UMATILLA – The Port of Umatilla is looking to beef up its operation by leaps and bounds in 2005 by adding a multimillion-dollar gantry crane to the facility.

A crane this size will cost the port approximately $4.8 million, including the installation and shipping for the new machine.

The new addition crane is scheduled to begin lifting there in April 2005.

The bulk of the money required for the project will go to buying the crane itself, a 40-ton gantry system being manufactured by Ederer Cranes out of Seattle.

In addition to making cranes, Ederer also built the retractable roof above Safeco Field where the Seattle Mariners play their home games.

Neil Skogland, segment manager for Ederer, said the crane would take more then a year to complete and will involve nearly 100 employees working on it.

“This would be considered huge,” Skogland said.

The crane itself will be mostly constructed of steel. When fully assembled it will weigh more than 1 million pounds.

Port Director Kim Puzey said the project will be largely funded by federal appropriations. The remaining balance needed by the Port will be funded by the state.

Micheal Burton, the Community Development division manager for the state, said the addition of the crane will undoubtedly strengthen the economic prosperity of Oregon.

“Ports in general are a critical component of economic development in Oregon,” he said.

The state is willing to put up the remainder of the needed funds as a loan to the port, Burton said.

The crane used by the port now is 64 years old and has needed regular maintenance for years, Puzey said.

The new crane will considerably increase the capacity for the port to load and unload containers from barges that travel up and down the Columbia River.

The Port of Morrow also is gearing for a new container crane to begin operation in early March of this year.

The Port of Morrow’s crane will cost a fraction of the Umatilla set-up at $840,000.

According to Ron McKinnis, an engineer with the Port of Morrow, the funds for its crane are being completely paid by state loans.

The significant difference in price tags, Puzey said, comes with the much larger crane being installed as well as loading issues at the Port of Umatilla.

The Port of Morrow is able to move barges directly beneath its crane; Umatilla’s facility must pick up containers from above the water, creating a need for a gigantic counter balance.

When completed, the gantry for the new crane will measure 300 feet. The Port of Morrow’s crane will have a maximum spread of just under 100 feet.

Puzey said he is looking toward the future with the size of the crane being purchased by the Port of Umatilla.

“This will allow us to advance the facility we have as well as anything I could put together,” Puzey said. “I want us to be Oregon’s inland port.”

Brook Griffin can be reached at 1-800-522-0255 (ext. 1-309), or by e-mail at bgriffin@eastoregonian.com