IGUS EQUIPS THE 2,000TH STS CRANE WITH E-CHAINS

Seaports are under pressure worldwide: to remain competitive, terminals must handle larger ships in shorter periods.

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Consequently, more and more operators are adopting modern components such as igus’s robust energy chains, which are compatible with Industry 4.0. The motion plastics specialist has now equipped its 2,000th ship-to-shore (STS) crane with e-chains, making increasing numbers of terminals future-ready.

According to a recent report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), over 80 per cent of cross-border trade in goods is now transported by sea. The sector is forecast to grow by an average of 2.4 per cent per year until 2029. This growth is placing pressure on many ports to modernise infrastructure and process larger volumes more rapidly. Technical constraints persist, however—not just due to major structures such as harbour basins, but also due to thousands of smaller components often overlooked. One such example is the traditional festoon system: looped cables that supply the trolley with energy and data.