Credeblug grabs — designed to guarantee a long working life
Credeblug has for a long time been heavily involved in the bulk handling market. There are many examples of its grabs in successful operation in 52 countries, where the company’s products have become a quality product reference.
In the last few years the company has completed its international expansion, and in 2011 it achieved an export percentage of 70%; it expects its international turnover to be
as high as 80% in 2012. Blug’s products have capacities that range from 50 litres to 45m3. The company is one of the few worldwide to offer rope-operated, hydraulic and electro- hydraulic or motor grab models. Blug’s solutions range from single-rope operated radio controlled and automatic grabs, to four-rope or electro-hydraulic high volume grabs that fit any crane, material and production requirements.
 
PRODUCT INNOVATION
One of the main challenges for current port activity is to increase as much as possible grabs’ capacity to achieve the best productive ratios and the fastest return on investment. In recent years Blug, products have been developed using the latest 3-D and Finite Elements Analysis in order to optimize the design of the company’s grabs, and to minimize dead weight. The application of high strength materials (with minimum yield strength of 700MPa) allows for a reduction in the thicknesses of the structure and pulley blocks without penalizing reliability. Blug grabs also include abrasion-resistant steel that prevent fast wearing of arms and components that are in direct contact with abrasive materials (hardness up to 600HBW).
Blug grabs are designed to guarantee a long working life and low maintenance requirements, giving priority to reliability in tough working conditions. Their modular conception represents a big advantage as the pulleys’ block system can be dismounted, and interchangeable between both references so that maintenance service and spare parts management is significantly improved.
The current market situation also demands fast loading- unloading cycles to minimize docking costs. That’s why Blug grabs are always designed giving priority to reducing the time of
the opening and closing operations by optimizing fold reeving system.
The company’s ecologically friendly range has been specially developed during the last years as efficient use of electricity has become vital to reduce customers’ operating costs and the environmental impact of the grabs. Blug’s electro-hydraulic range include as standard a variable-flow piston pump operated hydraulic unit. This kind of system adapts and optimizes the grab’s continuously developed power during opening and closing operations and reduces the electrical requirement by more than 40%, comparing it with fixed flow hydraulic systems. According to Blug’s estimations, based on certified measurements of its grabs’ electricity usage, 25 tonnes of CO2 emissions are saved per medium-size grab each working year.
 
GRAB SEARCHER AND RECENT ORDERS
Blug’s activity is not only focused on developing its products and technology, but is also concerned with giving the customer good service before and after ordering a grab.
That’s why Blug has developed a practical web tool to perform fast product searches and grab capacity calculation, just by defining material and crane data which is available on its web page.
In the last few months Credeblug’s activity has been related to scrap, biomass and cereal handling applications, providing six 8m3 capacity
orange peel grabs for the Mexican steel market industry and three more 10m3 capacity cereal handling clamshell grabs for the Kenyan market. Some important orders related to coal and biomass handling grabs for African and European port market will be manufactured in the next few months.
 
 
Cargotec cranes and hatch covers for China bulkers
A Chinese state-owned shipyard has ordered MacGregor variable frequency drive cranes and folding-type hatch covers for Greek bulk shipping operator Ariston Navigation’s six new generation 35,000dwt bulkers. The contract is booked into Cargotec’s second quarter order intake. Deliveries are scheduled for 2013 and 2014.
Ariston Navigation Corporation, part of the family-owned Xylas Group, has ordered a series of 35,000dwt Handysize Seastallion vessels from the shipyard. New ships have been designed with a versatile specification and are planned for worldwide trade.
Each will feature folding-type MacGregor hatch covers and four fully electrically-operated variable frequency drive (VFD) MacGregor wire-luffing bulk-handling deck cranes, each with an SWL (safe working load) of 30.5 tonnes at a maximum outreach of 26m.
Ariston Navigation believes that the early involvement of
key suppliers is important for delivering vessels fully optimized for their designed functions. “We involved Cargotec as well as all suppliers of critical equipment at the very early stages of our project,” said John Xylas, CEO of Ariston Navigation.
The company also sees significant advantages in sourcing major items from a single supplier. “Absolutely: the lower the number of makers, the more efficient the communication in the project,” Xylas continued.
Cargotec improves the efficiency of cargo flows on land and at sea — wherever cargo is on the move. Cargotec’s subsidiary brands, Hiab, Kalmar and MacGregor are renowned suppliers of cargo and load handling solutions around the world. Cargotec’s global network is positioned close to customers and offers extensive services that ensure the continuous, reliable and sustainable performance of equipment.
 
 
SENNEBOGEN 880 on the High Seas
In matters relating to hydraulic engineering, La Dragaggi s.r.l. is the first port of call and one of the most important companies inVenice.
With modern machines and several ships, La Dragaggi covers a broad range of uses, including all kinds of dredging work, sand and stone extraction and filling for beaches or artificial islands and much more.The company is active throughout Italy and beyond.
To reduce the time it takes to carry out the various tasks, La Dragaggi s.r.l. recently decided to replace an old crawler excavator with a new SENNEBOGEN 880.This machine was mounted as a permanent fixture on the ship Gino Cucco. The 880 became extremely popular in the team within a short period of time.
The gigantic machine offers outstanding performance, is easy to operate and highly efficient.With a 29 m special equipment with straight jib provides the necessary grab depths with impressive loads. The machine is needed every day for demanding hydraulic engineering tasks and is specially designed and built to meet these challenges. The sales and service partner Cesaro Mac Import won an important customer with La Dragaggi and the company now has a highly effective solution in place in the form of the SENNEBOGEN 880 as a ship mounted machine.
 
 
 
Atlantic equipment celebrates 10 years as a top SENNEBOGEN dealer
Recent sales success rewards Atlantic’s pioneering work to establish ‘simple’ material handlers as the industry standard in America.
In scrap handling facilities from coast-to-coast, the distinctive green machines from SENNEBOGEN are one of the industry’s most familiar sights, loading trucks and barges, feeding shredders, stacking bales etc.
Today, SENNEBOGEN is recognized everywhere as a major supplier of purpose-built material handling equipment. However, ten years ago, it was a different story.
“When we began selling SENNEBOGEN, we were taking in a machine that nobody had ever heard of,” recalls Garland Miles, sales manager of Atlantic Equipment & Supply Inc., based in Hampton,VA, USA. “Sales were not easy. We were going to the expense and the time to basically give customers a machine and hope we could convert it into a sale once they could see how it worked and why we were promoting it to them.”
In 2012, Atlantic has been celebrating its 10th year with SENNEBOGEN after winning the manufacturer’s ‘Dealer of the Year’ award as the top selling distributor in 2011.
Constantino Lannes, President of SENNEBOGEN LLC, said, “It’s a pleasure to have this opportunity to recognize the great work Atlantic Equipment has been doing for us for so many years. They show what can be accomplished if you develop and serve the territory well.”
 
ROOTED IN EQUIPMENT SERVICE AND REPAIR
Jim Smelgus, President of Atlantic, founded the firm as an equipment repair and service business more than 20 years ago. When Erich Sennebogen arrived from Germany looking for someone to help launch his family’s material handlers in America, Smelgus’ focus on service and parts dovetailed perfectly with the company’s blueprint for long-term success.
“These weren’t the first true material handlers we had seen,” says Smelgus. “But most scrap yards were still using cable cranes and antiquated excavators that were converted with some kind of grapple. Being first doesn’t always mean better! The first line of material handlers to come here failed because of service.”
Atlantic entered the equipment sales business with customers’ confidence that Smelgus and his team would stand behind the product. SENNEBOGEN’s plan was to reinforce that confidence with reliable parts supply and excellent application support. Smelgus notes that SENNEBOGEN’s nationwide sales success is still rooted in its commitment to the service side of the business. After establishing a base in Charlotte, NC, SENNEBOGEN built a 54,000ft2 parts warehouse and training facility in the nearby town of Stanley. Recently, Lannes announced expansion plans that will nearly double its size to 100,000ft2 by the end of 2012. “What they have done to improve the product in just the past five years has been phenomenal,” Smelgus says. “It just goes to show you that they are very committed to the North American market and they have listened carefully to both the dealers and their customers. Through that, you can see why so many equipment customers have become SENNEBOGEN customers.”
 
SUPPORT LEADS SALES GROWTH
According to Garland Miles, the second key point in SENNEBOGEN’s growth strategy was to avoid growing too fast. “Erich Sennebogen’s game plan from the get-go was to focus on quality and service. He didn’t start off dumping machines with low-ball prices, he did it the old fashioned way: by proving the
machine was a good one.” The company set a policy that it would not sell a machine until a servicing dealer was in place locally and the complete parts list was on the shelf.
The Atlantic team took an active part in helping SENNEBOGEN refine its programme for the US market. Smelgus’ fluency in German helped to establish a close friendship with the founder of the family firm, the late Erich Sennebogen Sr. “Erich Sr. was very personable and as down-to-earth as anyone could be. He was very open-minded to our experience with the material handling industry in the US, so it was a learning experience for both of us.”
 
A WINNING STRATEGY
The gamble ultimately paid off as SENNEBOGEN emerged as a highly trusted brand, not only in America’s scrap yards, but in river ports, waste handling, mills and forestry applications as well. “The scrap business is a real fraternity,” Miles observes. “If one guy does something, the others know about it; word just spreads.
“SENNEBOGEN was an unknown then but once when you got around to telling them it was a non-computerized system, that’s when they stood up and took notice,” he continues. “Especially when the customer had a shredder in the yard. For other machines with a computer onboard, all the fluff would just make a mess of the connections and the normal mechanic had no way to fix them. The simplicity of SENNEBOGEN means that our techs can at least walk their mechanics through some of the less complicated issues in order to keep them operational. With a few minutes on the phone, we can get them up and running, then they turn around and make us look good to the people buying the equipment.”
 
REPEAT SALES SUSTAIN GROWTH
The foundation that Atlantic helped to build with quality and service led the dealership to its highly successful sales year in 2011. Serving a territory that includes Maryland and Virginia, Atlantic still finds new opportunities to expand its customer base. “Most of those early prospects in the scrap business that didn’t get on board with us ten years ago have since become SENNEBOGEN customers,” says Miles. “Since most of the scrap processed here is going to export, up to 90% of it, we recently took on container tilters so we can deliver a complete top- loading solution for yards shipping through the Port of Baltimore.
At this point in Atlantic’s sales strategy, Smelgus and Miles agree that,“... repeat business is our claim to fame...” With commitment to service as their cornerstone, Atlantic and SENNEBOGEN look forward to seeing every sale from the past turn into satisfied customers for the future.
 
ABOUT SENNEBOGEN
SENNEBOGEN has been a notable name in the global material handling industry for over 60 years. Based in Stanley, North Carolina, within the greater Charlotte region, SENNEBOGEN LLC offers a complete range of purpose-built machines to suit virtually any material handling application. Established in America in the year 2000, SENNEBOGEN LLC has quickly become a leading provider of specialized equipment solutions for recycling and scrap metal yards, barge and port operations, log-handling, transfer stations and waste facilities from coast to coast. A growing network of distributors supports SENNEBOGEN LLC sales and service across the Americas, ensuring the highest standardofprofessionalmachinesupportandpartsavailability.