Derek Wakefield (23 Sept 1941 – 18 Jul 2016) Prior to his retirement in 2011, Derek Wakefield served, at various times, as the Paterson Simons Company Secretary and Managing Director. With Derek’s sad passing last year, we reflect on the tenacity, intelligence and commitment of a true Paterson Simons icon....

Autonomous Guided Vehicles (AGVs) are centrally controlled, driver-less horizontal transportation vehicles that have been a part of advanced port technology for a number of years, with perhaps the most prominent example being PSA Singapore’s fleet of 30 AGVs. Leading port technology manufacturer, Terberg Special Vehicles of the Netherlands, has been at...

A while back we wrote about the new SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) regulations, which require shippers to provide a VGM (Verified Gross Mass) to carriers, prior to any ladened container being loaded onto a vessel. This means that ports across the globe have been moving swiftly to install weighing systems in...

The Volta River Authority (VRA) is the main electricity generator and supplier in Ghana. Last year the management decided to replace and upgrade a 20-year old 32 tonne overhead crane originally manufactured by Philadelphia Tramrail in 1997. They approached Pasico, the Ghana-based subsidiary of Paterson Simons. In April 2017 Pasico’s overhead crane...

Petro-Sea Logistics, a joint venture between Belgium’s Sea-Invests and Ivory Coast’s Petroci, provides logistics, transport and storage services to the oil industry and operates out of Adidjan, Ivory Coast. After the lack of after market support from a previous brand left them reeling, Petro-Sea decided to approach Paterson Simons, who have...

As a specialist heavy lifting company, it is important that all our staff members have a clear idea of the products we represent, and how they benefit our customers. However, servicing mining, oil, ports and construction customers from Mauritania to Cameroon and Mali to Ghana, means that office-bound staff in the...

Paterson Simons recently attended the Konecranes Lift Trucks  (KCLT) Sales Conference in Helsingborg, Sweden. Hosted over three days dealers from across the globe learned of new products and aftermarket developments which you’ll be hearing more about in the near future. During the event a gala dinner at the impressive historical...

Paterson Simons engineers, Peter Neeveng and Elvis Dongwiri, have achieved their GMK Master Technicians certification – the highest level of training available from Manitowoc, world-leading manufacturer of Grove, Potain and Manitowoc cranes. Peter and Elvis work out of the Pasico Takoradi office – which covers mobile crane service for all of West Africa....

Ghana Ports and Harbour Authority took delivery of three brand new Manitou electric forklifts this month, bringing to six the total number of ME 430 electric forklifts purchased by the company from Ghana-based Pasico (Paterson Simons’s Ghana subsidiary) in the last 12 months. Manitou has a range of 12 electric forklifts, and has perfected...

The new reach stacker, model SMV 4531 TC5, benefits from a unique cab design, making for greater operator comfort leading to more efficient cargo handling. Bertil Jansson, supervisor at Port of Södertälje, Sweden, says, “We discussed in-depth what we wanted and what was important. We realized that the ergonomics of the cabin,...

Konecranes, on May 16, 2016, signed an agreement to acquire from Terex Corporation its Material Handling & Port Solutions (MHPS) segment against consideration consisting of cash and shares and to terminate the previously announced business combination agreement. On February 14, 2017 Terex completed the sale of 7.45 million Class A...

Container ship revolution by BRIAN J. CUDAHY Browsing through a general-purpose bookshop section on “Transport by Sea” would lead to titles on the stately passenger liners of yesteryear, old-fashioned paddle-wheel steamboats, luxury cruise ships, and warships of every shape and size. Few, if any, volumes would cover the seagoing merchant...