Gottwald Port Technology has delivered a sixth heavy-duty mobile harbour crane to The Port of Southampton. The latest crane, a G HMK 6407 B, was purchased by Associated British Ports and is the latest investment in the development of its bulk terminal. Solent Stevedores, operator of the bulk terminal located in the Western Docks Southampton, has enjoyed significant success in operations thanks to the accelerated growth of the bulk business in the area.
Doug Morrison, port director at ABP Southampton, commented “ABP has worked hard in partnership with Solent Stevedores to develop the bulk terminal, the most recent investment being a third high-capacity Gottwald crane to be delivered to the bulk terminal, which will greatly assist.”
The Gottwald G HMK 6407 B, one of Gottwald’s Generation 5 models, weighs over 400 tonnes and is fitted with a 1,112kW diesel engine providing the primary power. The crane has a maximum lifting capacity of 100 tonnes on hook and a 50-tonne grab curve capable of handling the largest vessels calling in Southampton.
ABOUT GOTTWALDGottwald Port Technology, based in Du¨sseldorf, Germany, is a subsidiary of Demag Cranes AG. Founded more than 100 years ago, the company manufactures state-of-the-art equipment for efficient cargo-handling in ports and terminals under the Gottwald brand name. Thanks to their electrical drive concepts, these products, supplied by Gottwald to more than 90 countries worldwide, meet the steadily growing requirements of economical and environmentally compatible operation.
As the inventor of the mobile harbour crane Gottwald Port Technology manufactures mobile harbour cranes with lifting
capacities of up to 200 tonnes and radii of up to 56 metres for all kinds of applications and for all sizes of ships in all types of terminals. Gottwald mobile harbour crane technology — proven more than 1,000 times over worldwide — also extends to rail-mounted portal cranes and floating cranes.
ABOUT THE PORT OF SOUTHAMPTONSouthampton is one of the UK’s busiest and ports, and a principal driver in the regional economy. It handles in excess of 42 million tonnes of cargo annually — or around 7% of the UK’s entire seaborne trade — and is the main gateway for Far East imports. Its natural deep-water harbour, unique double tide and sophisticated Vessel Traffic Services (VTS) allow the port to welcome the world’s largest vessels, from deep-sea container ships to cruise giants. Equipped to handle any type of cargo, Southampton is a leading car-handling port, home to the UK’s second largest container terminal (DP World Southampton) and the sole UK port for all Canary Islands fresh-produce imports.
Dry bulk at Southampton
Southampton is a growing force in the import and export bulk- cargoes sector. A 5-ha multi-user bulk terminal is situated in the port’s Western Docks, dedicated to the handling of dry-bulk cargoes and minerals, including animal feed, fertilizer, scrap, aggregates and marble chippings. It is operated by Solent Stevedores Ltd, a specialist independent stevedoring company.
The volumes of bulk handled at Southampton have soared in recent years and, with growth set to continue, ABP has enhanced the handling and storage facilities at the bulk terminal. This has recently been expanded into the King George V Dry Dock, providing a further 2.8 ha of land for dry-cargo handling.
New product from 4B — adjustable depth bearing temperature sensors (ADB)
4B Braime Elevator Components’ adjustable depth bearing (ADB) temperature sensors have been designed to allow the depth of the probe to be adjustable depending on the application. The ADB series is available with three standard probe lengths of 2, 4 or 8 inches (50, 100 and 200mm), and screw directly into a bearing housing through the existing grease zerk thread. There is no need to remove the sensor for bearing lubrication since each sensor is fitted with its own grease zerk. The ADB series has NTC type thermistors which allow for continuous temperature monitoring, and they can be connected to a PLC or to a hazard monitoring system, such as 4B’s T500 Hotbus Elite or Watchdog Elite. The ADB Series of bearing temperature sensors has been approved for use in hazardous areas according to ATEX, CSA and IECEx.
OTHER TYPES OF BEARING TEMPERATURE SENSORS ARE ALSO AVAILABLE FROM 4B:
- The WDB7 series is a lug-style NTC thermistor model for continuous surface temperature monitoring and has been designed to bolt directly onto a bearing housing, motor, gearbox, or machine casing. The mounting hole is 5/16” from the factory, but can be drilled up to 1/2” if needed. The sensor can be connected to a PLC or to a hazard monitoring system, such as 4B’s T500 Hotbus Elite,Watchdog Elite, or T400 Elite. The connections are not polarity sensitive therefore special connections requirements are eliminated.
- The WDB8 Series is a range of bearing temperature sensors designed to screw directly into an existing grease zerk fitting on a bearing housing. Each sensor is fitted with a grease nipple to allow lubrication of the bearing without the need for removal of the sensor. The WDB Series is available with either a PTC thermistor with various factory set trip points or an NTC thermistor with a user adjustable trip point.
- The MDB Series is a range of bearing sensors manufactured to screw directly into a bearing housing through the existing 1/4” BSPT threaded grease zerk (can be installed in 1/8” NPT grease zerk fitting with an adapter). Each sensor is fitted with a grease zerk to allow lubrication of the bearing without the need for removal of the sensor. The sensor is fitted with a M12 connector for use with a separately supplied cable and socket assembly which can be attached connected directly to a PLC or to a hazard monitoring system, such as 4B’s T500 Hotbus Elite, Watchdog Elite, or T400 Elite. The connections are not polarity sensitive therefore special connection requirements are eliminated.
4B Braime Elevator Components supplies level controls, intelligent sensors and safety control systems that prevent costly downtime and minimize the risk of explosion in hazardous areas.
NKS speeds up storage operations with RDS on-board weighing
North Killingholme Storage (NKS) provides one-stop storage and logistical solutions, including Customs- approved warehousing for bulk products. Based in North Lincolnshire, near Immingham docks, a wide variety of products are received from across the world, stored and then screened to the customer’s requirements before being sent out again.
Total capacity of the NKS site is over 250,000ft2 and around a million tonnes of different product is turned around each year. To help speed up this operation, NKS has invested in two Loadmaster 9000i onboard weighing systems from RDS North Eastern Ltd for use on its two Volvo L120F wheeled loaders.
RDS Technology manufactures a wide range of weighing systems suitable for all types of loader in the material handling industry including for use on wheeled loaders used in quarrying, recycling and open cast mining. The Loadmaster 9000i is trade-approved for the commercial sale of goods to MID Class Y(b) and OIML Class R51 & R76 standards and at NKS is currently used in conjunction with a weighbridge, to ensure accurate loading, reducing the time trucks spend on site, increasing accountability and to speed up the complete operation.
Through use of the telemetry link option in the Loadmaster, NKS is looking to phase out the weighbridge and simply send load data direct from the loader to the office where a printed ticket will be automatically produced. This is due to go live later in the year and will further improve operational productivity.
NKS has used RDS weighing systems for over 20 years as Shaun Dannatt, warehouse manager at NKS explains, “We have loaders that was fitted with RDS North 9000i onboard weighing systems.
One of NKS’ two Volvo L120F wheeled Eastern Ltd’s Loadmaster
received nothing but excellent service and product support from RDS North Eastern, who have always responded quickly and effectively to any question or support issue. The loader operators get on well with the RDS system and in such an operation as we have here it certainly helps our aim of achieving a quick vehicle turn around.”
Credit control for 3PLs
As news of the spending cuts is still sweeping the nation it is now more important than ever to make sure your credit control department is working in the most efficient way possible, writes Matthew Marriott, commercial director of Hellmann UK.
Process efficiencies and new business contracts are the only way we can sustain a standstill or growth situation in today’s climate to overcome the negative impact of spending cuts and continue trading and making profit. For 3PLs one of the crucial elements in protecting the company’s results is to review the processes in place for investigating the credit worthiness of both existing and new clients (alongside making sure your invoices are getting paid on time).
As well as running financial checks on new clients before contracts are signed, it is equally important to run regular checks on existing clients to ensure that exposure to risk is limited. By building up a picture of your client’s financial position (through using simple and cost effective searches, such as those provided by Experian, and supported by research at Companies House) you’ll be able to see whether your client is keeping their head above water in these difficult times and may enable you to take early action to prevent a loss if their results are declining.
Taking a closer look at the company’s full accounts will give you a better understanding of the firm’s position. If questions remain, the next step would be to talk to its financial or managing director – you’ll be able to gauge from talking to these key personnel whether they are happy to talk about their financial position and are on top of their company’s strategy. Keep the lines of communications open so that, if things become
a little harder to manage further down the line, your personal relationship with the client helps to manage the effects. Offering alternative payment patterns to support your client’s cash flow (within a reasonable time period) is one option which can protect your position and strengthen the ties of loyalty with your customer.
With the indirect effect of job losses in the public sector threatening to affect high street spending and reduce demand for manufacturing output, turning business away at the moment is hard. If a decision to turn business away or restrict credit is made, this can cause tensions to arise between the credit control and sales departments but it all comes down to the fact that, if a client doesn’t pay, the company doesn’t make any money. It’s as simple as that.
At Hellmann, the company is starting to encourage its sales staff to spend time with credit control to give them a greater understanding of the process, how decisions are reached, and why it’s so important for the profitability of the company. This is also helping to build a really positive working atmosphere between the departments.
Hellmann Worldwide Logistics is one of the largest privately owned and family run logistical global networks, currently employing over 16,500 dedicated people to serve customers worldwide – and operates from 443 branches across 157 countries.
Hellmann’s UK network has ten individual offices based throughout the country including state-of-the-art corporate headquarters at Fradley Park in Lichfield, Staffordshire.