Kalmar extends terminal automation partnership with Nokia

Nokia and Kalmar will combine their communications and cargo handling technology expertise in new, joint go-to-market ventures, integrated solutions development and research collaboration. The companies will expand their ongoing collaboration to provide new solutions for ports and intermodal terminal operators, which want to automate operations and achieve greater productivity.

Jochen Apel, vice president of transportation, logistics and manufacturing at Nokia Cloud and Network Services, said, “This venture builds on our existing business relationship with Kalmar. Nokia is now bringing a range of digitalisation offerings to the alliance, with particular emphasis on private wireless, to add to Kalmar’s cargo handling technology know-how. This joint approach promises significant gains in efficiency and productivity for ports and intermodal terminal operators.”

Antti Kaunonen, president of  Kalmar Automation Solutions, said, “Port and terminal operators worldwide are eager to leverage the productivity gains on offer with cargo handling automation – and secure, reliable, high-bandwidth, low-latency connectivity is an essential part of that equation. By integrating our pioneering Kalmar solutions with the latest Nokia digitalisation innovation, we can deliver a new generation of offerings that transform port terminal operations.”

In the first of the new collaboration programs, Nokia and Kalmar will incorporate Nokia 4G and 5G private wireless into offering development for use with straddle carriers, automated stacking carriers and rubber-tyred gantry (RTG) cranes. This will enable ports and terminal operators to increase container handling efficiency and enhance on-site safety levels.

Other near-term technical collaboration will focus on 5G research projects in Finland as well as on ultra-reliable positioning for safe acceleration of automated cargo handling equipment.

As a key component of joint go-to-market and solutions development, Nokia will provide the Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) solution. Nokia DAC is an industrial-grade digitalisation platform that provides a reliable, secure, and high-performance private wireless network with industrial connectors and edge computing capabilities on a cloud-based monitoring system.

In 2019, Kalmar and Ukkoverkot (now Edzcom), a leading private LTE network provider, announced an agreement with Nokia to build a wireless digitalisation infrastructure for port and terminal research and development.

Nokia has more than 220 large enterprise private wireless customers of which more than 30 are 5G. Analyst firm GlobalData has named Nokia as market leader in the private wireless marketplace.