Kalmar & Tropical Shipping Strengthen Long-Term Relationship with New Order for Straddle Carriers

Kalmar, part of Cargotec, has concluded an agreement to supply international cargo and logistics operator Tropical Shipping with three Kalmar diesel-electric straddle carriers. The order was booked in Cargotec's 2022 Q3 order intake, and the delivery of all units is scheduled to be completed in Q3 2023.

Part of the Saltchuk family of companies, Tropical Shipping is a leader in quality, on-time transportation solutions. From Canada to South Florida and the U.S. Virgin Islands, the company operates state-of-the-art facilities in selected seaside ports to meet the customers’ freight-shipping needs to and from the Caribbean and the Bahamas. Tropical Shipping operates a large fleet of Kalmar equipment including straddle carriers, reachstackers and terminal tractors.

The Kalmar Straddle Carrier is powered by a diesel-electric driveline and offers high performance, excellent fuel efficiency and low noise as well as complying with the latest exhaust emission regulations.

One of the new straddle carriers will be a special width unit specifically dedicated to rail operations. In 2020, the Port of Palm Beach received a federal port infrastructure development grant to improve the intermodal capacity. This Kalmar Straddle Carrier will be an integral piece of equipment to help double the rail output capacity at the on-dock rail facility.

Tim DiPietropolo, Vice President Operations, NVOCC & Global Logistics, Tropical Shipping: “Kalmar’s direct support team for straddle carriers has been excellent from the start and we value their continued partnership with our local team. The new diesel-electric straddle carriers will play an important role in helping us reduce both fuel and maintenance costs while also helping to reduce CO2 emissions at our terminal.”

Troy Thompson, Vice President, Sales, Kalmar Automation Solutions, Americas: “We are extremely pleased to continue our close cooperation with Tropical Shipping, who rely on Kalmar equipment to keep their daily operations running smoothly, safely and efficiently. We are looking forward to continuing to support them with their fleet renewal programme in the future and further developing our valuable partnership.”