By early 2010, Cimbria Bulk Equipment had supplied a total of
11,000 loading chutes, thereby strengthening its position as the
world’s largest supplier of loading chutes used for the dust-free
loading of dry bulk material. It has reached this position as a
result of many years of development and in-depth experience
that has resulted in a comprehensive and first-class product line
which meets the requirements of a demanding market. The
company takes great pride in supplying products that are the
best value for money, something which can be guaranteed by the
Moduflex name which has come to be synonymous with highquality,
innovative solutions and functionality. The product line
consists of loading chutes for handling all sorts of dry bulk
materials and a comprehensive range of accessories for nearly all
applications. Besides being an important supplier of its standard
loading chutes, the company has also managed to distinguish
itself through its problem-solving abilities. It is able to design
equipment for all types of loading operations, and takes all the
particular requirements of the customer into account. Its
solutions go beyond designing loading chutes where the solution
is obvious yet demanding — to solving tasks where the
problems challenge the developing department to create
innovative solutions.
 
SUPPLYING A LOADING CHUTE WITH LOW BUILT-IN HEIGHT
In co-operation with the German Moduflex partner, Agrichema
GMBH, Cimbria Moduflex has won an order for a loading chute
with integrated filter for loading malt into open ships. The task
was to supply a loading chute that could fit into a relatively low
built-in height.
Working with Agrichema, Cimbria Moduflex designed a
shiploading chute with an easily mountable filter outlet which
makes it possible to mount the chute outlet after the vessels
have been positioned under the shiploader. The easily mountable
outlet is a further development of the Moduflex shiploader with a
filter unit mounted on the chute head.
The delivered loading chute is of the type V500FF with an
integrated fully self-contained filter on a flatbed outlet. To ensure
dust-free outloading, the exhaust fan creates a constant negative
pressure in the chute. The exhaust air is cleaned when passing
through the filter. The filter itself is dedusted by means of
compressed air from the air receiver. For optimizing the loading
process, the ventilator capacity can be adjusted with an air
regulator, just as the cleaning cycle can be adjusted in the control
box.
The loading chute is equipped with 22 modules. The modular
construction ensures that components can be easily and quickly
replaced in case of modification or repairs. Replacements can be
carried out with a minimum of downtime, as there is no need to
dismantle the loading chute.
To ensure dust-free outloading into ships, the chute outlet is
equipped with a heavy-duty dust-skirt in order to encapsulate the
dust arising when the product falls onto the peak of the product
pile during the loading process. Two capacitive indicators, placed
in the chute outlet, signal automatically hoisting of the loading
chute as the loading proceeds.
Due to the nature of the product the loading chute is
provided with explosion-proof components in accordance with
ATEX directives.
The flexible solution with an easily mountable outlet allows
the terminal to handle larger ships as the retractable length of
the unit is reduced by 2,300mm when the outlet is demounted.
 
LOADING INTO CLOSED AND OPEN RAILWAGONS FROM THE
SAME INSTALLATION
In co-operation with the Finnish Moduflex partner Mega Mänty,
Cimbria Moduflex has recently supplied a loading solution for the
company Raisio Malt Ltd., Finland’s largest producer of brewing malt.
The company needed loading equipment with a high degree of manoeuvrability which
could load malt into both open and closed rail wagons and open trucks. The solution was
the delivery of two S300 Moduflex loading chutes, each fitted on a positioning unit. To solve
this task, the chutes are supplied with a multi-outlet which is a combination of a tank outlet
and a flat outlet i.e. the outlet is equipped with both an outlet cone and a dust skirt. For
open loading, the dust skirt is lowered to prevent fugitive dust escaping from the product
pile, and for closed loading the dust skirt is raised and fastened on the fitting on the two
grips. The installation also required a high degree of manoeuvrability since the outloading
installation is situated on the factory area where the railway track curves. In order to
compensate for the curve, each loading chute is fitted on a P1000HR FlexPositioner, a
motorized positioning unit that reduces road and rail tanker truck loading turnaround time
and increases safety. Instead of the tanker truck or rail wagon having to be stopped
precisely under the chutes, and the discharge outlet connected by hand to the loading
hatch, the outlet itself is manoeuvred by a remotely controlled integral positioning unit. The
FlexPositioner has a travel length of 1,000mm (500mm from the centre point of the outlet)
and can be rotated 90º to the left and to the right giving a 360º working area. In loading
situations where a long train of rail tankers are being loaded and therefore have to be
driven into a precisely determined position, the unit can offer effective savings in total
loading time.
Both the loading chutes and the positioning units are controlled by a wireless remote
control. A screen on the remote control allows the operator to monitor the loading rate a
total loaded quantity continuously.
Cimbria Bulk Equipment is a member of the Cimbria Group of Companies, an
international organization with more than 800 employees in 20 countries throughout the
world. Cimbria offers equipment and processing plant for the grain and seed industry and
transport and conveying equipment for bulk handling.