World-renowned port mobile plant specialist B&W Mechanical
Handling Limited, based at Ely in the UK is enjoying a journey
back to its roots with its latest mobile shiploader order.
Lincolnshire-based Gleadell Agriculture Limited has chosen B&W
as the supplier of equipment for its brand new grain loading
facility currently under construction at the Port of Great
Yarmouth on the UK east coast. B&W started its shiploading
business over 30 years ago in the grain industry.
B&W enjoys the benefits of being fully integrated into the
substantial and respected International Aumund Group with
strategically placed offices in more than ten countries and
representatives in over 40.
Gleadell Agriculture was founded in 1880 as a grain merchant
and expanded rapidly to include warehousing, malting, and animal
feed manufacturing as its core activities. Indeed it was one of the
first grain merchants in the UK to offer farmers a fully integrated
storage and drying operation.
It now operates from five offices in Lincolnshire, Norfolk,
Yorkshire, Leicestershire and Wiltshire and is the UK’s thirdlargest
ex-farm buyer of cereals. The company remains a leading
exporter of cereals, pulses and oilseeds to buyers around the
world and is also the market leader in the supply of organic grain
to UK processors.
The 45-metre-boom mobile B&W shiploader will be fed by
twin integral, chassis mounted, Samson™ feeders enabling peak
loading rates of 1,000tph (tonnes per hour) and average rates of
600–700tph into Handysize vessels. Maximum mobility is
available through the provision of B&Ws latest ‘new generation’
inline and parallel wheel travel system and an on-board diesel
generator set. Environmental considerations are paramount with
dust control fitted to both Samson™ feeders and at transfer
points.
To further eliminate dust and to protect the product from
degradation, a Cleveland Cascade telescopic chute will be
employed at the loading boom end. Operator safety will be
ensured by the provision of a climate controlled control cabin
and general machine lighting. Product integrity will be enhanced
by the provision of a permanent magnet and mesh grills fitted at
the Samson™ transfer point to remove unwanted tramp and
metals.
This order follows an earlier mobile Sterling-series shiploader
installation (shown below) supplied by B&W to Gleadell in 2002
for its facility at the Port of Immingham. In this case grain is
received into four Samson™ feeders, enabling peak loading rates
of up to 2,000tph and average loading rates of 1,200tph. This
machine has loaded several million tonnes since it was
commissioned. Since 1983 similar grain shiploader installations
have also been supplied to more than 30 other ports in the UK
alone.
Andrew Mitchell, B&W managing director commented
“Gleadell Agriculture have purchased B&W mobile shiploaders in
the past, including the Sterling series, and this latest order
confirms their confidence in our design capabilities and the
reliability of our equipment.”
The equipment is due for delivery in May 2010 and
manufacturing is currently well underway in the UK. The system
will be commissioned in the summer months in order to meet
the harvest period.