New crane completes ABP Ayr £2.2m investment

(Posted on 17/05/21)

The Port of Ayr, operated by Associated British Ports (ABP) has taken delivery of a new high-performance crane, which will optimise vessel discharge speeds for customers.

Together with a number of other recently acquired pieces of port machinery, including two cranes purchased in 2013 and 2018, the Liebherr LH110 will help enhance port operations and deliver easier maintenance for ABP’s local engineering team. With the delivery of this machine, ABP marks the completion of a seven-year £2.2 million investment strategy to upgrade all front-line machinery at the port.

Reflecting on the investment, Stuart Cresswell, ABP Port Manager for Troon, Ayr and Silloth, said: “I am delighted to see the arrival of this machine and the completion of our goal to standardise our fleet of front-line cranes. This strategy was developed in close partnership with all our font-line colleagues, including both our crane drivers and the local engineering team. We are all confident it will allow us to retain our reputation as one of the quickest and most effective discharge ports in the UK.

“In terms of discharge cycle time, the Liebherr’s LH series has proven to be super quick and will bring many longer-term maintenance benefits of the fleet, as our local engineers now only have one number to call if there are any issues.”

The Port of Ayr specialises in handling dry bulks, including salt, animal feed, heavy lift and forest products. Together with customers, ABP’s Scottish ports of Ayr and Troon contribute over £40 million to the UK economy every year, including £28 million locally.

Mike Hanlon, Material Handler Product Specialist for Liebherr-Great Britain, commented: “We are very proud of our long standing relationship with ABP and it has been great to see the expansion of the Liebherr fleet at Port of Ayr over the last few years.

“Liebherr is renowned for providing bespoke solutions to many industries and our Ports machines are no exception. We worked closely with ABP to ensure that their material handlers were configured to their exact requirements so that they can, in turn, offer the most efficient and reliable service to their customers.”