A wheeled excavator from Liebherr Mining was the first piece of heavy equipment to be loaded onto a barge by the Liebherr crane, which has just been put into service at the Rhine port. Thanks to this investment, the port, which is managed by Rhenus as the majority shareholder in the Semop joint venture, will now be able to handle heavy goods independently.
As part of the 30-year concession granted to Semop to manage the Port of Colmar Neuf-Brisach from 1 April 2021, Rhenus PartnerShip France and its partners (SMO and Banque des territoires) have planned a significant investment programme to modernise the port’s infrastructure. This new Liebherr crane, with a capacity of 500 tonnes at 18 metres, will enable the port operator to be selfsufficient in terms of equipment and personnel for loading and unloading heavy goods transported by river vessel.
The first handling operation involved loading a wheeled excavator, manufactured in Colmar by Liebherr Mining, onto a barge bound for the port of Antwerp. The load consisted of a main body weighing 74 tonnes and other packages of lesser weight. This type of operation will be repeated every Thursday. And this is just the beginning of new shipment flows that will now be possible thanks to this more efficient handling equipment, managed directly by the port’s teams.
“In line with the concession’s investment plan and our commitment to the economic development of the port and the EcoRhena zone, we have already created a new 8,500 square metres storage area at the port and are currently developing a seven-hectare area at EcoRhena. This new, more efficient crane, which Semop has acquired freehold, will enable us to develop port activities with new cargo flows and to retain our existing customers,” says Jean-Marc Thomas, Managing Director of Rhenus PartnerShip France, the majority shareholder in Semop, which operates the port and the EcoRhena zone.
