There appears to be no single pattern among the major manufacturers, but frustration levels have definitely grown. While some mobile shipunloader makers report inquiries have increased over 2008-2009 levels others report that the projects have been slow to go to bid, which has prevented them from achieving the boost in business they desired. “Although the world economy has improved, it did not have the impact on the specific mobile shipunloader market that we expected,” laments Jorgen Ojeda, Sales Director, Mobile Unloaders, for Cargotec Sweden AB. Not surprisingly, competition for advancing projects was “fierce with both European and Chinese manufacturers,” says Ojeda, referring to a recent project won by Cargotec to supply a Siwertell 5000S mobile shipunloader for Faxe Kalk of Denmark.
Healthy 1st Quarter
However, overall for the entire Cargotec Group, a healthy 20% sales boost is predicted for 2011 after a strong 1st Quarter, according to the interim report released late in April, which also noted cost pressure on the markets. “Market activity for cargo handling solutions has despite the natural catastrophes afflicting the world, strengthened to the extent that we raise our estimated sales growth for 2011 to approximately 20%,” reports Cargotec President & CEO, Mikael Makinen. “Our strong order intake for the 1st Quarter confirms our success in the markets.” However, as 2011 reaches its half-way point, some major manufacturers of mobile shipunloaders are not yet back to pre-recession levels. In fact, while inquiries are up slightly, actual business for some appears flat, languishing at the same deflated rate of 2010, while others are booming . . . no two manufacturers are the same. In Holland, Hans Van Est, Sales Manager Bulk Handling, for Van Aalst Bulk Handling BV, says the past two years have been a struggle, but the market is responding again and 2011 is full of “good expectations.” Copycat mobile unloaders built in China and India have proven to be less than expected in performance and reliability and now the customers are returning to the more established manufacturers such as Van Aalst. In Germany, rival IBAU Hamburg has noted fewer inquiries for their road mobile shipunloader units, but increasing interest in the rail-mounted models. IBAU’s Mario Raemmele says the company has returned to pre-recession order levels and the most popular models are not the road mobiles that can flit from dock to dock, but the higher capacity rail-mounted shipunloaders. At another German maker, Neuero Industrietechnik, Tomas Kisslinger, has seen order levels return to peak 2008. However, he says there is increasing anxiety about world economic conditions – an increasingly unstable Middle East, continuing financial difficulties in Europe and the United States, and rising concerns over inflation because of the huge amount of government stimulus money pumped into the market – making the market “very volatile” and possibly “bringing the next bubble closer.”
Best Buhler year
On a broader corporate scene, another German mobile shipunloader maker, the Buhler Group, is faring well and notes the results are partially due to the recovery of the global economy. In its annual report for 2010 – the group’s 150th anniversary year – the group noted it had been “the best year ever in the entire history of Buhler,” with the order intake exceeding 2 billion Swiss francs for the first time, not a bad record in a global recession. While mobile shipunloaders, such as Buhler’s popular Portanova line, are only a small segment of overall corporate performance, all three group divisions contributed to growth, including grain processing where the mobile shipunloaders are primarily sold. The Portanova can handle up to 300 tonnes per hour of fine to coarse grain or mealy and floury materials such as grain, oilseeds derivatives and animal feeds. Both rubber-tyred and rail mounted versions are available, as well as a stationary model, all featuring a boom that can be lowered to the ground for easier maintenance.
Versatility
In fact, it’s the versatility and flexibility of mobile shipunloaders that secures their niche in bulk materials handling. The Cargotec Siwertell 5,000S, 10,000S, and 15,000S models are fully road mobile, making it easy to transport them to another dock within a port, or to another site altogether. Ojeda notes that because of its unique foldable structure, it takes only 30 to 45 minutes to prepare the rubber-tyred unit mounted on a semi-trailer for relocation or to unfold the shipunloader at its new dock. These rubber tyred versions are the biggest sellers for Cargotec, led by the trailer based, diesel-engined 5,000S model, but like most mobile shipunloaders, the Siwertell range can also be mounted on a gantry, stationary foundation, or even on a barge/vessel depending on customer needs. You’ll find Siwertell mobile shipunloaders handling many types of free-flowing dry bulk cargoes such as cement, alumina, sulphur (with a Siwertell sulphur safety system), grain, feedstuff, biomass and fertilizers.
Market potential
At Neuero, contract successes in 2010 and so far in 2011 have included sales to Libya, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and at home on the German domestic market. Kisslinger says there is also further potential in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and Russia. From mobile shiploader order to commissioning usually takes from six to 10 months and the main components of the machine are made in Germany with the steel structure being fabricated in other countries depending on where the buyer is located. At Cargotec the order to commissioning can be as fast as two to three months with the shipunloaders being built in Sweden. A typical time span from order to commissioning for IBAU can be as much as 12 months with fabrication being done based on the final order location. The most popular models are those mounted on rails because of their higher capacity than rubber-tyred varieties. At Van Aalst in Holland, the market for the larger mobile shipunloaders has in the past largely been in the United States, says Van Est, and that market has unfortunately collapsed. These are the dock mobile unloaders that can handle vessels up to 45,000 deadweight tonnes, but there’s growing interest in mobile unloaders for vessels up to 20,000 dwt in Europe. Road mobile interest is strong in Russia, particularly in cement and fly ash. Bangladesh is also a growing market for fly ash unloading. So far this year Van Aalst has had “two nice orders” from southern Europe and Van Est likes the possibilities in the Middle East.
Improvements
Most mobile shipunloader designs haven’t changed in the past year, but there have been numerous environmental improvements over recent years, say the manufacturers. For IBAU the breakthrough has been an improved bearing system and safety features to avoid stress in the steel structure. Neuero has made” many small steps” by way of improvements to keep its multiport shipunloaders successful, says Kisslinger, including manufacturing their own winches that better adapt to rough environments. Environmental advances have included increased blower efficiency to minimise power consumption – pneumatic shipunloaders are already deemed “environmentally friendly” when it comes to bulk materials handling. For Van Aalst, noise reduction has seen breakthroughs thanks to recent innovations. So much so that Van Est calls his mobile shipunloaders the “whispering machines” because they are so quiet – only 70 dB(A) sound reading at one meter, for example, and down to 40 dB(A) at 150 meters. “It was quite a challenge, but we have proven it is possible to have much quieter machines,” he adds. Previous standards had noise acceptable at 85 dB(A) at ports, but Van Est says more and more facilities are being built close to housing these days and noise reduction is imperative.
Continuous upgrades
At Cargotec, Ojeda says working on environmental improvements is a continuous task. “Our diesel engines fulfill the latest Environmental Protection Agency/ European Uni
on regulations when it comes to exhaust and sound emissions.” Cargotec has also recently upgraded its bellows system by changing the supplier and improving functionality. Automatic shifting between bellows in a double bellows system is now offered and radio control operation is an option for this activity. Meanwhile, the Cargotec Siwertell mobile shipunloaders are amid a radio system upgrade for operation control. As well, foldable sound hoods are offered for operation in areas with stringent sound emission regulations. And for materials such as sulphur and biomass that could be potentially hazardous during unloading operations, Cargotec has developed elaborate safety systems in order to protect both the operators and the equipment.