Food lifted from Seine in central Paris
History took a strange turn recently as people watched food containers arrive in Paris by river for the first time since the Middle Ages.
It is the ecological and efficient alternative to the overland route, bringing items to the Parisian shops via the Seine, and it is part of a wider movement to link up Europe’s waterways and put them to good use.
But to make the most of it, you need efficiency at both the loading and unloading stages. So, two of Cargotec’s Kalmar DRF450-70S5XS reachstackers were chosen to operate at either end of the route.
One reachstacker is operated at the suburban port of Bonneil sur Marne, where the vessels are loaded, while the other unloads containers from the vessels onto lorries at Port de la Bourdonnais, opposite the Eiffel Tower. The containers, 26 per day, are then transported by road to grocery stores in central Paris.
However, it’s more than efficiency that’s needed in a city location. To be considerate of both tourists and houseboat residents, the equipment was painted dark grey, ensuring that it blends into the Seine’s banks in the background, and of course it had to be quiet.
Operated in a constrained area of 20m by 20m, the stackers must also be highly manoeuvrable. “Their special feature is that they are able to pick up containers from various levels of the vessel. They can even reach 1.90m under the quay,” said Kalmar’s, Rémy Cimino.
The order was placed by Paris Terminal and Terminaux de Seine (TDS) in April 2012. The full service agreement covers both preventive and corrective maintenance. Paris Terminal’s director, Alain O’Jeanson, is happy with the reachstackers, which have been in trial use since August. “The units are an exact match for the requirements we agreed on, he said. “First-class after sales service was a decisive factor in the selection of a partner.”
