MacGregor to Retrofit Quarter Ramp PLCs Across 35 Wallenius Wilhelmsen PCTCs

MacGregor has booked a contract to upgrade the programmable logic controller (PLC) systems on 35 pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) vessels operated by Wallenius Wilhelmsen, with the order recorded in its third-quarter 2026 intake.

The company did not disclose the value of the deal. But the scope is precise: replacement of the PLC systems that control each vessel's quarter ramp, the stern-facing cargo door through which rolling equipment moves on and off the ship.

For a fleet of 35 car carriers, that is not a cosmetic refresh. Quarter ramps are the single most stressed piece of cargo-handling gear on a PCTC. When the ramp control system fails, the ship cannot work its cargo. Every retrofit in this programme is therefore a bet on uptime.

Why Wallenius Wilhelmsen is doing it now?

The upgrades will run according to each vessel's sailing schedule and availability. That sequencing lets Wallenius Wilhelmsen slot the work into existing fleet operations rather than pulling ships out of service for a dedicated yard campaign.

The operator's reasoning, as laid out by Tom Forrester-Coles, Fleet Manager, Technical Marine Operations Management at Wallenius Wilhelmsen, centres on two things: equipment reliability and standardised maintenance across the fleet. He pointed to keeping control systems updated as the way the company manages equipment obsolescence and gives crews dependable operational tools.

PLC obsolescence is a familiar problem in shipping. Control hardware installed at newbuilding ages out of vendor support long before the hull does. Fleets that standardise controller platforms across dozens of ships simplify spares, training and troubleshooting. Fleets that don't, pay in downtime.

There is a second, quietly commercial detail in the deal. Wallenius Wilhelmsen will keep the replaced controllers onboard as spare parts. The units may be reused for other ro-ro equipment or vessels running compatible systems — effectively converting 35 retired PLC sets into a distributed spares inventory at sea.

What does the contract mean for both sides?

For MacGregor, the programme extends a relationship that dates back to the original design and construction of the vessels. The company supplied the equipment during the newbuilding phase and has supported the fleet through subsequent upgrades since.

Tomas Hakala, Executive Vice President, Global Services at MacGregor, framed the retrofit as building on that existing relationship. He stressed equipment reliability, operational consistency and reduced downtime as the programme's core outcomes.

For Wallenius Wilhelmsen's customers — the vehicle manufacturers and rolling-cargo shippers that fill these decks — the commercial consequence is continuity. PCTC capacity has been tight in recent years, and any ramp-related offhire directly removes car-carrying slots from the market. Spending on control-system reliability is spending on schedule integrity.

For MacGregor, the retrofit business line matters beyond the headline order count. Original equipment makers in the marine sector increasingly lean on service and retrofit revenue as a buffer against the cyclicality of newbuilding orders. A 35-vessel programme across a single owner's fleet is exactly the kind of recurring, standardised work that supports that model.

What happens next?

The companies have not announced a completion date. Work will proceed vessel by vessel, tied to sailing schedules, which means the programme's pace — and MacGregor's revenue recognition from it — will track Wallenius Wilhelmsen's operational calendar rather than a fixed yard timeline.

Neither side has signalled further orders. But with equipment obsolescence management now an explicit fleet policy at the Norwegian ro-ro operator, and MacGregor positioned as the incumbent supplier across these systems, additional standardisation work across the wider fleet remains the natural next step.