OREANDA-NEWS. On the 15th of November, Konecranes and the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA) celebrated the 1000th RTG crane manufactured by Konecranes. The Port of Savannah, Georgia, took delivery of it in August 2016 at the Garden City container terminal.

In honor of the occasion, the 1000th Konecranes RTG was specially painted with a “stars and stripes” design, mirroring the U.S. flag.

The Georgia Ports Authority took delivery of the first Konecranes RTG in 1995. That machine was revolutionary for its time. It was the world’s first container crane without hydraulics. It had Konecranes patented Active Load Control (ALC) system for the world’s highest container handling productivity. It also had eco-efficient AC drives supplied by Konecranes.

The 1000th Konecranes RTG now being celebrated is a descendant of that first RTG, with many evolutionary improvements. Most importantly it is electrically-driven, producing 95% less diesel emissions.

The Georgia Ports Authority has been growing steadily for decades, thanks to Savannah’s ideal demographic and geographic location. The south-east US has been the fastest-growing demographic region in the US for decades, with a manufacturing base that is close to the eastern seaboard. The Port of Savannah is also one of the few ports in America that has plenty of room to grow: it can offer customers well-placed locations for their distribution centers. It also has first-class rail services. Railroads operating in the eastern half of the USA are located on the GPA port grounds. Goods can be transported very efficiently and cost-effectively.

“Garden City is the single busiest container terminal in the United States. This star-spangled RTG is an inspiring sight here at the Port of Savannah,” said Georgia Ports Authority Executive Director Griff Lynch. “We now operate a fleet of 146 Konecranes RTGs and 22 Konecranes ship-to-shore cranes. This fleet is the linchpin of our business — the link between our road and rail connections and the most shipping services calling on any port in the U.S. Southeast.”