken the position as the frontrunner in the Fork lift business to tailor the safety feature into forklifts and mobile container handling machines.

Tire pressure sensor from Konecranes

Properly inflated tires last longer. The life of your tire is extended due to less tread wear and less heat buildup. Properly inflated tires save fuel. Proper inflation protects and saves the tire casing, reducing the chance of blowouts. Properly inflated tires extend the life of tire treads by as much as 35%. Properly inflated and maintained tires save costly repairs and down time. Underinflated tires can increase fuel consumption by as much as 10%. Underinflated tires impair stability and drive ability. The Tire Pressure Sensor requires no costly installation, installs in minutes.

Breathalyzer from Konecranes

Alcohol abuse at the workplace can have far-reaching and expensive consequences. Governments and businesses have learnt their lessons from a number of serious accidents: international laws and regulations have been tightened, especially for people working in hazardous or highly sensitive areas such as local public and dangerous goods transport. Alcohol measurements are an essential part of attempts to achieve maximum (operational) safety, to which a highly modern system like the Breathalyzer Alcotest can make an important contribution. The system can be used quickly and easily by personnel responsible for taking samples, thereby helping to establish the procedure as a test method in companies and factories.

Automatic Fire extinguishing system

Statistics show that off-road vehicles burn with alarming frequency. These vehicles are susceptible to fire for many reasons. They often operate around-the-clock under severe strain in hostile environments. They use flammable liquids -lubricating oil, gasoline, diesel oil, greases and hydraulic fluids - in their normal operation. 3/3

They collect combustible debris such as grain particles, coal and peat dust, sawdust or refuse. And they have many surfaces - engine blocks, manifolds, turbochargers and brake systems - which can get hot enough to ignite these flammable liquids and debris. A fire can result in expensive repair or replacement of valuable components, costly downtime or loss of business continuity. Worse yet, it can mean serious personal injury to vehicle operators. Insurance companies as well as companies with high safety awareness are well aware of these facts. That’s why they request reliable fire protection on the off-road vehicles.

A fire suppression system combined with fire alarm. The system has combined manual/automatic actuation. When the vehicle is at work with the power on, the suppression system must be discharged manually, either with the firing button on the control unit in the cab or from the mechanical actuator on the outside of the vehicle. When the vehicle is not at work, i.e. with the master switch turned off, the suppression system discharges automatically as soon as the fire alarm goes off.

Engine compliance from Konecranes

“Considering the non-harmonisation of global emissions legislation for off-road diesel engines, as well as the availability of low-sulphur diesel, we have increased the total number of engines type we offer,” Anders Nilsson, technical director at Konecranes Lifttrucks. Konecranes has Stage II/Tier2 and Stage IIIA/Tier3 units for markets such as South Korea and India, along with the new Stage IIIB/Tier4i units for Europe and USA. To meet customer’s preferences on engine makes, Konecranes offers Volvo, Scania and Cummins units. Konecranes copes with the huge variation in engine configuration by using an engineered modular design concept for its range of lift trucks, a crucial factor in controlling costs and maintaining delivery times. Design adaptations to Reach Stackers to accommodate the new engines have mainly involved upgrading their cooling capacity. In addition, space had to be found to fit an Adblue tank and SCR equipment. “Since engine manufacturers will now be responsible from the SCR, the variety of equipment they supply has to be installed. Therefore, the modular design concept is important to enable us to accommodate the variation of engines by using as many common components as possible,” explained Nilsson. All new engine installations need to be approved by the engine manufacturer, and where possible any build-up of Adblue residuals in the exhaust system as well as temperature and back pressure into the SCR have to be verified. This process is new with the Stage IIIB/Tier4i engines. The Stage IIIB/Tier4i engines offer substantially lower fuel consumption in combination with high power output. Konecranes is prepared to fit its products with the latest engines using Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) to deliver near-zero NOx and harmful particulate emissions. This change complies with the EU Stage IIIB and US EPA Tier 4i emission regulations coming into effect with start 2011.

Further information:

Press

Patrik Lundbäck, General Sales and Marketing Director, Konecranes Lifttrucks

E-mail: patrik.lundback@konecranes.com or phone +46 433 733 33

Lars Fredin, Managing Director, Konecranes Lifttrucks

E-mail: lars.fredin@konecranes.com or phone +46 433 733 53

Konecranes is a world-leading group of Lifting Businesses™, serving a broad range of customers, including manufacturing and process industries, shipyards, ports and terminals. Konecranes provides productivity-enhancing lifting solutions and services for lifting equipment of every make. In 2010, Group sales totaled EUR 1,671 million. The Group has 10,200 employees, at 545 locations in 43 countries. Konecranes is listed on the NASDAQ OMX Helsinki Ltd. (symbol: KCR1V).