Cargotec Celebrates 75 Years of MacGregor Technology Innovation

Cargotec Celebrates 75 Years of MacGregor Technology Innovation

75 years on, Cargotec’s MacGregor range of reliable, innovative technologies continues to provide shipowners and operators with unrivalled expertise and performance in the most demanding marine environments.

This year marks the 75th anniversary of MacGregor, Cargotec’s global market-leading brand in marine cargo handling and offshore load-handling solutions. Although much has changed since its foundation, it continues to provide customer-driven innovations to the marine and offshore markets. Today, half of the world’s oceangoing ships carry MacGregor equipment on board,” says Pekka Vauramo, Executive Vice President for Marine.

The MacGregor name made its first impression on the industry during the 1920s when engineer brothers Joseph and Robert MacGregor developed the first steel hatch cover in Whitley Bay in the north of England, and patented it in 1929. This was a success and MacGregor & Company was founded in 1937 to promote and sell the hatch covers.

Through development, acquisition and merger, the MacGregor product range has grown continuously since then. In 2005 Kone acquired MacGregor International and later in the same year, Kone demerged and Cargotec was listed. Cargotec Corporation is the world’s leading provider of cargo handling solutions and in addition to MacGregor, has two other market-leading brands, Hiab and Kalmar.

Some notable MacGregor milestones in the past twelve months include: the introduction of the first fully automatic MacGregor twistlock, the CA8; winning Offshore Support Journal’s innovation of the year award for the MacGregor Chain Wheel Manipulator; establishing a new joint venture company in China, Rainbow-Cargotec Industries Co Ltd (RCI) to grow the company’s offshore MacGregor crane portfolio; and the introduction of a new range of electrically-driven offshore anchor handling/towing winches.

Electric drives are both economical and commercially competitive, they are also easy to install, monitor and service. Cargotec’s growing electric-drive portfolio includes MacGregor RoRo cargo access equipment such as quarter ramps, internal ramps and car decks, MacRack side-rolling hatch cover systems, and MacGregor variable frequency drive cranes and winches. Electrically-driven equipment minimises environmental impact by saving energy and eliminating oil leaks that can pollute the sea and damage cargo.

Cargotec’s electric drive technology is part of a broad range of marine and offshore cargo handling equipment. Through its MacGregor brand, Cargotec offers hatch covers, lashing systems, cranes, RoRo cargo and passenger access equipment and self-unloading systems. For ports and terminals, Cargotec delivers MacGregor linkspans, shore ramps and passenger gangways as well as Siwertell bulk handling equipment. And for the offshore industry, its product portfolio includes a broad range of advanced solutions for subsea load handling, anchor handling and towing and mooring operations.

Cargotec believes that the value of its products and services is not confined to their ability to function well; it extends to their through-life performance, reliability and managed costs, achieved through quality assurance on a global scale.

As for the future, Cargotec aims to continue to grow, both in merchant marine and offshore business.

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Shipbuilding Tribune Staff, September 3, 2012; Image: Cargotec