At the port yard, a blue straddle carrier immediately caught the workers' attention upon its arrival. This "big guy" could easily lift containers stacked two stories high and was even more agile than a forklift.
At 10 a.m., more than a dozen containers were piled up in the yard. Previously, it would take a crane half an hour to relocate them. The straddle carrier drove over, extended its dual hydraulic arms, and, like a claw machine, firmly "gripped" the stacked containers. Then, its four rubber tires turned in unison, precisely placing the containers in the designated area without reversing even once. The entire process took only eight minutes.
According to the driver, the straddle carrier's "secret weapon" lies in the coordination between the tires and the lifting boom. The rubber tires absorb bumps in the yard and prevent slippage under heavy loads, while the boom can automatically level itself. Even if the containers are stacked slightly unevenly, it can still lift them steadily.
"Before, we had to maneuver around heavy containers to move them, but now this 'blue giant' can drive directly into the middle of the container stacks and get to work," said the yard manager. "This has increased yard space utilization by at least 40%."
The manager added that since the straddle carrier was put into operation, it has been able to handle more than 20 additional container sets per day, and two more units will be added by the end of the month.
