16 December 14
Mobicon Systems manufactures and sells straddle carriers that lift and move containers within a yard. These straddle carriers are used by logistics companies, and by importers and exporters; basically by those companies that use shipping containers to transport their goods. The Mobicons are unique in the world in that they have an extreme low wheel weight, and can work in yards where no other container handler can work.
This month, Mobicon Systems delivered a special straddle carrier to Alabama, to be used on the US Navy's "littoral combat ship". These ships are made to patrol in shallow waters, they are 128m long, and their speed is 80km/h.
The Mobicons move special containerised units around on the ship. As the ship is made out of aluminium, the requirement was to have a straddle carrier with very low wheel weights. The Mobicons have the lowest wheel weights of any container handler in the world, and therefore were chosen to do this task. This Mobicon has 8 wheels driven and steered, and is so manoeuvrable that the Navy remarked that the Mobicon enabled them to move all the units off the ship, and place new units on the ship in a reduced time of only 4 hours, while previously 24 hours was allowed for. Mobicon Systems has a 5-year contract to deliver 12 of these special straddle carriers with the expectations that this will be extended by another 5 years for 10 additional Mobicons.