Baltic States – CIS, Good for Business, Latvia, Port, Transport

Aleksandrs Nikolajevs, Chief Commercial Officer of RIKON AS, says: “The infrastructure of the ports of Latvia, just like those of the other Baltic States and Russia, is more suited for gantry cranes which move along the track and are suitable for cargo handling directly from the railway stocks. In Europe mobile cranes are mostly used, which are capable to freely move in various directions. Using mobile cranes enables optimisation of operation of the port’s terminals by moving the cranes rapidly and adjusting them for handling various types of cargo.”

Currently RIKON has already produced the first prototype foot for the mobile crane and is planned that the prototype will be completed by the beginning of 2019. It will be the mobile crane for Panamax type ships. “Mobile cranes are a niche product. The demand for them in Latvian ports would not be great. The main customers are in Central and Western Europe, but also in these markets a drop in demand is seen and competition is rather strong. Therefore, we will definitely maintain our current specialisation in manufacturing gantry cranes and will look forward to successfully entering the mobile crane market” says A. Nikolajevs.

Manufacturing of gantry cranes was launched in the Port of Riga in the 1970s, when an experimental plant was established here. RIKON AS took over the tradition of manufacturing cranes in the 2000s. Today, RIKON AS each year produces 5 to 10 gantry cranes, their parts and various large-sized metal constructions, as well as performs modernisation, maintenance and installation of gantry cranes. The company has sold more than 100 gantry cranes in 12 years. Approximately 90% of the RIKON AS production is sold in the Russian market, due to both the currently ongoing broad-scale construction and modernisation of Russian ports and the special “know how” of the company - RIKON is one of the few companies in the world which produces cranes for Northern ports which are suitable for very low temperatures. The constructions of these cranes are built of special steel and a number of specific technical solutions are applied. The cranes are capable of functioning properly even in -60°C temperatures.