NEMAG is justifiably proud of its track record
NEMAG in the Netherlands is a renowned manufacturer of medium and large to very large mechanical four-rope operated grabs.
The company specializes in heavy users of four-rope operated grabs, like steel plants, power stations, commercial stevedoring
companies and crane manufacturers. The majority of the NEMAG customers have the following
factors in common: high berth and unloader occupancy and extremely large quantities of bulk movements/annum.
NEMAG is going very strongly in this specific part of the market and reports another good year in
2011, with a very optimistic outlook for 2012. The challenge for NEMAG is to design and
manufacture grabs which give the highest average throughput, against the lowest possible maintenance costs per tonne of material transferred.
Environment, safety, productivity and reliability of the products are key words in the design of the grabs.
In short: shortest turn-around time of the vessel, against the lowest handling costs.
In order to achieve this, application of special high tensile steels, as well as special wear-resistant steels are standard applied in the designs of NEMAG, enabling favourable deadweight to payload ratios.
“There is nothing more to say about the use of these kind of steels; a good grab design, combined with these types of steels simply are the basis of a modern grab,” states sales manager, Riny Stoutjesdijk. NEMAG is active in the frontline of grab technology
and works closely with existing customers, as well as R&D institutes to further optimize existing and developing of new concepts in grab technology.
The active R&D efforts of NEMAG have frequently resulted in groundbreaking grab technologies in the past and will lead to new developments in the future.
The excellent track record of NEMAG, combined with an on-going drive to go for the best possible grab technology, has put NEMAG in the front line of the market.
“It is something NEMAG is very proud of and we are working day in, day out, to prove this to our customers worldwide,” says Stoutjesdijk.
Amongst others, NEMAG’s recent contracts include: y OBA Terminal Amsterdam: scissors grabs for the new, 60-tonne SWL (safe working load) ZPMC ship-unloader; y OVET Terminals Flushing and Terneuzen: new coal and ore clamshell grabs have been supplied for OVET’s 25-and 42-tonne SWL NKM floating cranes; y EECV Terminal Rotterdam: scissors grabs for the 65-tonnes SWL ZPMC ship-unloader; y TATA Steel: scissors grabs for its 40-tonne SWL ship- unloaders; and y RWE Power: scissors grabs for the new Eemshaven power station in the north of the Netherlands
Furthermore, supplies are under construction or recently have been supplied to other reputable customers like the Electrabel Powerstation in Nijmegen, EMO Maasvlakte, European Bulk Services Rotterdam as well as EDF Rietlanden Amsterdam.
The succes of NEMAG is not limited to the Netherlands and impressive supplies have been made to other European countries, as well as Asian and South American customers.
 
High-quality materials ensure that Credeblug’s grabs meet all requirements
EXPERIENCE
Credeblug has been strongly involved in bulk handling applications for more than 45 years. Many of its BLUG grabs are working successfully in the five continents where they have become a quality product reference. Credeblug is one of the few worldwide grab manufacturers that offers a quality rope- operated, hydraulic and electro-hydraulic or motor grab product range. BLUG solutions go 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.
 
DESIGN INNOVATION
Current market situation demands fast loading-unloading cycles to minimize docking costs. That’s why BLUG grabs are always designed giving priority to reducing opening and closing times by optimizing fold reeving systems to each material and by using high- flow pumps in the electro-hydraulic range.
Another challenge in current port activity is to increase as much as possible the 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 to optimize grab design and minimize dead weight. The use of high-strength materials (with minimum yield strength of 700MPa) enables the reduction of the thicknesses in the structure and pulley blocks without penalizing reliability.
Valves and components in direct contact with materials can wear quickly due to abrasion during loading cycles. That’s why BLUG grabs include abrasion-resistant materials (with hardness up to 600HBW) that prevent wear and increase grabs’ working performances.
BLUG grabs are designed to warranty a long working period and low maintenance operations, giving priority to reliability under fatigue effects and the most demanding conditions.
Credeblug has been continuously adapting and developing its product range to enhance reliability and efficiency. One of the aspects that has been specially developed during the last years has been the ecologically friendly grab range and applications. Due to pollution that bulk material loading can produce in the environment, BLUG products include dust-proof closed valve structure.
To improve grab efficiency, the electro-hydraulic BLUG range includes variable flow piston pump-operated hydraulic systems. This kind of component adapts and continuously optimizes a grab’s developed power during opening/closing operations. The most important advantage of this system is that the electric demand is reduced more than 40% comparing it with fixed-flow hydraulic systems. Electrical efficiency consequently becomes a very important point to reduce customers’ operating costs and the environmental impact of the grabs.
 
GRAB AUTOMATIC WEB SEARCHER
Blug’s web page includes a very practical web tool to perform fast product searches and grab capacity calculation just by defining material and crane data. This new application will represent a useful working tool for new projects calculation and grab definition stage.
 
NEW ORDERS
The grabs delivered in 2011 have been strongly related with port activity for European and African market. Credeblug has recently manufactured a 24m3 rope-operated clamshell grab for cereal handling and two 15m3 rope-operated orange peel grabs for light scrap. In the next few months it will also supply four new 5m3 electro-hydraulic grabs for heavy scrap ship unloading.
 
 
Beco wins order for new boom, stick and clamshell bucket
For a Dutch customer, active in the field of recycling mineral building materials, Beco — together with a Dutch importer of construction equipment — has received an order to produce a new boom, stick and clamshell bucket for a purchased crane. The clamshell bucket has a capacity of 3,000 litres, equipped with an hydraulic rotation, connection piece and will be in a protected execution, in order to avoid damages onto the cylinder rods. Beco has already supplied several clamshell buckets with different capacities with booms and sticks to this Dutch customer. The clamshell buckets have been made and are constructed of high tensile steel 690, S355J2G3 and wear-resistant material, hardness HB400.
 

MRS Greifer GmbH: after-sales and repair services lead to happy customers
MRS Greifer GmbH is a medium-sized company that developed in 1977 from the expertise and experience of former crane manufacturer Ridinger.
Since the company began, MRS Greifer has always striven to ensure that its employees are highly trained, so that they are fully qualified in the construction and manufacture of grabs.
MRS Greifer’s grabs are in use all over the world.
After-sales service is of vital importance to the company, and is available either on site or at the company’s works. MRS Greifer is able to repair and maintain its own grabs, as well as those of other brands, a service that is greatly appreciated by its customers.
 
PRODUCTION PROCESS
MRS Greifer’s production process starts with planning. The aim of planning is to find out what the ideal grab is to suit the customer’s requirements. The main criteria for deciding
this are:
  • what kind of bulk commodity will be handled?
  • what is the structure of the bulk commodity?
  • what crane(s) is(are) available to use with the grab?
  • what are the working conditions?
  • what type of grab is suitable?
 
The engineering department then works on the grab that has been ordered. Modern technologies are available, for example a 3D-CAD system. Having the right software, qualified engineers and selecting the right material means that it is possible to develop an excellent product that has a reliable handling capacity.
In the manufacturing process, theory is converted into practice. Modern machines work together with highly trained personnel in an optimally designed working process.
 
Guven Grabs: proud of its international customer base
Gu¨ven Grabs was established in 1984 in K.Maltepe/Istanbul as Gu¨ven Kepc¸e Sanayi. The company’s factory is based in Gebze, Kocaeli. The company produces all types of loading and unloading equipment and grabs, which are exported internationally.
Company customers can be found in countries including: Spain, Germany, Denmark, Romain, Bulgaria, Greece, Georgia, Tunisia, Russia, Egypt,Tanzania, Ivory Coasts, Gana, Nigeria, Algeria, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Pakistan, Singapore and Bangladesh.
Guven has designed three types of grabs, and these have been registered by the Turkish Patent Institute with Industrial Design Registration Certificates.
Guven aims to be the company of choice for its customers, and wants to offer the highest quality products that it can. It is very proud to have a growing international portfolio.
Guven Grabs likes to meet its customers’ requirements fully and quickly. It ensures that its employees are highly trained to enable it to do so. Guven brings together technology with the unique creativity of its staff.
Guven Grabs’ products include:
  • radio remote-controlled grabs;
  • electro-hydraulic clamshell grabs;
  • electro-hydraulic orange peel grabs;
  • mechanical single-wired touchdown grabs;
  • mechanic double-wired clamshell grabs;
  • mechanical single- and double-wired polip peel grabs;
  • mechanical single-wired coal grabs;
  • mechanical log grabs; y mechanical rock grabs;
  • electro-hydraulic orangepeel underwater dredging grabs;
  • hydraulic orangepeel excavator grabs;
  • mechanical double wired orangepeel grabs; and
  • mechanical hand-trip grabs.

New generation of port buckets from CFS
CFS International Engineering Handling srl has recently delivered to Livorno port an electro hydraulic bucket with a load capacity of 8m3 for material with density up to 4t per m3. The company that has bought the bucket
is using it to handle zirconium using a Gottwald port crane.
The CFS bucket is equipped with blades to keep the material sealed inside the bucket.
Not only is the zirconium an expensive material that is of a high density, it is also composed of very fine sand — such as that from an hourglass — which has the distinction of passing through all the holes and cracks of the bucket. Therefore seals are provided to retain the material and prevent any loss of product.
CFS buckets are equipped with Rexroth components, both a variable displacement pump and dual pump, should a high flow rate be required.
The accessibility to the electronic parts simplifies maintenance in a practical and expeditious way, thereby giving the operator the ability to take action in any event that needs
diligence and an instant view of the components.
The CFS buckets’ electro hydraulics are removable, all that need to be done is to simply disconnect the oil pipes that connect the hydraulic cylinders.
Two CFS buckets were also delivered to the port of Ortona, for materials with a maximum density of 2.2 tonnes per m3.
The capacities of each of these 2 buckets are 18m3, with the possibility of reduction to 16m3. These buckets are also attached to Gottwald port cranes.
CFS believes that its professionalism, combined with experience and customer feedback, creates the mix that ensures that it is able to develop and produce a quality product.
 
KRO¨GER grabs: at home in harbours all over the world
KRO¨GER GRABS:‘MADE IN GERMANY’ IS INCREASINGLY BECOMING THE STANDARD FOR BULK LOAD HANDLING
Grabs installations that are ‘made in Germany’ are in high demand in ports and harbours all over the world — particularly for applications in which bulk loads have to be handled smoothly and quickly. Time and again, this demand refers to names that often only mean anything to experts in Germany. KRO¨GER is one of these names. In its field, the company is globally renowned and pre-eminent in all German-speaking countries. For almost 40 years, KRO¨GER has developed a reputation for rugged grabs which are not only built with a weight-saving design, but also offer a major benefit for which demand is growing all over the world: their zero-maintenance requirement.
KRO¨GER builds cable, motor-driven and hydraulic grabs. They are mainly used in bulk load handling applications in seaports and inland harbours. The company, which employs some 60 staff to build its almost indestructible grabs that are made to order in Sonsbeck near the Dutch border, has focused on this special field for decades and gained a wealth of experience in the sector.
KRO¨GER grabs have become widely accepted above all because they pay off in continuous operation. One of their decisive advantages: they completely eliminate the need for time- consuming lubrication work. This offers operators a significant long-term cost benefit, particularly in harsh harbour environments, where time costs money. A maintenance manager once calculated the difference between grabs that need to be re-lubricated and KRO¨GER’s zero-maintenance design: considering the downtime for a normal grab that needs to be lubricated for 30–45 minutes after every eight hours, the additional cost of a maintenance-free grab quickly pays off. In addition, KRO¨GER grabs can also be supplied with an environmentally friendly jaw design, which largely prevents finely granulated bulk loads from being swept away by the wind.
In recent years, KRO¨GER has also succeeded in applying its zero-maintenance principle to its large cable grabs that have capacities of more than ten cubic metres. For many years, industry experts did not believe this could be done. This complex development work has paid off. In this particular field, the Rhineland-based supplier is the undisputed world market leader. “We are the only supplier that can guarantee zero maintenance for large grabs,” emphasizes managing director Claus Diedrichs.
The company offers a further competitive advantage by supplying service and repairs from a single source, including fast delivery of spare parts. This benefit is particularly important for applications abroad. KRO¨GER even refurbishes grabs built by other manufacturers.
KRO¨GER aims to expand its presence on the international markets significantly in the near future. This also applies especially for service. The supplier already provides its customers with comprehensive guarantee packages, which can be extended or renewed, if required.
The production of medium-size and large hydraulic grabs is to be expanded. “We were hardly affected by the financial crisis. Demand is constantly growing,” stresses sales director Franz Lehnert. One reason for this is not only the upswing on the international markets, but also the fact that KRO¨GER cultivates the business contacts that it has developed over many years.
One example of this is its intensive co-operation with the ennebogen company. KRO¨GER and the Bavarian manufacturer and supplier of cable and hydraulic diggers as well as crawler and transport cranes have, above all, one thing in common: their commitment to uncompromising quality. They have been working together in the cable grab sector for almost 40 years, and intensively for the last 15 years also on motor-driven and hydraulic grabs. In practical terms, this means that Sennebogen dealers recommend KRO¨GER grabs. This recommendation is an accolade, since the Straubing-based manufacturer of special machinery only works with the best in its industry all over the world.
Another recent example is the order for 19 grabs received by KRO¨GER from its OEM partner Demag Cranes & Components, a world leader in the production of cranes.
KRO¨GER is paving the way for success. Its main factory on the Lower Rhine delivers some 150 grabs every year, not including any repair work. In recent months, KRO¨GER has developed capacity for significant expansion in production. Besides its grabs that are ‘made to order’, small batch production is now also under way. And this enables the specialist manufacturer to offer a product range which must be unique in the industry.
 
Two record-breaking Negrini grabs for Port of Genova
Italian company Negrini has completed the testing of components supplied to Terminal Rinfuse Italy.
The new mobile crane installed in Genova at the bulk terminal also broke another record in Italy.
The two 35m3-capacity grabs produced by Negrini are the largest ever built and installed in an Italian port.
“This supply to the port of Genova has cemented the excellent cooperation that has long been established with Liebherr, a company that is leader in mobile harbour cranes through the world,” points out Massimo Negrini, owner of Negrini, which was founded in 1967 and specializes in building equipment and components for lifting equipment.
Negrini’s reference list comprises not only leading companies operating in ports and in the construction industry, but also includes important armaments companies like Bnavios Nevgacao and Bulk Trading. “We are in talks with another important owner for nine grabs to be installed on bulk carrier vessels,” says Negrini, referring in this case to the radio-controlled single-rope clamshell grabs that “represent the optimal solution for any loose material being handled and are applicable to all cranes.”
The openings of the shells by remote control is extremely precise and, for this reason, this type of grab is mounted in 90% of cases on ships.
Company sales have grown from national to international. “Our grabs were used to build artificial islands in Dubai, other supplies were intended to work to enlarge the Panama Canal, and more recently we have completed major contracts for Saudi Arabia and India”.

Koniambo commission sees grabs get environmental tick
The resurgence in the booming world commodities market has bought positive outcomes throughout the bulk handling industry, and to all corners of the world including New Zealand.
Tauranga-based bulk cargo equipment company PM Grabs is experiencing a significant surge in orders from the greater Pacific region as bulk mining industries ramp up extraction processes through Australia and the Pacific Basin.
The company’s recent delivery of four 14m3 bulk discharge grabs to the enormous Koniambo nickel project in New Caledonia highlights the level of demand within the region.
The Koniambo project is a joint venture between the New Caledonian development agency and mineral company Xstrata Nickel. It will extract nickel ore from around 380mt (million tonnes) of saprolite resources over the mine’s lifespan, which may be as long as 50 years and makes it one of the world’s biggest nickel sources.
Given its remote coastal peninsula location, preservation of the wetland, water way and marine environments has been a key requirement for the mining company. Efficient use of energy, protection of natural resources, waste minimization and biodiversity conservation are key mandates underpinning the project’s establishment and operation.
The award winning and environmentally sensitive technology within PM Grabs’ bulk discharge grabs were key reasons why its diesel hydraulic grabs were selected for the project, says bulk cargo manager Bruce Ennis.
“The specifications for the project were very tight around what the client expected in relation to noise and dust discharge from grab operation. We spent many hours designing and
developing some new technology to incorporate into these grabs that is standard through the diesel hydraulic range now.”
PM Grabs scoured the industry to seek out component suppliers which met the strict ISO 14001 standard. Key grab suppliers including Eaton Vickers and Deutz engines are among component suppliers meeting the standard as PM works to achieve it also.
The grab power plant, a Deutz Tier 3 87kW diesel engine was subject to extensive noise suppression using acoustic sound reduction materials. Its air-cooled cooling system meant operation is simpler than liquid cooled engines, but required significant placement design work to ensure air flow was not compromised by the noise reduction material. The outcome is an engine that does not exceed 81dB under load. Spark suppression technology also ensures operation in hot dry conditions as those experienced in New Caledonia are at minimal risk, particularly when operating in confined ships’ holds.
The grabs were built based on an innovative jaw design that minimizes dust loss. A unique overlapping blade seal design capable of maintaining its integrity across a wide range of product densities ensures a flexible grab with excellent sealing capabilities.
“Clients not only appreciate the reduced dust emissions, but also the reduction in valuable cargo losses onto wharf and water surfaces,” says Ennis.
Bucket dust control flaps can also be supplied to further suppress product loss. Fitting the grabs with a two stage adjustable bucket opening makes them flexible enough to discharge into narrower hopper openings, and provides better control over product wind blow in high wind situations. The hydraulic system delivering operations from the “green”
grab’s control systems were built with integrated catchments around them, in order to capture any fluid lost due to component failure.
While environmentally sensitive design and operation were critical specifications, the Koniambo project also required equipment that did not compromise on productivity. The PM Grabs also ticked the relevant boxes here. The compact low profile of the grabs ensures they met requirements around low drift profile, and were suited to the deep channel loading facility.
Down time and maintenance minimization were also critical parameters. The diesel hydraulic grabs are equipped with state of the art diagnostic systems to ensure fault diagnosis is kept simple, and fixed quickly.
An Eaton Vickers integrated PLC IP67 control system has enabled the control box components to be significantly reduced. This has all but eliminated fault and maintenance issues around circuit relays and panel connections. The technology also provides operators with greater information on grab performance and fault diagnosis, with alerts arriving to the crane operator’s hand held remote unit. Diagnostics is a simple screen
exercise, making maintenance and repair work straightforward.
Building the power plant onto its own sliding sub frame module ensures the engine can be easily removed for servicing and testing before re-installation. It has also seen a lower centre of gravity through the grab, with the engine being located closer to the jaws, also helping keep noise levels down.
Bruce Ennis says the Koniambo project marks a significant shift in grab development for the company, with the order representing major R&D investment to deliver to the client’s specifications around productivity and environmental sensitivity.
“We are increasingly finding more clients are putting environmental sensitivity into their ‘must have’ specifications.With the intensive work around these grabs, we are now well placed to deliver on those specs with every order from here and into the future,” he says.