Midlife Refurbishment
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Reset your fleet's lifecycle performance
We know how critical throughput efficiency and safety are to your terminal's success. As your fleet ages, you'll naturally face evolving maintenance demands. But you don't have to start from scratch to hit your productivity and sustainability goals.
The average design lifetime of a straddle carrier is around 50,000 operating hours, or roughly 10 years. However, we’ve found that the best time to take action is right in the middle: between 25,000 and 30,000 operating hours. Refurbishing at this stage is a conscious, proactive step forward that benefits your business, your people, and the planet.
A purposeful upgrade for your operations
We’re committed to helping you maximize the assets you already have. Many of your aging machines are still structurally robust. Rather than simply replacing them, a midlife refurbishment lets us work together to restore your equipment’s performance to a near-new level.
By taking this step, you’ll:
- Capitalize on what you have: Breathe new life into your existing fleet.
- Beat obsolescence: We’ll proactively replace end-of-life components before they cause unexpected interruptions, keeping your terminal running safely and smoothly.
- Boost productivity: You’ll extend your operational lifespan, reduce waste, and improve your long-term operating costs.
- Modernize your fleet: It's the perfect opportunity to add the latest features and innovations to your older models.
What Can Modernization Services Do for Your Container Handling Operations?
Kalmar’s Modernization Services deliver tailored solutions for all major container cranes and container handling equipment, including straddle carriers, shuttle carriers, rubber tired gantry cranes (RTGs), rail mounted gantry cranes (RMGs), ship-to-shore cranes (STSs), automatic stacking cranes (ASCs), container stackers, and reach stackers. Our comprehensive portfolio—covering inspections, repairs, refurbishments, modernization upgrades, and advanced digitalization—ensures your terminal assets operate safely, reliably, and cost-effectively while supporting sustainable operations.
Designed to extend equipment lifecycle, enhance operational efficiency, and align with evolving safety and environmental standards, our modernization solutions help you meet stricter regulations, reduce emissions, and adopt energy-efficient technologies. By lowering total cost of ownership and maximizing asset value, we enable you to future-proof your operations. Backed by decades of expertise and a global service network, Kalmar keeps your container handling cranes and vehicles productive, compliant, and environmentally responsible throughout their entire lifecycle.
Lower your total cost of ownership
By investing in a midlife refurbishment, 10-20% of the cost of a new machine, you can gain a couple of extra years of productive service. You’ll also:
- Minimise unplanned downtime with improved reliability
- Reduce parts and maintenance costs
- Solve any parts obsolescence issues
- Support your decarbonisation efforts by extending their life
- Maximise the value of your assets.
Real global impact: APM Terminals Tangier
We're proud of the global reach and impact we’re achieving with partners like APM Terminals in Morocco. Facing increased container volumes at their TM2 terminal, they needed a reliable productivity boost.
While their new 2024 Kalmar straddle carriers were performing beautifully, they also had a batch of 32 machines delivered in 2018. We collaborated to refurbish these older machines starting in July 2025. By taking this proactive step, they’ve successfully extended the fleet's operational service life and optimized their performance and reliability.
Let’s take the next step together.
Discover how much extra life your straddle carriers have left. We’re ready to help you move forward. Contact us to request your Fleet condition assessment or a Tailored proposal today.
Request Fleet condition assessment or a tailored proposal here