PORT OF KUNDA IN ESTONIA

PORT OF KUNDA IN ESTONIA

Kunda Sadam AS, part of Baltic Maritime Logistics Group, has invested in capacity improvements over the recent years including the infrastructure and machinery at Port of Kunda. Since January 2020 the material handlers have been upgraded to Mantsinen material handlers, which have proven to be an excellent choice.

– We had a hard time deciding what kind of machine we really needed, delaying the order of the initial Mantsinen 120 with one year, tells Daimar Truija, CEO of Kunda Sadam AS.

After the decision was made, the first Mantsinen was delivered in 4,5 months. Two more, a Mantsinen 70 and another Mantsinen 120, soon followed. Now these three ladies in red, Mannu, Masha and Minni, keep the port operations going.

Both of Kunda’s Mantsinen 120s have a crawler gantry undercarriage which offers significant benefits for effective logistic layout. The gantry style undercarriage allows trucks or rail cars pass between the legs. Kunda’s Mantsinen 70 is equipped with a rubber tire undercarriage which enables fast mobilization between working sites.

Main cargos in Port of Kunda are logs, cement clinker, woodchip, grain, crushed stone, wood pellet and wood pulp, among others. Everything is handled either with clamshell buckets, roundwood grabs or a pulp spreader. Operations are pretty basic, so there are no needs for tailor-made solutions – although the pulp spreader attachment is not that common in Estonian ports.

The Kunda port has three quays, which means there is one Mantsinen material handler to each quay. Sometimes one quay is also operated by two machines at the same time.

– We use our Mantsinen 70 to load and unload smaller vessels and also to load trucks at our storage place. It is very convenient to move between locations, so we sometimes use it to assist the bigger machines.

More efficient, productive, safe, durable, reliable with material handlers

Previously Kunda port was operating as a landlord port, and cargo handling as well as warehouse operations were subcontracted from two companies. Kunda Sadam AS acquired both of these companies and their equipment in February 2019.

– Pretty soon it became clear that we had to update all the machinery to satisfy the requirements of our clients.

Updating paid off: the new Mantsinen material handlers allow higher capacity and faster work cycles. The average loading capacity has increased by over 30 %, and the maximum capacity is now up to 600 t/h. Pulp bale capacity has almost doubled from 100 t/h to nearly 200 t/h. Maximum DWT of a vessel at Kunda port has so far been 17,000 tons.

– Due to new and reliable machines we can definitely see lower downtime. Compared to previous machines there are faster work cycles as well. And they are safe: there has been zero accidents during the operations so far.

Daimar Truija, CEO, Kunda Sadam AS

At Kunda port there has clearly been a positive impact on expenses, too: higher loading capacity saves costs on labour and subcontractor services.

Constant development in every area

Kunda Sadam AS acquired the Port of Kunda on 2018, and since then about 15 million euros has been invested into development of infrastructure and machinery. Practically all the machinery has been renewed by now. But at Kunda Port there are no intensions to stop progress.

– After building one more closed warehouse this year and an open storage next year, we plan to start renovating the quays. I believe that with favourable winds there might be a Ro-Ro line calling between Kunda and one Finnish port already in a couple of years, Truija says.

Happier operators, satisfied clients

An important piece in the cooperation between Mantsinen and Kunda port is Mantsinen’s local representative Alwark.

– We are very happy with Alwark. They respond quickly and are always dealing with our concerns when requested. We feel that we have a good support from their side.

Although everything has gone quite smoothly, the operators were a bit sceptical when they first started using their new Mantsinen material handlers.

– That’s part of the human nature in the face of change. Now we can really tell that the operators are quite happy. They like the comfort, the big cabin, fast and accurate movements and good visibility of these machines.

And if the operators are happy, so are the clients.

– The feedback from our clients gives almost nine points out of ten to their satisfaction. This gives us the confidence to continue on this course.