A notable supplier of mechanical ship unloaders, GOLFETTO SANGATI SpA (GS) is a new member of the PAVAN Group, after the complete acquisition of the GBS Group SpA (founded in 2000 by the merger of three important names as Golfetto, Berga and Sangati).
The PAVAN group has become a major player in its sector, which is providing a broad range of technology and equipment, from flour milling right up to product packaging. GS offers equipment and systems for flour milling and animal feed industries as well as extending its business across a number of applications for grain storage and handling terminals, satisfying requirements related to loading and unloading of bulk products
by ship, including mechanical unloading. The company designs, constructs and installs complete grain
terminals for shiploading and unloading. The range of grain terminals covers any possible technology — fixed or mobile, on rails or tyres, special designs for non-free-flowing products such as soyameal. All those features can be applied to unloaders of both the mechanical and the pneumatic type.
Over the years, GS (also under former brand names) has focused on mechanical type unloaders, and has developed and installed several units worldwide.
The table on p57 shows clearly that the size of port facilities is increasing year by year, and that a consequence of that is manufacturers of ship unloaders are often required to supply material handling and storage equipment in one complete, turnkey project.
Requests for new projects vary according to their geographical location but, generally speaking, the majority of requests for new equipment are coming from the Far East,Africa and South America. The demand is either for new facilities to increase the handling capacity or for new grain terminals.
In order to meet customers’ requirements, GS has continued to focus on its mechanical unloader range. Through its engineering efforts, it has increased the machine’s range from
50tph (tonnes per hour) to 1,200tph (suitable for unloading vessels of up to 120,000dwt). Developments have been driven by tender requests received over recent years.
As a result of all these developments, the latest GS ship unloaders to be delivered have reached very high levels of efficiency, have very low power consumption, and offer a range of advantages, such as: structural stability, advanced product design, safety and reliability. High efficiency in complex operation, very low downtime and low maintenance complete the main features of GS’s machines.
As an example of GS’s case history, the company’s installation in Shanghai Waigaqiao Grain Reserve Depot and Wharf Facilities reports 576,000 tonnes of bulk grains unloaded in ten months. Vessels unloaded vary from big ships (80,000dwt) to small barges (4,000dwt). The unloader’s rated capacity is 1,000tph and the maximum capacity achieved, according to actual records, is 1,180tph. The average power consumption calculated during a complete unloading of a 40,000dwt ship has been 0.34KW/T
The unloader has an integrated 15-tonne hoist (there is no need for an additional boom even for heavy payloaders), hydraulic-oil stationary brakes (better integration on machine logic control), jack in maintenance device (easier bogie repairs), central lubrication system, additional hatch cleaning device, and integrated cutter for non-free-flowing products. Particular attention has been paid to design, in order to ensure dust-tight operation. This makes it possible to have a highly effective machine with low maintenance costs and, a ‘must’ for GS customers, great flexibility to meet customers’ requirements that, quite rightly, are becoming ever more specialized.
All mechanical, electrical and hydraulic components are manufactured and delivered from Italy, while the steel structure could be manufactured locally (under GS control) reducing the investment costs.

 
E-Crane 1500 modernizes unloading at Port Sutton fertilizer terminal in Florida
At its Port Sutton dry bulk fertilizer terminal at Tampa, Florida, Kinder Morgan has replaced its old, diesel-powered cable crane with an electric-powered 1500 Series E-Crane that has substantially increased ship-unloading capability and efficiency, dramatically cut maintenance time and costs, and virtually eliminated unplanned crane downtime, according to project manager Robert Desselles.
“Our old cable crane presented various operational and maintenance issues,” Desselles said. “For one thing, we used an extensive amount of expensive diesel fuel. The E-Crane uses very little electric power. So we’ve gained a major cost saving there. Also, the maintenance of the old crane was beginning to interfere with our production, and the repairs were often very expensive.”
“Parts became harder and harder to get,” added Port Sutton terminal manager Scott Stevens. “Eventually, new parts were not available at all, and used parts were very scarce, often requiring that a part be fabricated. In addition, we were replacing the
cables after unloading every ship. You can imagine what that was costing us in time and dollars.”
“Refurbishing the old crane was obviously out of the question,” Desselles said. “So in 2009 our Business Development Group started looking at new cable, hoist and hydraulic cranes.
“We got a great response from E-Crane. There were a lot of negotiations on the specs regarding critical requirements. For example, since fertilizer is so very corrosive, we needed special steel fittings.”
Desselles emphasized that E-Crane was very accommodating in meeting the specifications, working with Kinder Morgan and its engineering firm, making recommendations, and providing it all on a timely basis. E-Crane provided complete, detailed drawings with everything well thought out and very clear. There was no doubt or confusion about anything.
“The E-Crane 1500 Series best met our needs,” Desselles said. “We also had to justify maintenance procedures and costs, which were much simpler and more economical with the E-Crane. So E-Crane was the obvious choice for our purposes.
“Our E-Crane was fabricated and delivered on time. Normally delivery is to the nearest public port. But that would involve the extra time and expense of off- loading to trucks and transporting to our site. So E- Crane agreed to have delivery made to our Port Sutton facility, which was no simple matter. E-Crane was very, very accommodating all around.”
E-Crane handled erection, too; Kinder Morgan only had to supply a construction crane with operators and riggers. In addition, Kinder Morgan engineers made improvements to the existing dock access walkways and ship berthing points prior to crane installation.
E-Crane engineers optimized the main boom pivot height at 55ft 4in so the operator can see the top of the hopper and has greater visibility overall.
Desselles said that E-Crane’s crew — headed by Steve Suter — was highly skilled, very professional, and worked from sun-up to sunset without complaint to get the crane installed and operational in a short time. It was up and ready by Christmas Eve. “We joked that it was our Christmas present for the terminal,” Desselles chuckled.
The first ship was unloaded in January 2011. It was an ‘average size’ vessel, and offloading went well, according to Desselles. The second ship was a 50,000dwt vessel that Desselles said was very large for the Port Sutton facility. But offloading was normal, as though with a 30,000–35,000dwt vessel.
“We could not have unloaded the 50,000dwt ship with the old crane,” Scott Stevens explained. “It just didn’t have sufficient reach. But we had no problems at all with our new E-Crane. And the clamshell grab gives excellent penetration into the fertilizer, affords maximum fill, and eliminates spills and carryback.”
Stevens emphasized that the E-Crane balance is “remarkable” and provides smooth, efficient operation. “The balance is so good that I don’t think the E-Crane would shift or tip even if it were not so securely bolted down,” he said,“which is to protect the crane in hurricane conditions. Our operators feel safe while working around this crane.”
Stevens also likes the EMM (electronic machine management) system that allows the operator to detect problems and also permits E-Crane technicians to access the operating system to diagnose and solve problems from their Galion, Ohio facility.
“E-Crane’s construction crew worked sun-up to sundown to get the E-Crane installed and operational in a short time,” said project manager Robert Desselles.
This eliminates the need for Kinder Morgan to have a local technician for this purpose or to have a crane repair company nearby.
“Maintenance is simple,” Stevens added. “The E-Crane has an auto lube system that allows the majority of the grease points to be serviced automatically. Beyond that, there’s virtually no day- to-day maintenance involved. And we’ve had absolutely no unexpected downtime problems.
“Operating the E-Crane is simple also, using convenient joysticks. And a monitor screen in the cab tells the operator everything he needs to know about the condition of the crane and operating system at a glance. We sent three men to the E-Crane facility in Galion for training on operation and maintenance, and E-Crane had people here for start-up and afterward to make sure our staff were up to speed on everything.”
Desselles said in summation,“We have been extremely pleased with E-Crane equipment and E-Crane people right from the get-go, through all phases of the project, and in our present relationship with them. In fact, Kinder Morgan is now evaluating E-Crane for future projects.”
Kinder Morgan is one of North America’s largest energy transportation and storage companies with 50 transload facilities, plus 37,000 miles of pipelines and 180 terminals for handling and storage of dry bulk materials, scrap, chemicals and petroleum products.
Kinder Morgan’s 1500 Series E-Crane has 105ft outreach, 15.4-tonne duty cycle capacity, and 17.1-tonne lift capacity. All E-Cranes have a hydraulically pivoting, mechanically linked boom design that keeps the E-Crane in near perfect balance throughout its full working range. This provides for smooth operation and reduces horsepower requirements and power consumption by as much as 50%. E-Crane offers several size machines with outreach up to 150 feet and duty cycle capacity up to 50 tonnes.
 
 
Buhler Portalink — successful, proven engineering
Bulk handling giant Buhler is a major manufacturer of a wide variety of bulk handling equipment, including its range of mechanical ship unloaders.
The term ‘Grain Management’ in Buhler’s Grain Logistics business unit refers to all activities related to the safe and reliable handling and storage of valuable grain in steel or concrete bins or in flat stores. The requirements that modern logistics are expected to satisfy are high. New requirements and expectations are added almost by the day.
Recently, increasingly wide fluctuations have appeared in the global grain streams. All of a sudden, much less grain is being exported from the traditionally strong exporting countries such as Australia or the US. This is because the climatic conditions for cultivation have deteriorated or more grain is being locally processed — for example for the production of biofuels. New producers such as Kazakhstan or Ukraine are increasingly acting as grain exporters in the global marketplace. Countries such as India and Pakistan, which just a few years ago were exporters, have now become importers. The changes in the grain streams have a large impact on the technology applied in new facilities. In the future, many new installations will be constructed to allow both exporting and importing of grain.
A modern bulk storage system consists of far more than mere bins or sheds for the actual storage of grain. Depending on the complexity of a specific facility, the share of mechanical equipment, sensor systems, and control engineering may account for as much as 70% of the investment volume.
As part of the Buhler Grain Logistics business unit the Market Segment Terminals provides solutions especially for the grain trade. Grain Logistics Terminals’ focus on the portfolio includes shiploading and unloading, conveying and silo storage equipment.
The main customer benefits of Buhler Grain Logistics are:
  • one-stop shopping for complete solutions — from concept development to commissioning;
  • systems tailored to the customer’s individual needs deliver high productivity and excellent product quality;
  • high-performance equipment with a proven track record ensures high system availability and low maintenance costs; and
  • high energy efficiency and low operating costs
 
PROJECT INFORMATION/KEY DATA
Recently Grain Logistics Terminals commissioned another two of its well known Portalink 800/80RK ship unloaders.
Customer: KDC (Korea Development Co.), Pyeongtaek Dangijn Port
Product: two Portalink 800/80RK ship unloaders, 800tph (tonnes per hour) each, designed for vessels of a maximum 80,000dwt Date of order: January 2010
Pre-assembly in China: December 2010 – January 2011 Transport by ship from China to Korea: end of January 2011 Final assembly in Korea: middle of February to end April 2011 Commissioning: June 2011
Pyongtaek Dangijn Port consists of new bulk and container berths which are all built on reclaimed land.
 
PRODUCT INFORMATION
Mechanical ship unloaders from Buhler — designed to handle a wide range of free- flowing bulk materials — are characterized among other things by being supplied from a single source. From evaluation and simulation of the optimal unloading process to design and engineering, structural analysis, manufacturing, installation, and start-up, Buhler handles the projects as one single, competent and experienced partner. This enables the influence of individual parameters on overall performance to be clearly assessed and evaluated, contributing significantly to optimizing it. Regular servicing and genuine spare parts guarantee a high availability of the installation over many years of service.
 
PORTALINK FEATURES
Efficient unloading
The automatic sink-in system of the HL-SKT allows the intake boot to maintain the optimal position inside the bulk material. It also enables automatic unloading down to the minimum bulk material level inside the ship’s hold.
The possible movements of:
  • displacing the ship unloader;
  • lifting, lowering, and swivelling the boom;
  • kick-in/kick-out of the marine leg;
  • provide a large working range inside the ship’s hold.
 
High availability and low operating costs
  •   reliable operation even when handling materials with varying characteristics;
  •  low sensitivity to foreign matter;
  •  fast changing of chain links;
  •  easy operation;
  •  proven engineering with matured mechanical elements;
  •  low energy consumption;
  •  less wear and tear; and
  •  long service life of the conveying chains.Proven hydraulic system
  •  soft starting and braking;
  •  protection against chain ruptures by overload valves;
  •  short time reversal of the conveying chain; and
  •  easy adjustment of the chain speed.
 
Reliable operation
The PLC control system with visualization feature allows the display of operating and fault messages.
Six-wheel rail-mounted traveling gear. Hydraulic system with electric motor without paneling. Visualization display.


Terex Fuchs grabs its share of the unloading market
When it comes to a truly mechanical method of ship unloading — using cranes equipped with grabs — Terex Fuchs is a major player. The company manufactures a wide range of material handling machines, and its equipment is now being used along a tributary of the River Danube.
At the heart of Europe, where the west of the continent meets the east, lies Gyo¨r, one of the most important industrial centres in Hungary.
Here, on the banks of the Little Danube, a branch of Europe’s longest river, one of the most important port locations in Central Europe has developed.
Every year 300,000 tonnes of goods are loaded and unloaded at this site, representing almost 10% of Hungary’s total shipping cargo. Flexibility and efficiency are the most important criteria for materials handlers here, as large volumes of an ever-changing variety of goods are transferred between vessel, wharf, rail and truck. Hungary is a nation with strong economic ambitions. The quality and advantages of German-made mobile loaders are well known here, not least thanks to the service provided by Profibagger,Terex® Fuchs’
Hungarian sales and service partner. That’s why port director A´kos Pinte´r has opted for the performance, speed and reliability of Terex® Fuchs material handlers — including his latest acquisition, an MHL365 with a cranked boom configuration. To maximize its handling capability, the machine was fitted with an extra large undercarriage. It can therefore withstand extreme load forces, even when manoeuvring at speed under full load.
MHL365 performance data/equipment features:
  • flexibility and performance combined: 18m reach and 186kW power output, to shift even the heaviest loads — fast;
  • covering the ground and taking the load: an extra large under- carriage (footprint of approximately 6.6m x 5.7m) to ensure stability;
  • getting a grip: an extensive selection of gripping attachments, such as a 4m3 clamshell grab and a 20-tonne lifting hook, enable the material handler to be adapted to deal with a wide range of goods;
  • the harbourmaster: with its optional offset loading configuration, the MHL365 manages quayside conditions — such as varying water levels and differing hull profiles — with the ease of a master;
  • useful options: the machine can be configured with additional features such as a glass floor, all-round Xenon work lights and a variety of loading systems; y comfort, not complexity: a high-quality cockpit with joystick control and a clearly arranged multifunctional display, for a more productive day’s work;
  • efficient under any conditions: sophisticated engineering has achieved the perfect balance between power, mechanics and hydraulics. Together with minimal fuel consumption (through intelligent engine management), this maximizes goods volumes handled per litre of fuel consumed.
Ardelt and Kocks guarantee unloader reliability and long service life
Kranunion is a group of three leading crane manufacturers which specialize in the design and production of cranes and transporters for ports, shipyards, steel mills and the railways. Its wide product offering includes a range of equipment for the mechanical unloading of dry cargo products.
Kirow is a major presence in the railway cranes and slagpot carrier market. Ardelt is a major supplier of double jib level luffing cranes. Kocks is well-known for its Goliath cranes. Kranunion companies are driven by the great German engineering tradition. All of their products are centred around ingenious technical concepts that are perfectly suited for the task at hand.
The steel and energy industry daily require immense quantities of coal, ore and additives — all round the globe. These large volumes are transported across the oceans and unloaded at the destination ports. The owners’ requirements are therefore absolutely clear: highly efficient unloading and shortest possible turnaround times are vital. Cranes play a key role in this system. The crane functions must be assured in all climates and they must deliver maximum handling rates. The essential factors are: low maintenance and operational costs, high performance, permanent availability. In detail, it depends on efficient and safe handling of coal and other bulk material. Furthermore on dynamic handling with maximum accelerations and speeds, high performance under continuous operating conditions during full shifts, minimum downtimes and high service lives.
For mechanical ship unloading the Kranunion companies offer a wide product range, i. e. Kocks’ Digger and Barge Server, and
Ardelt’s Tukan K. Cranes from Ardelt and Kocks are coupled to electric supply network. The Barge Server,Tukans and Boxers can even feed back energy saved by lowering and braking of slewing and luffing gear into the electric supply network, so that their energy cost amount to less than 30% compared with diesel-powered mobile harbour cranes.
The Kocks Digger is used where high quantities of coal and other bulk material are to be handled. The Digger is operated both efficiently and reliably. The intelligent co-action of main and auxiliary trolley via the pre-tensioned rope system assures handling rates of 3,000tph (tonnes per hour) and more. The use of the latest technical equipment is the basis of continuous performance during full shifts. This includes the anti-sway device, sway-control device and the automatic positioning control system as well as the progressive SIS systems providing fault diagnosis programs and maintenance modules precisely controlling the maintenance status of the devices and always informing accordingly.
Technical strengths of the Digger appear primarily in the perfect interaction of main trolley and auxiliary trolley via a pre- tensioned rope system. The use of automatic rope-adjusting devices and low maintenance components are a must and assure extremely high availability. The constructional design is characterized by the constant height of the grab during trolley travelling. The particular aspect is that the hoisting mechanisms never need to interfere as a compensating factor due to the reeving of the hoisting ropes via the auxiliary trolley. The controlled superposition of the movement, however, is always possible. Rope slack of the trolley ropes is unknown with the two-trolley system, and thus the slack of the holding and closing ropes during lowering of the bulk goods is minimized. In particular in the case of very high waterside or landside outreaches and large gauges, the principal advantage is totally decisive: the ropes neither beat against each other nor against parts of the structure of the unloader — neither when closing the grab nor when starting the hoisting procedure. Rope-supporting trolleys are not required. In order to improve load paths, the hopper is positioned as close as possible to the ship. A dust house is part of the basic equipment.Technical highlights are the boom system with water-side boom and bridge girder in twin girder design for optimal weight and stability and the rigid and non-swinging gantry because of the light box design with strengthening by diagonals and bracings. The sophisticated tie system is forming the suspension of the booms and also assuring the special stability of the crane. An intelligent system of access allows that the complete structure is to be reached easily and safety for the operator and for maintenance. Furthermore the hopper and hopper discharge unit assure shortest distances and best load cycles. The main and auxiliary trolley are very light but also extremely robustly executed. The central machinery house is characterized by its clear layout and ease of maintenance. Thanks to its pressure ventilation and an efficient filter system dust and fine particles are not a matter for discussion. The holding and closing mechanism with special rope drums of the winches is the reason for a long service life of the ropes. And the boom hoist mechanism assures maximum safety with a safety brake and an emergency drive and the emergency drive is able to raise the boom to clear the vessel. Thus the boom can be kept safe even in case of excessive speed or failure of the drive. The company also sets standards with the crane travel mechanisms: the wheels are arranged in a bogie equalizing system and are driven either as single wheels or in pairs. The cabin of the panoramic view type is comfortable and ergonomic and offers a full range of visibility. At least the electrical equipment is state-of-the-art and is based on approved components.The Digger is characterized as follows:
  • high handling rates;
  • high positioning accuracy;
  • high working speeds;
  • low maintenance costs;
  • high availability;
  • long service life; and
  • high resale value.
 
The Digger has been developed exclusively for bulk handling and optimized over decades. This is emphasized by the dynamic, light and easy handling and unequalled precision of its manoeuvres. The latest methods of stress analysis measuring values from the wind tunnel and the intention of creating an optimal crane system give the Digger its concrete form. Apart from all German engineering rules, daily practical experience also provides the inspiration for all further developments. Thus deformations under extreme conditions are not accidental. These have already been calculated during the projecting and design phase and taken into account during dimensioning. Only a rigid and less flexible structure is the solid basis of a high capacity crane.
The Barge Server of Kocks is the universal crane platform for inland shipping and a multipurpose crane in container, bulk handling, general cargo or heavy load operation. It is the optimal, economical solution for smaller and medium-size barge terminals. The Barge Server is at home wherever fast transshipment over the quay side is needed. As exceedingly efficient equipment it is ideally suited for waterside container transshipment from barges onto land, from barge to barge, onto rail or road and for stocking storage areas. It is also possible to change its load handling equipment very quickly — and then efficiently transship general cargo and bulk goods. Thanks to the bridge length of up to 160m the Barge Server is capable of spanning large areas and ensuring optimal exploitation of space, because it doesn’t have to keep traffic routes free e.g. for mobile cranes or reach stackers.
The crane cabin, which travels with the crane, ensures excellent visibility into storage areas — the fundamental prerequisite for optimally structured terminal or storage space organization. Thanks to the state-of-the-art software, existing storage space management systems can be easily integrated too. Its main characteristic is the weight-optimized lattice-type construction: the compression struts are arranged vertically, the tension bars diagonally.
The Barge Server is light and fast thanks to the sawtooth structure. It is extremely efficient because of its high handling capacity thanks to shorter load paths. And, thanks to low energy consumption, it is very economical. Technical highlights are the lifting gear with compact, powerful drives, high-quality helical gear boxes and hoisting drums. Furthermore the robust travel mechanism with single wheel drive. The drive and control concept results in excellent straight running characteristics. The control system offers remote maintenance via GSM modem and the crane management system with online help. The driver’s cabin is very comfortable and offers an ergonomic arrangement of the operating controls. What crane drivers especially like about the Barge Server: from their cabin they always have the best possible overview of the entire operationals area and can position the load exactly. What distinguishes the Barge Server overall:
high handling capacity;
high positioning accuracy;
high working speeds;
high availability;
high resale value;
long service life;
low dead weight;
low maintenance effort and costs; and
low operating costs.
 
Interest in cranes in lattice-type structure is hardly on the wane. One example: just about a year after placing of the order, a Barge Server started operation with CTT (Combi Terminal Twente) in Hengelo in October 2010. Kocks was able to stand up to existing competitors by the concept of this container crane in lattice-type structure. Two further similar Barge Servers will be delivered this year and next year to the operating company MCS Meppel as well as to CTN Nijmegen. One requirement of the terminal operator was the fact that the new handling equipment must have low wheel pressures in order to assure minimum loading onto the quay, because the existing crane rails had partially been extremely loaded by the cranes available. Moreover the new crane should be powerful enough to assure a significant increase of the present handling rate — and to be able to co-operate with the existing handling equipment. Finally it was the request of the client that the power supply of the trolley should be effected via a conductor line instead of a festoon system frequently used in common practice. The latest crane technology was naturally used.
Company experts held meetings repeatedly with the terminal operator in order to explore this and other requirements in detail, to exchange ideas and conditions, to develop, to discuss and to re-adapt concepts until the optimal solution could be found. The terminal in Hengelo started operation with approximately 10,000 TEU per year in 2001. At that time, the operators started with crane equipment being suitable for a terminal length of approximately 145 metres. The terminal was extended to approximately 290 metres simultaneously with the
supply of the new Kocks crane. A further 90 metres are under construction — these shall also be operated by the new crane. Compared with the start, today more than the tenfold TEU quantity is handled according to the terminal director, Gerco Linthorst. CTT expects a handling volume of more than 135,000 TEU during the current year.
A daily shuttle traffic with four inland vessels (with a length of 110 m and a stacking width of 4 TEU) between Rotterdam and Hengelo assures the exchange of goods and serves already today the near German–Dutch border region Euregio by approximately 40% of the containers handled. Latest drive and control technology guarantee excellent operating quality, for example the application of a failsafe SPS, Sinamics inverter technology with regenerative power unit and power supply to the trolley via conductor line with data bus.
The Tukan 750 (or Tukan K with integrated hopper) is the ideal, economical machine for handling bulk goods as well as other cargoes. In the so-called ‘kangaroo operation’ it achieves peak handling capacities. With this method, besides the short load paths and swing lengths arising from the articulated jib design principle, there is a second decisive benefit: the handling operation is carried out essentially by the luffing movement.
The slewing movement therefore becomes secondary and the effects of braking and acceleration processes which normally occur during the trolley travel movements of ship unloaders are eliminated. As early as 1932,Ardelt had invented the double jib level luffing principle and since then has implemented further developments. The jib system or double jib level luffing system comprises four elements: A-frame, jib boom, tie-back and jib. The crucial point about this special geometry: it allows the desired horizontal load path to be realized by mechanical means without having to expend energy through the hoisting gear.
Characteristic of this design is the downward-pointing jib: it decisively shortens the length of the free-swinging rope. This means, above all, in comparison to single jib cranes: the horizontal load path and the closeness of the jib to the load allow excellent productivity rates. Thanks to the short free- swinging rope lengths, positioning becomes very simple and precise, even in wind and bad weather conditions — a great advantage for all types of operation.
In addition, the short free-pendulum lengths make the double jib level luffing crane ideal for semi-automatic operation, especially in the integrated hopper version. The Tukan K is a special model, equipped with a hopper integrated on the seaside (like a kangaroo pouch). The corresponding outlet devices are installed on the underside of this hopper. This enables the loading of lorries, trains, conveyor belts and other means of transport and/or dumping of bulk material at storage sites and stockpiles. With its high working speeds, its short load paths, its universal usability and its low weight, it is perfectly suitable for handling bulk material. Here, it reaches peak handling capacities of 2,000tph, with an unrivalled low energy consumption of 0.2kWh/t. Thanks to the Tukan K’s working method, centrifugal forces, which automatically occur with mobile harbour cranes, can be avoided. The Tukan K with its integrated hopper is the most modern and cost-efficient alternative to conventional ship unloaders. No alternative system works nearly as efficiently as the Tukan K. Additionally, even when handling general cargo and containers, the Tukan K can fully make use of the systematic benefits of a double jib level luffing crane:

  • high positioning accuracy;
  • horizontal load path (mechanically secured); and
  • high speed of work.