Kalmar, a part of Cargotec Corporation,  forges ahead on its electrification journey with maritime industry's first fully electric reachstacker for the global logistics provider Cabooter Group.

"Kalmar is another step closer to having an electric version of every product in its portfolio by 2021 with the announcement of an agreement with Cabooter Group, who will be the first customer to take a fully electric version of the Kalmar Reachstacker into use in 2021," said a press release from the provider of cargo-handling solutions and services to ports.

Since its founding in 1995, the Cabooter Group has grown to become a global logistics provider and one of the leading logistics hub operators in Europe. The company is already benefiting from lower fuel costs and reduced emissions thanks to five Kalmar Eco Reachstackers at its multimodal hubs in Venlo in the southeastern Netherlands and Kaldenkirchen in Germany.

The Kalmar Electric Reachstacker, which will be powered by advanced lithium-ion battery technology, is scheduled to be trialed at the Venlo logistics hub.  

Kalmar has already launched fully electric versions of its empty container handler, Ottawa terminal tractor, light and medium forklifts, shuttle and straddle carriers, automated guided vehicles (AGVs) and yard cranes. The Kalmar electric offering is designed to help customers to reduce overall fuel costs and comply with increasingly strict airborne and noise emissions standards without compromising on performance.

Hans Cabooter, President, Cabooter Group said: "The main driver behind our decision to adopt the Kalmar Electric Reachstacker solution is the need to reduce the noise and airborne emissions that our equipment generates. This is especially important at our Kaldenkirchen terminal because it is in the centre of the city, where there are clearly defined limits for these emissions. Our goal is to become the industry leader in emission reduction in partnership with Kalmar."

Seppo Heino, Vice President, Counterbalanced Container Handlers, Kalmar said: "We firmly believe that electricity is the power source of the future and have committed to making our full portfolio available as electrically powered by 2021. We are delighted to announce this agreement with Cabooter Group, who share our vision of a more sustainable future for the cargo handling and logistics industries."