Materials handling specialist, Demag Cranes & Components Ltd, has supplied three Steelmaster crane systems to ParkerSteel, as part of the development of a new 14 acre steel processing and distribution facility at Shoreham Port.
ParkerSteel, part of John Parker & Son Ltd, is one of Britain’s largest suppliers of structural beams and columns to the construction industry. The new Shoreham Port facility complements the company’s existing operation at its Canterbury head office and provides additional capacity to meet a sustained increase in demand for its products. The dockside location of the new facility was chosen to allow imported steel to be offloaded, by dockside crane, directly into the stockyard and co-located processing plant, eliminating the costly transport from port to factory.
The dockside crane places the steel beams immediately under the Demag cranes, for further lifting and movement to the appropriate storage area within the stockyard. The steel beams are then loaded onto conveyor systems, which take them into the factory for processing and next day delivery to customers or ParkerSteel’s other stock holding sites.
To meet the specific materials handling needs of ParkerSteel’s application, Demag supplied three double girder Steelmaster cranes, all of which have a span of 36 m and are rated at 8 + 8 tonnes SWL. All three cranes have two Steelmaster crab units, each
equipped with an independently controlled 4 tonnes SWL magnet. The magnets were specified to eliminate the time consuming operation of “slinging” loads and to improve safety by excluding operators from the loading process.
The cranes have long travel speeds of 4-125 m per minute, cross travel speeds of 5/32 m per minute and hoisting speeds of 2-12.5 m per minute under load. Drive motors feature AC inverters for infinite control of movement and precise positioning accuracy in all motions. Operation of the cranes and the magnets is via joystick radio remote control.
In designing and engineering the crane systems, Demag took into account the harsh and potentially corrosive environment of the seaside location. To maximise operational time and promote safe handling, anti pendulation reeving systems have been incorporated to eliminate “load sway”, even in the severe winds associated with the coastal location.
ParkerSteel’s Shoreham Port processing and distribution facility will be fully operational in early 2010, by which time it will have the capacity to handle 1000 tonnes of steel per day. The company’s Commercial Manager, John Goring, stated that the scale of the operation influenced the decision to specify Demag cranes:
“With such a large volume of throughput, any down time, as a result of crane failure, would compromise our operation. Previous happy experiences of Demag equipment and the company’s reputation for reliability were major factors in our decision to place the business with Demag.”
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