May 13th , 2008: World Port Development: Rise of the Machines - Balancing Act - After years of being down in the doldrums the bulk industry seems to be climbing out of a black hole. With more investments made in cargo handling equipment, the floating crane market grabs a share of the action. Peter van Schie reports. Another type of design that is being applied to floating grab cranes or loading platforms is that of equilibrium or balance crane. (Click here for printer friendly version or here for the original article)

Balancing Act Another type of design that is being applied to floating grab cranes or loading platforms is that of equilibrium or balance crane. One company that is successfully applying this knowledge is Belgium-based lndusign trading under the well-known E-Crane brand (see article in December issue, page 25). Balance cranes are rapidly replacing the world's aging fleet of conventional dock cranes as they are more productive and are cheaper to run and maintain.The design is based on an ingenious parallelogram style boom [almost similar to that of the Lemniscate type crane] and provides a direct mechanical connection between the counterweight and the load.This unique system ensures near perfect balance throughout its full working range. Another advantage of the balance crane over other floating crane concept is the fact that the counterweight moves not only up and down but also back and forward, resulting in a very small tipping moment.This means significantly higher stability: less barge movement, less friction between the floating terminal and the vessel, more precise and faster grab positioning, and greater comfort for the operator and the crew working on board of the floating station.As with any other floating crane, each E-Crane is built to customer specifications.Their latest order for a floating trans-loading station came from Midema (owned by Seaboard Corp), USA, for their operations in Matadi in the Democratic Republic of Congo.The station consists of a 1000m2 barge, equipped with a 1500B-Series E-Crane with an outreach of 39.51-17 and lift capacity of 13.5 tonnes.The "Mama Mobokoli" was inaugurated late February in Zeebrugge, Belgium and will be towed to its final destination, across the Atlantic Ocean to Matadi."Mama Mobokoli" is Lingala (one of Congo's official languages) and translate as "the mother that takes care of you" - the nourishing/feeding mother. The name reflects its duties, as it will be used to unload ships up to handy-max size (capacity 25 to 30.000 tonnes) and feed the Midema (Minoterie de Matadi) flourmill.To unload the ships arriving at Midema, the Mama Mobokoli will be towed alongside the vessel that is to be discharged. Once secured, it uses its winches to move along the ship.This enables the E-Crane to unload all cargo holds quick and efficient. Matadi is the furthest inland harbour on the Congo River and, as in many African ports the users of this Congolese Port are confronted with major congestion problems. The existing infrastructure is dated and neglected with only 1 of the 10 original quays still in operation resulting in berthing waiting periods of up to several weeks.This expensive problem urged Seaboard to look for a suitable solution and after carefully reviewing all options (such as investing in the existing infrastructure, building a new quay), a floating trans-loading station proved to be the quickest, and most flexible and cost-effective solution. Recently, E-Crane® was awarded a mega-contract for the ClTlC (China) mining project in Australia.The contract included 3 floating trans-loading stations, each equipped with 2x 3000-Series E-Cranes capable of handling iron ore at Pilbara in northwest Australia. ClTlC Pacific Mining expects to export 27.6 million tonnes per year. About E-CRANE WORLDWIDE E-Crane® Worldwide/Indusign nv provides design services as well as complete machine production, erection, support, and training with on-going service for the steel industry. E-Crane® is a modern, state-of-the-art engineering and heavy equipment construction company, located at Adegem, Belgium. The flexibility of the organization assures rapid response to changes, excellent product quality and short delivery times. Over the past several years, the E-Crane® product line has been updated and completed and is now supported worldwide by a dealer and service organization. The product line is modular in design allowing "standard" designs and components to be put together into a "custom" solution to meet the customer’s needs. E-Crane is the world leader for large scrap handling machines with an outreach from 24 to 45 meters. INDUSIGN NV Koekoeklaan 53 B9991 Adegem Phone: +32(0)9 3780444 Fax: +32(0)9 3780645 Website: www.indusign.be About ECI-USA E-Crane International USA is focused and committed to the E-Crane® product line. ECI-USA provides engineering, sales, marketing, product, spare parts, and management services for the support of present and future sales of the E- Crane® in North and South America. ECI-USA 1332 Freese Works Place Galion, Ohio 44833 Phone : 419-468-0090 Fax : 419-468-0074 www.ecrane-usa.com About ECI-EUR ECI-EUR (formerly known as EMTI - EMT International B.V. EMTi (Equipment & Machinery Technology International)) was founded in 1991 and is conveniantly located in Oud Gastel, The Netherlands just between two of Europes main seaports, Rotterdam and Antwerp. Also the international airports of Schiphol Amsterdam and Zaventem Brussels are within a one hour drive. ECI-EUR's main activity is the sales and support of the E-Crane® (Equilibrium Crane). The E-Crane is a multifunctional crane designed for bulk material handling, storage, process feeding at ports, harbors, scrap-processing facilities etc. Furthermore, we can supply buckets,grapples, and hooks for the E-Crane® as well as any other make of crane. We can also carry out inspections of your equipment and carry out repairs at any location required. E-Crane International EUROPE Argon 15G 4751XC Oud Gastel The Netherlands Phone ++31-165-320100 Fax ++31-165-320759 www.ecrane-eu   Source: World Port Development March 2008 (pages 38-39) Author(s): Peter van Schie   Updates and Maintenance by E-Crane Worldwide • Contact Webmaster! • ©1999-2008 E-Crane Worldwide / Indusign • Koekoeklaan 53• B-9991 Adegem• Belgium • >>>> EXTRAORDINARY PRODUCTS BY EXTRA ORDINARY PEOPLE <<<<