Kone's Goliath Crane, tallest in Nordic region, goes up at Meyer Turku

Kone Cranes supplied the Goliath Crane, which has a total lifting capacity of 1,200 tons. The upper trolley has a lifting height of 98 meters/321.5 feet, while the lower trolley's lifting height is 90 meters/295 feet. The distance between the crane's legs is 154 meters/505 feet.

The raising of the approximately 2,500-ton main girdle beam started with preparations earlier in the week, and the actual lifting began Friday. The operation was successfully completed Sunday.

'This new high-tech crane is an essential part of the ramp-up of our production. With a stable orderbook reaching to 2024 and with increasingly large cruise ships to build, we really need to shorten our lead time,' said Meyer Turku's Tapani Pulli, deputy to the CEO.

Meyer Turku has orders from TUI Cruises, Costa Cruises, Carnival Cruise Line and Royal Caribbean International.

The new crane is also a visible sign of the rebuilding of Turku shipyard into a modern ship assembly factory, Pulli added.

Along with the major production investments, Meyer Turku is investing in people. The company plans to hire some 300 workers this year, with no sign of slowing down in 2018. The recruits are joining at every level of the organization, from blue collar workers to engineers, designers and project management.

'We need all kinds of expertise, not just shipbuilding engineers, as you can see from our recruitment website,' Pulli said. 'We are also urging and inviting our supplier companies to grow with us. This is very much a common effort for the whole maritime industry of Finland.'