Some major manufacturers such as Tenova Takraf, part of the Techint Group of Italy, report they have been urged to cut equipment prices in the mining and bulk handling industry. Others contend that the “cost above all else rule” is a pathway strewn with rocks that will end up hurting in the long term. Among those with cautionary warnings about going for low price alone is Sandvik Mining & Construction Materials Handling GmbH, a big name in bulk materials handling. Sandvik Global Product Line Manager Projects & Systems, Thomas Jabs, told World Port Development: “If you entrust a company to supply equipment that represents the lifeline of your business, you want to make sure that you select the best solution. Saving a few bucks at the wrong place to have a quick procurement success can backfire exponentially. The majority of customers today appreciate that.” However, Tenova Takraf, with its popular bucket chain type CSU, has found that customers are generally no longer primarily concerned with quality but with price, says Roberta Ferrara, company spokeswoman. She adds that Tenova has been forced to pit quality considerations against lower prices to compete with Chinese manufacturers who are bent on dumping prices using Japanese licenses to get a foothold in the world market. This has meant cancelling unnecessary accessories on Tenova CSUs, both in environmental control and in time life design enhancements.
Projects aborted
Asked by WPD if buyers really cared anymore that bucket type CSUs had environmental advantages over the likes of grab cranes, Ferrara responds: “Theoretically, yes, but when it comes down to the price aspect nobody wants to spend more to take care of the environment.” You win some, you lose some might well sum up Tenova’s 2010. The Italian company submitted two tenders for its bucket chain type CSUs and could do little but watch as two other projects were aborted as European steel mills continued to drastically decrease production. Ferrara says Tenova expects ports, energy and steel making will be the first sectors to restart once the global recession finally eases off. “We are expecting a good number of official requests for quotations, but we also believe that such requests will be finalised in contracts no earlier than the end of 2011 and early 2012.”
Resource vigour
Meanwhile, even with the squeeze on pricing, the market is hoping the renewed vigour for natural resources such as coal and iron ore around the world will lead to a burst of orders later in 2011. As far as years go, 2010 was not one to write home about. Some had projects lingering from earlier years to work on, but didn’t sign a single deal in 2010. Ishikawajima Transport Machinery Group (IUK) of Japan – part of the IHI Group – found itself in this position, says Masao Akamatsu, General Manager of IUK’s Overseas Sales Department. IUK produces an elevated bucket type CSU and has its eye on South East Asia’s energy sector and rapid growth in India where numerous coal-fired power stations are under planning, as well as several coal handling projects. “We expect our best markets will be Malaysia, India and Vietnam in 2011,” says Akamatsu, in a market year he expects will be better than 2010. And it’s not that IUK hasn’t been reasonably busy. It has secured a major domestic coal-handling contract in Japan for a leading power producer with stacker-reclaimer and conveyor system, but no CSU in the deal. IUK also expects to win several CSU refurbishing contracts in the next two to three years in the mature Japanese market. Akamatsu defends the advantages of CSUs even if their price is steeper than the grab crane alternative and claims CSUs “are better overall.” He notes the superior unloading efficiency of CSUs over grabs, which he says allows users to reduce such things as their ship demurrage costs. IUK has been in the crane business for more than 100 years and recently has made structural and other design changes improving the environmentally friendliness of its CSUs. One change saw the replacement of hydraulic drives with an easier to maintain electrical drive system. Like many rival manufacturers, IUK has its own base equipment production factories in Japan supplemented by a network of partners around the world. Its CSUs are busy handling coal, iron ore, grain and similar bulk products in many countries.
Global desires
Another Asian manufacturer, Doosan Heavy Industries, of South Korea, has its eyes on worldwide sales after a long and successful domestic CSU experience in bulk handling systems in power plants, steel making plants, the cement and fertilizer industries, and in mining. Doosan’s Overseas Marketing Manager, Taeho Kim, says the big equipment manufacturer is seeking contracts in Taiwan initially, and hopes eventually to go all over the world. The company has enjoyed repeat orders from buyers at home such as Korea Electric Power and POSCO, because Kim says “the quality is already proven.” In 2011, Kim says Doosan expects several orders for its CSUs in both the domestic and overseas markets. Doosan has a new factory in Vietnam for fabricating ship to shore and other cranes and if the demand builds, CSUs could also be made there. And not one to agree that low price is the only essential in contract success; Kim says price and efficiency are also key, along with durability and after-sales services. With over 20 years experience in the Korean market under its belt, Doosan is ready to tackle the world in earnest in 2011 and he predicts there’s a boom market ahead. He also notes that Korea was one of the first countries out of the global recession and is ready for new ventures.
German view
In Europe, one who takes satisfac
tion that the market is finally growing for bulk handling equipment such as CSUs is ThyssenKrupp Fordertechnik’s Vice President of Sales, Dr Wei Ye, in Germany. ThyssennKrupp Fordertechnik (TKF) makes a chain bucket elevator type CSU and has three current contracts for the unloaders in China serving coal-fired power plants, bringing the total to 15 CSUs in that country. Dr Ye also sees Indonesia being a strong prospect for continuous barge unloading (CBU) projects and puts stock in the merging Southeast Asian market overall for the company’s bucket elevator shipunloader, especially in coal handling facilities and coal terminals, and in power plants. ThyssenKrupp will this year commission a 3,000 tonne-per-hour continuous barge unloader for coal for Kalimantan in Borneo. It is the third CBU designed and built by the German company in Indonesia. Worldwide it has over 50 CBUs in service, some of which have been in operation for more than 25 years. Early in 2010, TKF commissioned a 4,000tph barge unloader for PT Indominco Mandiri at Botang, also in Kalimantan. Orders continue to mount as customers see CBUs in successful operation. But, Dr Ye says it is more than that and includes factors such as high unloading capacity, travelling mobility, low maintenance and lower installed power and energy consumption compared to screw type unloaders or grab cranes. The efficiency of being able to empty the hull right down to the bottom of the barge without using a Bobcat, making the sweeping of the barge unnecessary, is also seen as an added advantage, he adds. And TKF has also had success in the fertilizer industry in Indonesia, signing a contract in February 2010 for the design and supply of a coal-handling plant, including a CBU, a circular stacker-reclaimer and conveyor belt system. The contract was for Pupuk Kaltim, a key player in the Indonesian fertilizer industry, for the boiler plant of the Bontang Fertilizer Complex in Kalimantan. ThyssenKrupp developed a new generation of continuous barge unloader which it says meets all requirements for unloading efficiency, environmental protection, and low operation and maintenance cost.
North America
Despite the stimulus money being handed out in the United States, it is a quiet theatre when it comes to CSU sales. Even the thousands of miles of inland rivers and other waterways haven’t brought much in new business. “We have seen no real activity in the last year in barge unloading,” says Harry Edelman, Executive Vice President of Pittsburgh-based Heyl & Patterson. With its CBUs active in the coal, limestone, petroleum coke, iron ore, woodchips and grain industries at up to 5,000 tph, Heyl & Patterson is among several CSU and CBU makers looking for a busier year ahead.