ALLOWING for increased handling of Australian grain is one of the reasons for a refurbishment of two unloader cranes for Malaysian business Malaysian Flour Mills.

Logistics technology business Kalmar has been contracted to refurbish the cranes, with the order booked early this year and work scheduled for the start of the 2020 second quarter.

MFM is Malaysia’s leading wheat-flour milling company and imports wheat from suppliers in Australia as well as Canada, the US and Eastern Europe.

It also processes corn, soybeans and other products.

The upgrade project is to cover two cranes used for unloading raw materials from ships at MFM Lumut facility; the cranes have been operating for more than three decades and the refurbishment and upgrade program is expected to extend their lifespan by five years.

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Kalmar is to plan, engineer and run the entire project.

MFM engineering general manager Dr Tan Leong Chee said Kalmar had a solid record in these kinds of crane upgrade projects.

“They were clearly the best partner to work with to help us get more value from the cranes, which are a vital part of our Lumut operation,” Dr Chee said.

Kalmar executive Ismo Matinlauri said the new order was an example of their slogan “any crane, any job, anywhere”. “We’re delighted to be able to support MFM by helping them to extend the performance, capabilities and lifetime of their existing crane equipment and look forward to building a strong relationship with them moving forward,” he said.