[WRE ADVISOR | BUSINESS]


“TAKING THE WEIGHT ” A


lack of research and price pressures could hold back cable and wire development, finds Alex Hughes.


When Cargotec executive Ismo Matinlauri


revealed the group’s vision of ports in 2060 at TOC Europe earlier this year it was jam-packed with futuristic concepts including ‘flying spreaders’, widespread automation, and artificial intelligence. He also pitched the idea that by then steel wiring


might have been replaced by nano-fibre technology. For this feature, we asked him to expand on that forward-thinking cable and wire evolution. “In the longer term, it is absolutely possible that


newly developed devices and/or materials could replace cables,” he says, adding that the development of smarter and more self-aware technology could be the way forward, although there is still much research to be done. But, he says, that’s not to say that cable technology


available today has been found wanting. Mr Matinlauri, Cargotec’s senior vice president, Port Cranes, remains convinced that cable development has kept pace, despite the fact that ship-to-shore cranes are getting bigger and ever more sophisticated. He says this sector has benefited from investment and research taking place in the offshore/subsea industry,


Looking into modernization


where there are significant heavy-lift and wire rope challenges to be overcome. “We have already delivered crane winches in marine applications where the wire weight itself is 250 to 300 tons. On ship-to-shore cranes we have not yet seen these kinds of weights,” he says. Marianne Schliessmann, global product manager for cables at Conductix-Wampfler, takes a different view. She believes that there is not enough investment being made in cable research, as price pressures - especially during and after the economic crises – required ‘technically appropriate, but cost sensitive solutions’ to be adopted. “Te technical development and testing – for example of ‘intelligent cable’ integrating RFID - would require time and money for testing and analysis over long periods of time, thus financing would be needed beforehand.” As to whether we can expect to see smarter cables any time soon, she says that while many potential development areas exist, most projects have not moved beyond the testing phase. “Personally, I doubt that, in the future, cables can


be totally replaced, especially if we are talking about the next decade. In terms of data transmission rates, which are increasing rapidly, existing fibre optic technology will most probably evolve further.” But when pressed to predict what concrete


cable developments we can expect to see over the coming decades, Mr Matinlauri says that, while it is the right question to ask, it is nevertheless a difficult one to answer. “Perhaps we will first see steps in practical applications, such as the use of new materials that will result in bigger kinds of solutions in the marine offshore industry as well as in the port environment.” For her part, Ms Schliessmann adds: “Looking at the next decade, we will probably come across changes in existing cable concepts in terms of compounds and concepts, fibre optics, and Ethernet for data transmission. Within 50 years, in some domains, other devices or ideas, will have replaced copper cables or cables generally,” she says. Mr Matinlauri remains open to even


more radical technological leaps, referring back to the nanotechnology prospects pitched in Cargotec’s Port 2060 project. “Tere are also several serious development projects involving the “space elevator” concept


72 NOVEMBER-DECEMBER 2011 WIRE ROPE EXCHANGE


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48  |  Page 49  |  Page 50  |  Page 51  |  Page 52  |  Page 53  |  Page 54  |  Page 55  |  Page 56  |  Page 57  |  Page 58  |  Page 59  |  Page 60  |  Page 61  |  Page 62  |  Page 63  |  Page 64  |  Page 65  |  Page 66  |  Page 67  |  Page 68  |  Page 69  |  Page 70  |  Page 71  |  Page 72  |  Page 73  |  Page 74  |  Page 75  |  Page 76  |  Page 77  |  Page 78  |  Page 79  |  Page 80