A year ago, the major manufacturers of these huge, big ticket machines sensed something was afoot as they worked their way through seemingly constant economic gloom and continuing challenges. Many have grown leaner and fitter since then, and they’re signing contracts again. Most are looking ahead with rare optimism for this segment of the bulk handling machinery business to bounce back even stronger from the years in the doldrums. The big manufacturers just love to talk about repeat orders or new customers signing big contracts.
Remarkable year
The reputed world leader by sales, IHI Transport Machinery Co Ltd., (known as IUK), of Japan, had what it calls a “very remarkable year” for the bucket or elevator type CSUs it makes. And a repeat order led the way when Dragon Steel Corp in Taichung Port in Taiwan backed up a two machine 2009 order with two more CSUs in 2012. The new CSUs are rated at 3,000 tonnes per hour for iron ore unloading and 2,100 tph for coal handling. It’s a coupe for the Japanese company, not only for signing a repeat order to the big Taiwanese steel company, but it is also seen as verification of the value of CSUs over the competition, such as grab cranes.
IUK’s General Manager, Masao Akamatsu, sees the CSU sale as a vindication of its superiority in higher operational efficiency and better environmental protection. “And since iron ore cannot be unloaded by screw type unloaders, the bucket elevator type we produce offers a unique solution for this trend in the steel industry.”
But, that’s not all that was remarkable about IUK’s year. The company, which claims to have more CSUs in operation around the world than any other rival, also scored a two machine order from Formosa Ha Tinh Steel Corp (FHS) for a new steel plant in Vietnam. The new plant will have CSUs capable of unloading 3,000 tph or iron ore and 2,100 tph or coal as it produces seven million tonnes of crude steel a year in its first phase, en route to an eventual capacity of 20 million tonnes per year.
IUK plans to deliver the first CSU by Quarter 4 of 2014 and the second in Quarter 2 of 2015. The big unloaders will be able to service vessels up to 300,000 deadweight tonnes.
Not surprisingly, with 10 CSUs now in operation in Taiwan alone, Akamatsu says that since the world’s major steel companies have many ambitious plans to build large scale steel plants in Southeast Asia, this year that’s where IUK will focus its efforts.
He instances Indonesia and Malaysia as targets where IUK plans to expand and explore the market for CSUs and other material handling products and also adds India as a priority market for the Japanese company. Through what the company calls “aggressive marketing activities,” IUK plans to land two or three CSU orders a year.
Another repeat
A repeat customer was also the order of the day for German manufacturer ThyssenKrupp Fordertechnik (TKF), which landed a fresh contract with China where it says it holds 75% of the market share. The latest two CSU order is for the Zhujiang power plant in Guangzhou City and follows two that have been in operation there since 1994.
ThyssenKrupp Vice President Sales, Dr Wei Ye, just back from a sales trip to South America, says the two chain bucket elevator CSUs will have an unloading rate of 1,500 to 1,600 tph, with ship sizes ranging up to 70,000 dwt for now and up to 100,000 dwt in the future.
“For ThyssenKrupp, this follow-up order not only means being awarded a further contract, but also represents continuity with respect to design, supply, construction and management, and demonstrates the client’s appreciation of and satisfaction with ThyssenKrupp’s performance,” says Dr Ye.
The delivery of the new CSUs is set for late this year with commercial operation expected to begin in February 2014. As a highly-respected designer and manufacturer of CSUs, ThyssenKrupp has added to its major role in helping develop China’s coal ports and power plants. As well as CSU sales, it also lists successes in rail car dumpers, shiploaders, stacker-reclaimers, and other bulk handling equipment.
For Dr Ye, the past year for the CSU business still faced “a very difficult market overall.” Much of the competition in shipunloading comes from grab equipped cranes, which some contest are better suited to a wider range of material handling in a busy, multi-product port, because of the ease of grab changes. But, CSUs haven’t got this far in the market without having some major advantages in their own right and usually operate with less dusting, can handle a wide density of materials, almost complete automatic unloading if desired (something that Dr Ye says is increasingly important in sales to Europe and Australia), and most L-shaped bucket systems reduce the manual cleanup needed by dozers in the hold. Companies like IUK are also offering customers the option of remote monitoring systems which watch the operating conditions of the machinery and help prevent mechanical and electrical trouble.
Barge unloaders
As a cousin to their big continuous shipunloader relatives, continuous barge unloaders (CBUs) are also worthy of mention in bulk materials handling, albeit on a lesser scale. Huge tonnages of coal, wood chips, and grain move along the river ways of
the world and need efficient unloading. That’s where companies like Heyl & Patterson, of Pittsburg PA, come onto the scene in North America, along with other industry names such as Metso Minerals.
At H&P, Executive Vice President, Harry Edelman, says the inquiry levels are up and two sales are confirmed. “The continuous barge unloader market is not a huge one and to my knowledge it has been several years since anyone in the United States has sold any,” says Edelman.
“To sign two orders is pretty surprising,” he adds. “We continue to keep bulk commodities moving in all directions and the ports are spending dollars again.” The revival of fortunes, some believe, could be tied into higher export and import traffic expectations linked to the expansion of the Panama Canal, which is now reported to be over 50% complete. H&P’s two CBU order is to separate companies exporting grain and coal along the Mississippi River. One of the unloaders will be delivered within six months – the normal order to delivery time can be 12 to 18 months – and the second in the late part of the year.
Nibbles
The Pittsburg CBU manufacturer has started to get “nibbles worldwide” as reliance on barge traffic grows, says Edelman. However, it’s not always an easy fit. The barges plying the Mississippi are flat bottomed while those using the Columbia River through Oregon and Washington have a more distinctive V-shape. Barges in Europe that are so common on the mighty rivers such as the Rhine or the Danube are a different style again. So far, H&P hasn’t pursued CBU sales in Europe, but there are parts of the world that are definitely intriguing. But, there have been inquiries from Europe about wood chips and wood pellets which have Edelman and his team pondering a ground-breaking “maybe.”