TAMPA, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--On Wednesday, February 7, Florida Governor Rick Scott celebrated the opening of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America’s (MHIA’s) Crystal Mover Automated People Mover (APM) system, SkyConnect, at a ribbon-cutting ceremony at Tampa International Airport (TPA). SkyConnect is 1.4 miles long and connects TPA’s Main Terminal to the Economy Garage and a brand-new Rental Car Center in approximately 5 minutes. SkyConnect can transport up to 2,850 people per hour in each direction, allowing the airport to respond to record passenger growth. Joe Lopano, CEO of Tampa International Airport, stated at the opening “This is an exciting day for Tampa International Airport and the Tampa Bay community. The new SkyConnect people-mover system, which connects the Main Terminal to our state-of-the-art Rental Car Center, will help the Airport grow for years to come, while continuing to offer exceptional customer service. We have a great partnership with MHIA and we are pleased with the safe and successful delivery of our SkyConnect system”.
MHIA received the APM order from the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority (HCAA) in November 2014, and completed the project ahead of its contractual schedule and within budget. MHIA was responsible for the integration of the entire APM system, including installation work. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, Ltd. (MHIENG) provided the core design and supplied 12 APM cars, a maintenance vehicle and signaling system. SkyConnect is the eighth APM system delivered by MHIA in the US market, following previous successful APM projects at major airports in Orlando, Miami, Washington and Atlanta. “With the dedication of our team and the close partnership with the Airport, we opened this system ahead of our contractual schedule, and with record breaking performance,” said Darin Friedmann, Vice President and General Manager of MHIA’s Transportation Systems Division. “We are proud to help transport passengers at Tampa International Airport, the birthplace of the Automated People Mover industry, and help bring TPA into the future.”
MHIA was also awarded a five-year contract, with two additional five-year options, to perform Operation and Maintenance (O&M) work for SkyConnect. The O&M work will be conducted in conjunction with Crystal Mover Services, Inc. established in 2009 as a subsidiary of MHIA and Sumitomo Corporation that provides Operations and Maintenance services for all APM systems delivered by MHIA in the US.
MHIENG is the world’s largest manufacturer of APM vehicles, and is behind the APM systems currently in operation at several of the world’s largest and most advanced airports, including Changi International Airport (Singapore), Incheon International Airport (South Korea), Hong Kong International Airport and Dubai International Airport. MHIENG’s APM technology is also used for numerous urban transport projects around the world.
In addition to exploring new APM markets, MHIA is also focusing on expansion, upgrades, and replacements of existing lines across North America. The MHI Group will continue to build on its remarkable success as a leading force in the global APM market, supplying reliable, safe, and innovative transportation systems that meet market demand and contribute to a more sustainable future.
About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) (TOKYO:7011), a publicly held Japanese corporation. Headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and founded in 1870, MHI is one of the world's leading heavy machinery manufacturers, with consolidated sales of 3,914 billion yen ($35,499,980,000) in fiscal year 2016, the year ending March 31, 2017. MHI's diverse lineup of products and services encompasses shipbuilding, power plants, chemical plants, environmental equipment, steel structures, industrial and general machinery, aircraft, space systems and air-conditioning systems. MHI is also a global leader in delivering proven transportation solutions, with several decades of experience successfully supplying a broad range of advanced transportation systems for urban (intra-city and inter-city) and airport applications. MHI’s transportation systems have already safely and efficiently transported hundreds of millions of passengers worldwide.
About Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering, Ltd. (MHIENG)
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Engineering offers reliable technologies
gained from engineering synergies realized within Mitsubishi Heavy
Industries Group. MHIENG contributes to the development of society by
supplying numerous Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC)
projects covering large-scale infrastructure, such as chemical plants,
environmental plants, and transportation systems, in many countries and
regions around the world.
MHIENG’s engineering capabilities,
accumulated from MHI Group’s wide range of global infrastructure
projects and products, and its project management abilities, garnered
from an abundant record of successful project achievements, are
skillfully integrated by highly experienced personnel working in an
outstanding system and supported by a powerful network.
Applying
its extensive capabilities, MHIENG readily meets diversified customer
expectations by undertaking all phases from project planning to basic
design, detailed design, procurement, manufacture, construction,
commissioning, after-sales service, and Operation & Maintenance (O&M).
In this way, MHIENG continues to contribute to the creation of a
comfortable lifestyle and enriched society.
MHIENG seeks to bring
about a reliable future through engineering.
