The journey of Kalmar Straddle Carriers - From design to delivery
Straddle carriers have been a cornerstone in Kalmar’s product portfolio for decades. But have you ever wondered what happens behind the scenes to bring these machines from an initial idea to a fully operational terminal solution?
To shed light on the backstage, we sat down with Jelle van der Waal, Vice President of Operations for the Horizontal Transportation Division, in Kalmar Innovation Centre Tampere, Marcin Galankiewicz, Horizontal Transportation Flow Manager in Kalmar Multi-Assembly Unit Stargard, and Lukasz Stepien, Site Manager in Kalmar Final-Assembly Site Gdynia to hear about the process firsthand.
Where does it all begin?
The journey of a straddle carrier starts long before a single machine rolls off the production line. “Taking a vision and turning it into reality, starts with listening to our customers first. Their vision, how they operate, and their insights into business challenges. I think that brings the two worlds together, customer’s practical experience and combining that with our innovation”, explains Jelle van der Waal, Vice President of Operations for the Horizontal Transportation Division.
Taking a vision and turning it into reality, starts with listening to our customers first. Their vision, how they operate, and their insights into business challenges.
Once the vision is clear, the process moves to Tampere, where ideas take shape. “Tampere is, from my perspective, the heart of our innovation. This is the place where we shape our designs to engineering, to building prototypes, and to test those prototypes to the limits. Tampere is the start of our end-to-end journey. It sets the foundation and is more or less where the design becomes reality.”
Tampere is the start of our end-to-end journey. It sets the foundation and is more or less where the design becomes reality.
In our Kalmar Innovation Centre Tampere, Finland we also have a dedicated test yard, what is the reason behind that?
“Our customers are operating in difficult circumstances, moving heavy loads, most of the time in 24/7 operation. When a design is made here, we can simulate and test it in real life circumstances. And by doing that, we have the possibility to see possible early failures.”
Where does the journey continue?
From Tampere's innovation centre, the straddle carrier enters the next phase of its journey, one that requires seamless collaboration across teams and borders. Bringing a design to life at scale means coordinating expertise across multiple production sites, each playing a vital role in the process.
“Our organization operates over several sites, all with their own expertise. We start here in Tampere, their expertise is based on design and innovation. At our Multi-Assembly-Unit in Stargard, Poland, we specialise in mass scale production. And in our final assembly site, we make sure that the product is ready for delivery. And those sites need to work together as a team.”
While this distributed model allows each team to focus on what they do best, it also requires seamless coordination. When production spans multiple countries, ensuring quality and consistency becomes both more critical and more complex. “Working over multiple sites also creates this critical part that you can have gaps and gaps will be seen in quality issues in the end. That's why we would like to see that people are working really well together to make sure that we have the supply chain under control.”
Stargard: Where scale meets customization
Kalmar's Multi-Assembly Unit in Stargard, Poland is where engineering blueprints become tangible machines, produced at scale while maintaining the flexibility that Kalmar's customers request. “At Stargard, we are responsible for securing materials for production and delivering machines on schedule while meeting quality standards”, Marcin Galankiewicz, Horizontal Transportation Flow Manager, explains the scope of Stargard's operations.
One might assume that mass production means standardization, but Kalmar’s approach is different, as straddle carriers can be extensively customized to meet each customer’s specific preferences and needs. “Most orders are heavily customized by our customers, but this is our main competitive advantage against other competitors, in my opinion. The customisation portfolio of our machines is pretty wide. That's why each project in Stargard is unique”, Marcin explains.
Most orders are heavily customized by our customers, but this is our main competitive advantage against other competitors, in my opinion.
The range of customization options is extensive, covering nearly every aspect of the machine's functionality and performance. “Very often, the customized aspect is cabin or what is in the cabin, what is the capacity of the machine lifting capacity, type of spreader, stage of automation, electrification aspects, hybrid versus fully electric, for instance.”
Safety at the core of all operations
With heavy equipment, complex machinery, and constant activity on the production floor, safety at Stargard isn’t just a priority; it’s part of everything we do. “Safety is at the core of our daily operations. It’s integrated into every task, instruction, and process here in Stargard. What’s easy to see is that every employee wears protective equipment; what’s less visible is how deeply safety is embedded in our daily routines,” Marcin emphasizes.
“To keep our people safe, we take many precautionary measures. For instance, during operations with heavy equipment, the only people who are allowed to be in a certain area are those who are directly involved in the operations. Everyone has to wear protective equipment. And the most important for me personally is that people are looking out for each other and taking care of their safety.”
The most important for me personally is that people are looking out for each other and taking care of their safety.
Quality is everyone’s responsibility
Quality control extends across the entire product journey process, involving everyone rather than just a single department or checkpoint. Marcin explains how the responsibility is shared: “First of all, everyone is responsible for end-to-end quality. It is built into our supplier processes, our assembly processes, final inspection activities, and afterwards also in final assembly.”
Every team member plays a role in maintaining standards, with support available when needed but ownership distributed across the team. "If people have doubts, of course, they can always count on the support of inspectors and quality engineers. But what is more important, they are also experts in their daily tasks and they are able to verify the basic quality aspects."
Gdynia: Where everything comes together
Once production is complete in Stargard, the machines make their way to Gdynia. This is the final assembly site where the straddle carrier transforms from manufactured components into a fully operational, customer-ready machine. “Everything that is made in Stargard related to Straddler Carriers are delivered to our site in Gdynia. We are responsible for the erection of the machines, testing, commissioning and preparation for the shipment.”, Lukasz Stepien, Gdynia Site Manager explains.
Kalmar Straddle Carriers are delivered as fully assembled, ready-to-operate machines straight to the customer’s site, unless the customer specifically requests delivery in parts. “They are prepared for the customers and when we are delivering them to the customers, they are ready for the operation.”
While having up to six or seven projects going on simultaneously, precision is a key to ensure every machine is according to customer specifications. Gdynia represents the final quality gate before machines reach customer terminals around the world. Thorough testing ensures that every system functions as designed and meets customer specifications.
For Lukasz and his team, being the last link in the chain carries great responsibility and pride: “Gdynia is the place where miracles happen. We are just the last chain before the machines will hit the customer side. It is very important for us to focus on the quality of the machines as we want to deliver the best product to the customer.”
We are just the last chain before the machines will hit the customer side. It is very important for us to focus on the quality of the machines as we want to deliver the best product to the customer.
The people behind the journey
Behind the engineering drawings, production schedules, and quality controls are the people who make it all happen. For Jelle, this is where the real value lies, not just in the machines produced, but in the teams that build them. “The thing that I'm most proud of in my work is that I can work with these great people. We have great people in our teams at all sides.”
The thing that I'm most proud of in my work is that I can work with these great people. We have great people in our teams at all sides.
From the first design ideas to the final quality check before delivery, the straddle carrier's journey is built on collaboration, expertise, and a joint commitment to excellence. It is a testament to distributed expertise working as a team, united by one shared goal: delivering machines that help our customers make every move count.
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