R & D
Product research and development plays an important role in turning our mission of “We are not just lifting things, but entire businesses” into reality. Although cost savings and adapting Konecranes’ capacity to market needs were typical of 2009, we continued to invest in product development to extend our product and service offering and improve both our own productivity and that of our customers.
As the world’s pioneer in lifting technology, we make innovative use of the latest technology in our equipment solutions and service offering. The Group spent EUR 22.0 million on research and product development in 2009, equivalent to 1.3 percent of net sales.
Our service contract base covers more than 360,000 pieces of equipment and represents an important source of input for product development work. Over 3,000 service personnel around the world service Konecranes-supplied equipment and that supplied by other manufacturers. Close to 1.6 million customer contacts annually give us an excellent opportunity to understand the real-life needs of our customers.
Material-handling systems are an integral part of our customers’ processes, which is why our expertise in areas such as automation can play a key part in helping them improve their productivity. To further enhance our capabilities here, we streamlined our operations in this area in 2009.
Modularity brings a new dimension to product design
Konecranes’ product development launched an extensive product project driven by parallel design work in 2009. The Konecranes SMARTON® industrial crane project brought together the company’s best know-how in service, sales, procurement, production, and product development around the same table from the brainstorming stage onwards. We also collected input and experience from customers to provide additional ideas.
The cranes in the new product family are built from standard modules, which shortens manufacturing time compared to traditional customized production and makes large-scale production possible.
The numerous patentable innovations generated as part of the project are a good example of what good teamwork can achieve and provide our customers with the kind of added value they want. The folding maintenance platform incorporated into a SMARTON® crane, for example, makes units compact and helps customers save on construction and heating costs. The system’s digital control technology provides very accurate control and virtually eliminates shock loads, giving operators a much smoother user experience. A remote connection to Konecranes’ Service Center ensures that detailed, up-to-date data is available on crane operations and helps eliminate unplanned service breaks and the downtime that results.
The main applications for SMARTON® are steel, automotive, general manufacturing, power, workshops, automated warehouse systems, and mining. Depending on the set-up, the SMARTON® can lift from 30 tons to more than 500 tons.
Safety and environmental issues are always
paramount
In addition to cutting-edge technology, safety is always a key area of focus for Konecranes’ research and product development work. Our SMARTON® cranes, for example, not only eliminate shock loads, but also offer anti-sway features as standard to improve user safety.
Environmental issues also play an important role and are taken into account throughout the life cycles of Konecranes’ products. Particular attention is given to things such as efficient material usage, recyclability, and energy efficiency. Over 98 percent of the materials used in a typical crane supplied by Konecranes is recyclable, and many of our products lead the field in efficient space usage.
Energy-saving frequency converter technology comes as standard with Konecranes equipment and enables up to 70 percent of braking energy to be fed back into the network. Thanks to the modular structure of our equipment, we can produce components close to our customers and reduce transportrelated environmental impact.
Modern design and visuals
Industrial design forms an important part of the product design process, and a distinctive Konecranes design helps set our products apart from those of our competitors. High standards of industrial design also allow us to incorporate greater efficiency, user-friendliness, cost savings, and new materials into our products.
We gave greater emphasis to industrial design during 2009 by setting up a dedicated team within the Product Development unit. We published the principles and guidelines behind our approach to design in April 2009, and a new corporate Design Steering Team has been established to ensure that we remain at the front of the field in design-related issues.
Innovation through cooperation
In addition to in-house research and development work, Konecranes works closely with its customers, research institutions, and universities. Thorough product testing at our own facilities and those of our partners forms an integral part of development work. We continue to be an attractive employer for talented young people, and many of the students who do their diploma theses at Konecranes go on to pursue careers with us after graduation.
