Kocks Ardelt Kranbau will deliver three new rail cranes to British Steel for use at Immingham Bulk Terminal (IBT) in the UK. The order was confirmed after the successful takeover of the steel manufacturer by the Jingye Group.
The Jingye Group has a significant investment and growth plan for British Steel and the three new Ardelt cranes will replace the two existing unloaders that have been with IBT since the 1970s. The new cranes of the Ardelt Tukan K 3000 have a capacity of 50 tons in grab mode and an operating radius for Capesize ships. The material imported at IBT, iron ore fines and lump material, iron ore pellets and coal, is handled with a mix of grabs ranging from 13 to 33 cubic meters with peak handling rates of up to 2,000 tons per hour for each crane.
3D image of what the cranes will look like at British Steel, IBT.
The unique design of the double boom system and the integrated hopper of the cranes ensure the shortest possible cycle times and offer additional flexibility through pivoting, which is a great advantage when cleaning, changing and maintaining containers. The Ardelt cranes were chosen to provide the best return on investment considering design, performance, maintenance and redundancy. The double boom design was invented by Ardelt and is constantly being further developed as part of a continuous improvement program. The current cranes are classified in the highest possible category for handling bulk materials.
The performance of the three cranes ensures a faster ship unloading rate and faster ship handling than the two existing unloaders and at the same time offers additional redundancy for the operation. The maintenance of the cranes was a key driver in the selection; The cranes are fully electric, with no hydraulics on board. The maintenance intervals are set to 800 to 1,000 hours and can be easily established with a minimal amount of work. A special feature is the design of the cable system, which offers the customer a longer service life and significantly lower operating costs. The cranes will take advantage of the latest technological advances in trench depth optimization, a system developed by Ardelt engineers to ensure continuous peak performance and eliminate inefficiencies during the work cycle.
The cranes will be assembled in Germany and delivered to IBT fully assembled at the end of 2021 and beginning of 2022. The heavy lift ship lifts the cranes over the conveyor system and places them on the rails. There will be a short final commissioning and testing phase before they go fully operational.
Source: Kocks Ardelt Cranes
