Kalmar backs development of a new greenfield terminal in Poland

Founded in 1991, the transport and logistics company Miratrans has more than 30 years of experience in road freight transport. With a fleet of more than 150 trucks and 210 trailers, Miratrans offers reliable tours within Europe and other non-European countries. Miratrans has been striving to advance intermodal transport for several years. In addition to advantages such as fixed timetables and greater safety for goods and transport times, ecological goals also played an important role in this decision.

"We already started making preparations for a switch to intermodal transport in 2014 to 2016. During this time, we visited many terminals in Germany and France and spoke with those responsible. We quickly realised that without our own terminal in Poland, the switch will be difficult," says Irek Frankowski, Vice President of Miratrans.

With several Kalmar machines, the company has now taken a significant step towards a zero-emission terminal. For this purpose, a completely new fleet of machines for container handling was built using Kalmar products exclusively.

An ecological and economic decision

Since 2019, Miratrans has been operating a fixed rail connection between Olsztyn in Poland and Ludwigshafen in Germany. For the construction of the terminal, establishing a fast connection with the main railway line was orimary. While developing the new terminal, powerful new machines were needed which at the same time could support Miratrans' environmentally-friendly policy.

"Miratrans takes a very pragmatic approach and we evaluated carefully what they really needed and which brand would give them the greatest benefits in terms of economic and environmental factors," says Jakub Wojciechowski, Head of Sales and Service for Kalmar in Poland.

The Eco reachstackers can reduce the fuel consumption by up to 40% compared to older machines and up to 25% when compared to more recent machines.

From the entire product portfolios available, Kalmar products were the best option for a terminal with the lowest possible emissions. Wojciechowski explains, “Among others, Miratrans has opted for our Kalmar Eco reachstacker. This means they will benefit from significant advantages. The Eco reachstackers can reduce the fuel consumption by up to 40% compared to older machines and up to 25% when compared to more recent machines, cutting fuel costs and emissions. This makes them not only an ecological choice, but also an economically sensible one."

These machines represent the largest and most important component for handling containers and trailers at the terminal, which makes Miratrans' decision to rely on sustainable equipment even more significant. They have also chosen two completely emission-free, fully electric cranes, as well as two terminal tractors that can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 90%.

Kalmar - a reliable partner

"We chose Kalmar not only because they had the best products for our requirements, but also due to excellent warranty and service," Miratrans Vice President Frankowski explains the product selections.  "We already had experience  working with Kalmar before the terminal was built. We purchased a used reachstacker from Kalmar in 2019, which is now successfully operating in Olsztyn. Contacting the service team was always straightforward and we received reliable support in all matters."

"We chose Kalmar not only because they had the best products for our requirements, but also due to excellent warranty and service."

Miratrans has many large Kalmar machines in use which are crucial for the terminal's efficiency and productivity. For this reason, good service quality was particularly important to Frankowski: "In the event of a malfunction, the quick delivery of spare parts and immediate repairs are enormously important to prevent disruptions to smooth operations. Nobody has a better service network in Poland than Kalmar. Therefore, we think that cooperation will continue to work successfully in the future."

For the future, Miratrans plans to further expand intermodal transport and is also considering fixed rail connections between Poland and France as well as Poland and Italy enabled by Kalmar equipment. An endeavor in which the highly productive new terminal will certainly play an important role.