CM Labs and Stinis Partner to Advance Simulation for Tandem Spreader Operations at TOC Europe 2026

• CM Labs Simulations and Stinis collaborate to create digital twins of Stinis spreaders using the Vortex Studio simulation platform.

• The partnership focuses on improving operator safety, proficiency, and confidence for tandem spreader operations through high-fidelity simulation.

• Simulation enables terminal operators to train specifically on the equipment installed at their facilities, enhancing readiness before live operations.

• The collaboration and its benefits will be presented at TOC Europe 2026, highlighting the role of simulation in addressing operational complexity in port terminals.

Modeling Stinis spreaders in CM Labs' high-fidelity simulation platform will help provide a tool to improve operational safety, proficiency, and readiness for tandem operations.

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CM Labs Simulations, the leading vendor of simulation-based training solutions in the ports industry, and Stinis, the Netherlands-based engineer of premium spreaders and custom lifting equipment for container handling, today announced a collaboration to create a digital twin of Stinis' spreader designs using CM Labs' engineering-grade VortexⓇ Studio platform. This alliance helps to model and validate Stinis advanced spreader concepts to help support operator confidence and readiness for complex lifts. Both companies will present the work at TOC Europe 2026, taking place May 19-21 at Hamburg Messe und Congress in Hamburg, Germany.

Today’s port terminals face intense operational pressure to accelerate vessel turnaround, onboard operators safely, minimize disruption, and reduce reliance on live equipment for training. By combining Stinis’ premium spreader engineering with CM Labs’ physics-based simulation platform, the two companies can explore how advanced spreader designs, particularly for tandem headblock operations, can be tested and refined through simulation. As deep-sea terminals navigate growing operational complexity and increasing pressure to improve productivity, this capability is becoming more important, making operator familiarity and confidence essential.

“For tandem spreader operations, operator confidence is critical,” said Tom Mastenbroek, Stinis sales director. “Working with CM Labs allows us to use high-fidelity simulation as a development and validation platform, helping demonstrate how operators can build familiarity with complex lift scenarios before they ever take a live lift.”

With more than 8,000 spreaders installed at terminals worldwide, Stinis equipment moves containers at major deep-sea ports across Europe, the Americas, Asia, and Africa. Modeling Stinis designs in CM Labs' simulation platform gives terminal operators and training centers a way to prepare crane operators on the specific equipment installed in their facilities, closing the gap between classroom training and live ship-to-shore operations.

“For terminals, the value of simulation is not only in teaching operators how to run a crane. It is in helping them prepare for the specific equipment, workflows, and performance expectations they will encounter on the job,” said Lisa Barbieri, VP of Marketing and Strategic Partnerships, at CM Labs. “By bringing Stinis spreader designs into our simulation platform, with tandem operations as a key focus area, we are helping terminals build operator readiness earlier, more safely, and with greater confidence before live operations are affected.”

Vortex® Studio is CM Labs’ core simulation technology, enabling the creation, deployment, and validation of high-fidelity, real-time mechanical simulations across training, engineering, and automation.

Visit Stinis at booth #F62 and CM Labs at booths #E38 and #E40 during TOC Europe 2026, May 19–21, at Hamburg Messe und Congress.