Belgian bulk handling activity

E-Crane: impressive cranes from a small country

With 30 years of experience in manufacturing balanced cranes, E-Crane has undoubtedly reached a market leading position in the industry. E-Crane was founded in Belgium and has been built slowly but surely on its strong reputation in the heavy-duty material handling equipment and has numerous satisfied references across the world. As 2013 is coming to an end it has once again been a very successful year for the Belgian company. Here is a compilation of only the most recent installations and a look ahead at what is to come in 2014.

VOLGA SHIPPING

Russia

A new balanced material handler has been recently installed onto a floating terminal in the port of Kazan for the Russian company Volga Shipping. It is being used for gravel and sand unloading. The MH900 Series has an outreach of 26.4m (86.5ft) and a duty cycle capacity of 9.5 metric tonne (10.5 US tons). This installation was a milestone for E-Crane as it was the first E-Crane ever installed in Russia.

PHOENIX SERVICES

Romania

At the end of October, two new 1000 Series rail-mounted E-Cranes were installed at the Galati scrap yard, supplier to the ArcelorMittal steel mill, in Romania. They both have a maximum outreach of 31.7m (104ft) and a duty cycle capacity of 10 metric tonnes (11 US tons). Both E-Cranes will be unloading scrap from railcars, stockpiling and sorting the scrap before loading charge baskets with the correct mix of scrap to be processed at the steel mill.

MONGLA CEMENT

Bangladesh

E-Crane has really begun to set the standard in Bangladesh for cement handling equipment. After several other E-Cranes going up in Bangladesh, it is no wonder that Mongla Cement chose the E-Crane for offloading its cement clinker from barges to the dockside. It chose the smaller 700 Series with an outreach of 29.0m (65ft) and a duty cycle capacity of 5.5mt (6.0 US tons).

The E-Crane is pedestal mounted and it will load the cement clinker into a fixed hopper on the dock.

THIRD E-CRANE FOR BASHUNDHARA

Bangladesh

The Bashundhara Group has recently ordered a third E-Crane for handling material at its cement grinding mill.The first two E-Cranes installed at the facility were two 1000 Series.The third

E-Crane is an even larger pedestal mounted 1500B Series with an outreach of 26.4m (86.5 ft) and a duty cycle capacity of 15 metric tonnes (16.5 US tons).

GENON

USA

KINDER MORGAN 3

USA

Kinder Morgan placed an order for an E-Crane early in 2013 for its International Marine Terminals (IMT) facility in Port Sulphur, LA near New Orleans as a part of a multi-phase expansion of the terminal. Kinder Morgan is very pleased with the success of its new machine. It has already placed an order for a second, identical E-Crane to add to its facility at IMT.This E-Crane will be dock-mounted and will also be used for barge cleaning operations. F red Pope, project manager at Kinder Morgan, summarizes,“The E-Crane design and operating flexibility is ideal for our needs at International Marine Terminal. E-Crane offered to provide the crane with a custom-modified barge and managed the procurement, fabrication, assembly, commissioning, and training on a turn-key basis.We’re very pleased with the finished product which is now in service. A second fixed E-Crane has also been ordered for use at IMT.”

TERMINAL 6 S.A.

Argentina

In October, a brand new 1500 Series pedestal-mounted E-Crane was installed at Terminal 6 S.A. in Argentina on the Paraná River near Rosario.The new E-Crane has an outreach of 26.4m (86.5ft) and a lift capacity of 19 metric tonnes (20.9 US tons). The crane is being used to unload soy beans as well as various other grains from Mississippi and Paraná sized barges into a hopper/conveyor system. Soy beans were originally unloaded at

the facility using a diesel driven cable crane along with a small material handler. Each machine was achieving a production rate of about 400tph (tonnes per hour).Terminal 6 S.A. considered many different material handling options, but ultimately chose the E-Crane to maximize their operation.The cable crane was removed from the site and the new E-Crane was installed in its place.The E-Crane is mounted directly onto a new addition to the existing dock.

HARSCO BRASIL

Brazil

A new E-Crane was recently installed and commissioned at the Harsco scrap yard in Brazil near São Paulo. The new E-Crane is a pedestal mounted 1000 Series with a maximum outreach of 31.7m (104ft) and a maximum lift capacity of 13.6 metric tonnes (15.0 US tons) and will be used to handle scrap at the facility.

The Harsco scrap yard is a supplier to the ArcelorMittal steel mill. The scrap handled at the Harsco yard fills the trucks which then go to the steel mill to be processed. The E-Crane will be utilized at the scrap yard to feed a shredder, shear, and pre- shredder.

The shredder is currently installed at the scrap yard and foundation work has begun on the shear and pre-shredder. The E-Crane currently feeds the shredder, which has a target capacity of 20,000 tonnes per month. Full operation will not begin at the facility until 2014 when the pre-shredder and shear are installed and are completely operational.

The new E-Crane will replace at least three small material handlers at the site.According to the installation team on-site, “Harsco is very happy with the setup and with the capacity of the crane. They are really impressed with the amount of material that the crane can move within a short time, especially compared to their previous equipment.”

Terval has been active in the coal industry for more than 30 years. It is ideally located in the Port of Liège, along the Albert Canal, hundred kilometres inland from the ARA ports.

Terval has regular arrivals of South African, Russian and South American coal and organizes its own freight.

SHIPPING TONNAGES

Total sales of the Terval Group reached €2.5 million in 2013, evenly spread between Benelux, Germany and France. The company’s sales force has been enlarged through the new entity Terval Schweiz AG in Zug (and Basel).

TERMINAL CAPACITY & FEATURES

Terval is able to receive barges up to a capacity of 4,500 tonnes and has a charging/discharging capacity of 15,000 tonnes per day. The terminal size on which Terval operates is 14ha. The open storage capacity is up to 500,000 tonnes and the hangars offer a covered storage capacity of approximately 20,000m².

The port of Liège is spread all along the Maas and the Albert Canal. Terval is one of the biggest actors in the annual tonnage passing by Liège and is the only one active in coal.

The Albert canal offers big logistical advantages: there is no problem of high or low water.

Thanks to its ideal location (Albert Canal, highways and railways network), the coal can be delivered by barge, truck or train.

Terval also has the capacity to offer milled coal (between 150,000 and 200,000 tonnes) out of Lünen (Germany) and Liège (Belgium).

EQUIPMENT

Terval operates five screening/crushing installations and a homogenizing installation.

A dense medium washing plant with a capacity of 120tph (tonnes per hour) produces 2,000 tonnes per day, with an integrated screening for six sizes. The capacity of covered and closed storage has been increased to over 20,000m².

The degree of reinvestment is very high and all installations are up to the most modern standards.

Terval operates a fully equipped laboratory to guarantee the qualities produced and delivered to all customers. All incoming

and outgoing goods are carefully checked.

MARKET FOCUS

Terval’s main market focus is on the industrial customers, such as cement-, paper-, sugar-, chemical, and steelworks and power stations.

The Port of Antwerp handles 20–25mt (million tonnes) of dry bulk a year, with a wide range of cargoes including coal, iron ore, non-ferrous concentrates, cement, industrial minerals, fertilizers, grains, sugar and scrap. All 12 of the port’s dry bulk terminals are fully tri-modal. This speeds transits, maximizes connectivity and seamlessly integrates foreland and hinterland.

WELL CONNECTED

Dry bulk services link Antwerp with locations worldwide, mostly on a ‘freighting/chartering’ basis. Antwerp is the leading European port for shipping services to and from North,

Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East, and the Indian subcontinent.

Frequent and reliable shortsea and feeder services link the port with over 200 locations in Europe and North Africa.

ROAD TRANSPORT

International road hauliers can offer a full range of trucks and equipment and are experienced in transporting all types of dry bulk cargo.

The electronic pre-notification of trucks minimizes turnaround times at the port terminals.

RAIL TRANSPORT

In the Port of Antwerp all of its berths are rail connected. Several rail freight operators serve the port, linking it with locations across North West Europe. Each day around 250 cargo trains link the port with one of the 820 destinations in 23 countries.

Depending on dry bulk volumes and destinations, customers can choose anything from the contract-hire of dedicated trainload shuttles to the spot hire of individual wagons.

BARGE CONNECTIONS

From the Port of Antwerp, there are around 915 barge departures a week to 75 destinations in Europe. As with the seagoing vessels serving Antwerp, the barges vary in size and offer a broad range of capacities and capabilities.

Antwerp is directly connected to the Albert Canal, and the 1,500km Belgian barge network. Thanks to its location in the middle of the Scheldt-Maas-Rhine delta, this network is linked to the pan-European inland waterway network.

Barges can reach the Ruhr area (Duisberg) in around 20 hours, and Switzerland in 72 hours.

To further speed and smooth traffic flows, the Port of Antwerp co-operates closely with several inland ports, including Brussels, Genk, Liège, Limburg and Venlo.

LARGEST PORT

Covering almost 13,000 hectares, the Port of Antwerp is one of the world’s largest ports by surface area. It is Europe’s largest port by storage space, and Europe’s second largest port by total tonnage.

More than 150,000 professionals work in and around Antwerp. Among these, expert operators provide value-added logistics (VAL) services such as stock and quality control, weighing, sorting, conditioning, grinding, labelling and packaging. In addition, a wide range of manufacturing services can support all stages of the production cycle.

The port’s many cargo handling companies are renowned for their professionalism, productivity, reliability, service-mindedness and tailor-made services. Employing highly skilled staff and operating a wide variety of specialized equipment, they are also known for their experience and expertise in transporting, handling, processing and storing all types of dry bulk.

The port’s extensive choice of dry bulk terminals, terminals and operators ensures that customers benefit from extremely competitive rates. Together offering more than 1.4 million square metres of covered and open dry bulk storage space, Port of Antwerp cargo operators can handle a total of over 40mt of dry bulk a year. Furthermore, this capacity and throughput can be quickly increased if required.

Antwerp’s cargo operators offer both multi-use and specialized storage.

INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENT

The Antwerp Port Authority aims to continually improve transport in and around Antwerp. In the 15 years to 2025 it will invest €1.6 billion in new infrastructure and facilities, including a second lock on the port’s left bank and the Liefkenshoek rail tunnel.

Due to open in 2014, the new tunnel will link the left and right banks of the River Scheldt and greatly increase railfreight capacity.

With the aim of installing a biomass power plant within the port area, Antwerp Port Authority and Solvay Energy have established Antwerp Biopower. In January 2013, Antwerp Biopower and its new operational partner, E.ON Climate & Renewables, agreed to take this plan forward. The Port of Antwerp-based biomass power plant is planned to have a capacity of 165–300MW.