April 2009 (pdf) - Port Nelson

Port Nelson Limited report. April 2009. Page 10
meet the client
Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd
It’s the second ‘most used commodity’ in the world after water, and it’s delivered to our port every fortnight.
The product is cement from Holcim (New Zealand) Ltd, a
leading global supplier with New Zealand origins dating back
to 1888. Holcim now supplies cement in bulk to ready-mix
concrete and other customers using eight dedicated marine
terminals at the ports of Auckland, Napier, Gisborne, New
Plymouth, Wellington, Lyttelton, Dunedin and Nelson. Cement
supplied to Nelson comes from Holcim’s Westport works, which
have been operating virtually non-stop for the last fifty years.
Tim Knight is the Nelson Depot Supervisor, and he and a
tanker driver oversee the discharge of bulk cement from the
two carriers, MV Milburn Carrier II and MV Westport to the 27m
storage silo on Wakefield Quay, and thence around the Top of
the South. The vessels visit Nelson every couple of weeks and
can discharge pneumatically between 180 and 330 tonnes
per hour, taking around 12 -14 hours to fill the 2800 tonne
capacity silo. With both vessels making around 300 port calls
each year, Tim says he really appreciates the work that goes on
behind the scenes to make the berth available to the ships.
“Port Nelson Ltd ties our ships up and provides services, so we
have a very close relationship,” he says. “The location of our
pipes means we are restricted to just one berth – so it’s a big
task to fit our needs in with the rest of the shipping schedule.
The port company has their own matrix to juggle and because
of the nature of the business, things can change fast but we
rarely have a delay and they keep us well notified.”
Limestone is quarried at Cape Foulwind, processed into cement
at the Westport Works, then trucked and stored in silos at the
Westport wharf before being loaded on to the ships.
Holcim Westport liaises with Port Nelson, and depending on
the tides, the availability of the berth and the needs of other
depots around the country, a schedule is worked out and Tim
is notified. However, he says if there is a big job at another
centre it might change the whole equation.
Tim says Holcim does a fantastic job of forecasting and
updating stocks everyday, and this ties into production. It also
helps that concrete companies are good at giving Holcim
notice of any big jobs they have coming up.
Holcim and Port Nelson have a shared commitment to
health and safety and environmental issues, and Tim says
the company is great at keeping him informed about port
activities.
“As a contractor sited at the port we have monthly meetings
with Cargo Operations and Port Security, stevedoring reps
and others, and we are consulted about any issues that may
affect our operations. For example, we were involved in an
emergency plan for periphery services developed following
the July 2008 storm that closed the port.”
The Wakefield Quay cement silo had a makeover in 2002
when Holcim New Zealand rebranded. The global brand logo
of Swiss company Holderbank Cement, a stylised black H
painted over a red C, replaced the previous Milburn signage. It
is now one of the most visible brands on the Nelson cityscape,
which is fitting, since cement from the silo has helped to build
our city and our region.