Buhler builds shiploaders in China

The port of Beiliang is located near the international sea port city of
Dalian in the northeast of China. It is strategically located, boasting
excellent road, rail, and air links.

At present, the port has ten
berths for ocean-going vessels, including docks for grain, petrochemicals, and
vegetables plus one multipurpose berth each for containers and general
commodities. The port of Beiliang handles 28 million metric tons

of goods every
year.

World class terminals
A number
of world-class grain terminals for storing and handling grain are situated just
next to the berths for grain ships. This entire “grain complex” consists of
three large docks for grain handling, a grain terminal elevator with a holding
capacity of 870,000 metric tons, and a national grain warehouse

that holds 600,000 tons.

For
overland transportation, a total of 2400 hopper cars are available in four
marshalling yards, in addition to over 40 trucks for road shipments.

The
facility is also equipped with control and test systems, proportioning
installations, a complete automatic control system, an information management
system, and other installations for handling and weighing bulk
materials.

The maximum capacity of the grain transshipping facility for
unloading rail vehicles and loading ships is 4000 metric tons an hour. That for
unloading ships amounts to 2000 tons per hour, and for loading rail vehicles
1000 tons per hour. The annual grain handling volume amounts to 12 million
metric tons.

First loader from Buhler
In early 2005, the
Beiliang port authority decided to increase loading capacity by adding two more
ship loaders. The goal was to optimize operations and to create a possibility to
simultaneously load ships with different materials at two different
piers.

As part of this expansion project, the port authority decided to
install two Buhler ship loaders provided with advanced equipment
and reflecting the state of the art – the first such units to be supplied to a
customer in China. These mechanical loaders operate continuously with a
throughput of 1000 metric tons per hour each.

Special
features
The two new ship loaders are equipped with loading head dust
suppressors. Throughout the loading operation, these units effectively suppress
dust emissions, keeping the surroundings clean and ensuring compliance with
environmental protection regulations.

The effectiveness of this dust
control system has proved to be higher than that of systems applied on other
ship loaders.

In addition, the two facilities also have a
state-of-the-art automatic system for the remote control of all
operations.

Other features include various installations for ensuring
safe and reliable operation. The entire installation is provided with a
dependable quality assurance system from design features to main
components.

Parts of the loaders were manufactured in China under the
Buhler quality assurance system. The two new loaders from Buhler have definitely
improved the efficiency and quality of ship loading in the port of
Beiliang.