Rhenus Bulktec for containersRhenus Logistics in Germanyis offering an application calledBulktec as a way of transportinga range of dry bulk commoditiesin standard steel containersinstead of having to use moreexpensive dedicated bulk containers.The Bulktec system comprisesa plastic coated liner bag,into which the cargo is loadedfrom a silo with an air blower.At the discharge point, the processis reversed. The system isclaimed to be particularly suitablefor bulk cargo that creates alot of dust and/or has poor freeflowingcharacteristics. Typicalexamples are paint pigments,cereals, sugar, cement, fertilisersand dry fuels. The (un)loadingprocess is said to take around 30minutes.“The real secret behind thisnew technique is the significantlyhigher utilisation of loadcarryingcapacity,” said GeorgFank, managing director of adedicated new division of RhenusLogistics, Rhenus BulktecSelf-lifting containersAlberta, Canada-based ExcaliburShelters has launched anew “self-lifting container”.Director Douglas Duncan saidfinding an efficient way to movecontainers in remote locations,like oil fields and disaster areaswhere cranes are not available,is a key challenge Excaliburset out to address when designingits self-lifting concept.The SL-Tainer is raised withfour in-built hydraulic legs. Thelifting system fits within thestandard ISO footprint, so thecontainer can be transported as anormal ISO box. The legs extendoutwards from the container toprovide an inside clearance widthof 3.138m for truck loading.GmbH. “Using 20ft or 40ft containersenables us to combine awide variety of cargo shipmentsand this reduces transport costssignificantly.”As an example, said Fank,based on an average bulk cargoweight, it is possible to reducethe costs by one third for transportinggoods from the Rhine-Neckar region to the Helsinkiregion in Finland, compared toa 40ft container using big bags.The savings are even higher incomparison with silo trucks.The cranes can lift around30t to a height of 1.6m and arecontrolled manually or with anoptional self-levelling system.They are powered either fromthe truck PTO or with a separatepower pack, with a 9 kWmotor and a two-speed hydraulicsystem. Excalibur has patentson a range of other concepts,including a “Tri-Tainer” systemthat expands out of a 20ft or 40ftcontainer to provide a shelter.New tankfrom HoyerGermany’s Hoyer has launcheda new mini tank with an operatingpressure of up to 6.67 barfor transporting hazardous goods.“By adding these containers ofthe type UN T 22 to its repertoire,Hoyer is augmenting itsown intermediate-bulk-container(IBC) fleet with a variant thatmakes high operating pressurelevels of up to 6.67 bar possible,and thereby corresponds to themaximum safety requirements,”the company stated.With a holding capacity of1,100 litres, the containers are designedfor the storage and transportof smaller product volumes underconditions of overpressure. “Withthese new mini tanks, we haveagain succeeded in expanding ourutilisation spectrum,” said UweBartels, European sales managerIBC logistics at Hoyer. “They willfurther enhance our worldwidecommitment in the transportationof hazardous goods, for exampletoxic substances of the class 6.1.”The APC rack referred to onpage one of this issue is an importantfactor in the cost ofgetting Chinese 53ft containersinto the US. Initially these containerswere shipped on charteredbreakbulk vessels, at a costof up to US$1,000 each. Usingthe racks to load them on regularcontainer services, US containerowners have been able toget their boxes to the US WestCoast full of import cargo andactually earn revenue on delivery.It is not known how the casewill affect QPCL’s 53ft containerbusiness. There are around600-700 APC racks in service,of which CIMC believesaround 200 units were suppliedby QPCL. The China SupremeCourt has ordered QPCL toCONTAINER INDUSTRY NEWSItaly’s Sicom at 40Typical Sicom container-type steel swap body for Italian intermodal specialistAmbrogioSicom SpA, the Italy-basedmanufacturer of containers andswap bodies, has celebrated its40th anniversary in the business,a remarkable achievement givenhow container manufacturing inEurope generally is very much athing of the past.“We are unique in the market,which is dominated by Chinesefirms that for many years havehad the advantage of low labourcosts,” said Sicom’s sales andmarketing director Silvio Alfero.“We design and manufacture inItaly everything that we sell, inspite of the pitiless competition.Our motto is flexibility.” Alferounderlined the point that at notime during or since the 2008-09financial crisis has Sicom ended ayear “in the red”.Last year the company turnedout 5,000 containers and swapbodies and achieved sales of €24M.Only 10% of customers were Italian,the rest being mainly in Germany,followed by France andelsewhere in Northern Europe.Sicom started out in 1975 asa producer of ISO containers forthe local Italian market. Overtime it expanded and diversifiedits range, which now containsaround 50 steel container typesand designs, sold to internationalshipping companies, containerlessors, intermodal operatorsand road hauliers. The plant sitein Cherasco (Cuneo) occupies13-ha and has its own rail siding,while the factory has three productionlines.Production includes 20ft and40ft open tops, dry vans, flatracks,ventilated containers, bulkcontainers, curtainside containersand swap bodies. Mobile shelters,fitted offices and temporaryhomes are also produced.“In the first few months ofthis year, we witnessed a strongincrease in demand, but the markethas slowed down again,” saidAlfero. However, there is an underlyingstrength to the intermodalmarket, not least because bulkcontainers, which provide operatorswith flexible distributionoptions, are replacing older bulkwagons as the latter reach the endof their working life.CIMC wins legal battlecease producing its version andto compensate CIMC for economiclosses.For CIMC, the case is importantrecognition of the valueof the patent process. It spendsRMB4M-5M per year on patentapplications and maintenancefees for over 3,500 patents,1,600 of which relate tocontainer technology. “As aleader of container industry,CIMC always pays attention tointellectual property,” said WangYu, general manager, legal affairsat CIMC. “The main purpose,”he added, is to “construct an environmentof good market competitionto advocate the respectof technical progress and intellectualproperty and to promotethe healthy development of thecontainer industry”.WEW special for DowGermany’s WEW WesterwälderEisenwerk GmbH, a specialisttank container manufacturer,has developed a 5,000-litre tankin an “ISO style” frame to transportcatalyst for Dow Chemical.“WEW worked closely withus in designing the solution fortransporting the catalyst,” saidGastón Garayzar from DowChemicals. “It was very mucha partnership between the twocompanies, which has resulted ina tank very much fit for purpose.”Dr Ulrich Bernhardt, managingdirector of WEW, commented:“Dow quite rightly demandeda very high level qualitytransport solution which met orexceeded international transportrequirements. Our in-depth experienceof these enabled us toprovide them with a solution totheir requirement.”The 5 m 3 units have been designedto fully meet the ATEXrequirements. WEW cooperatedwith its suppliers to source theright agitators and valves beforeintegrating the components intothe tank, manufactured at thecompany’s facility in Weitefeld,Germany. The units measure 10ftlong, 8ft 6in high and 8ft wide.WEW developed the specialist tankfor Dow Chemical18June 2015
PORT DEVELOPMENTMiddle East magnetismDespite the fall in oil prices, theMiddle East container markethas remained relatively strongand there is considerable potential forgrowth as manufacturing and assemblyindustries become more important inthe region. Meanwhile, the import ofconsumer and capital goods by privateindividuals, government agencies andcompanies has more than held up, despitethe fall in oil and gas prices over the past12 monthsFigures published by UK-based ContainerTrades Statistics for the first fourmonths of 2015 confirm this bullish picture,with containerised imports increasingby 10.1% to 4M TEU in the January/April period. Emerging markets led theway, with imports from Africa and Centraland South America up 27.6% and21.3%, respectively.The largest trades into the Middle East,from Asia and Europe, grew by 8.7% and9.5%, respectively, which was very similarto their performance in 2014 (see table, p20).On the upWhile exports have slowed this year, theoverall trend is up. Over the past decadethe imbalance between full imports andexports has narrowed considerably, whichis good news for liner operators as itmeans a higher percentage of carryingscomprise loaded boxes.Industrial diversification programmesbeing pursued by governments acrossthe region are also fundamental to thesechanges as factory output is primarilygeared to selling products in internationalmarkets. In part, these projects are beingspeeded up as a consequence of the sharpfall in oil and gas prices that has takenplace over the past 12 months.Michel Looten, maritime director ofthe Netherlands-based consultancy groupSeabury, is very optimistic about the Asia-Middle East/South Asia trade. “Despitethe market being more seasonable thanthat between Asia and Europe, last yearsaw growth rates on the Asia/Middle Eastleg grow faster and I expect this ‘outperformance’to continue in 2015,” he said.“The market is being propelled bystrong rises in the demand for raw materialsand consumer goods, with lighting,table and kitchenware items and domesticappliances up by 99%, 19% and 13%, respectively,in 2014 on the previous year.”Strategy rethinkLooten projected that by 2020, the Asia-Middle East/South Asia trade would belarger than that between Asia and Europeand this called for “ocean carriers to rethinktheir strategies” when it comes toserving the overall Asia-Europe corridor.Over the past three years, the Asia/Middle East (including Red Sea)/Asiatrade has seen several new entrants, a raftof new partnership agreements signedand, above all, a spike in the size of vesselsdeployed. These trends are continuing, asoperators look for the most efficient andcost-effective way of serving the market,and they have a surfeit of large ships thatthey need to find trading homes for.Earlier this year, Geneva-based MSCstarted its New Falcon service with eight8,000 TEU ships previously deployed inits Asia/Europe network. The link, whichreplaced a transhipment operation overSingapore, offers the line’s customers improvedtransit times and enhanced levelsof reliability.The service focuses on China, withvessels calling at six ports in the country,the growing exchange of cargo betweenthe Middle East and India, and SaudiArabia’s burgeoning chemical exports. Itsfull itinerary comprises Xingang, Busan,Ningbo, Shanghai, Fuzhou, Chiwan, PTP,Singapore, Colombo, Jebel Ali, Dammam,Jubail, Mundra, Nhava Sheva, Singapore,PTP, Chiwan and returning to Xingang.With liner trades to/from the Middle Eastprojected to remain bullish, terminals arebeing improved and new ones built toaccommodate the expected growthployed on an itinerary that involves callsat Busan, Shanghai, Ningbo, Chiwan,Shenzhen, Singapore, Port Klang, Colombo,Kochi, Nhava Sheva, Mundra andJebel Ali. The ships return to Busan viaPort Klang and Hong Kong only.As in the core east/west trades, the use ofbigger ships is being accompanied by theformation of larger operating pacts. Theseare essential if the volume of cargo neededto ensure high utilisation rates is generatedand carriers are to realise the economiesof scale from using larger tonnage.Port investmentsMiddle East port authorities and terminaloperators are generally well positioned tocope with the anticipated increases in cargoBOOSTING CONTAINERvolumes and the phasing in of larger ships.Currently, an estimated US$35B-40Bis earmarked for modernising, upgradingand building new ports in the MiddleEast, as they are seen as catalysts for newindustry, logistics ventures and even cities.The region has seen the widespreaddevelopment of vertically integrated portcomplexes where industrial zones, logisticsvillages and associated service industriesare clustered around traditionalcargo handling facilities.In particular, the strategy has been drivenby a desire by port authorities and terminaloperating companies in the regionto forge closer links with end customers.This enables the parties to then offer arange of logistics and support services thatgo well beyond standard stevedoring andcargo handling activities.The port of Khalifa (UAE), King AbdullahPort (Saudi Arabia) New Doha(Qatar) and developments planned onBoubyan Island (Kuwait) and at Al Faw(Iraq), all feature elements of this approach.Saudi spendingSaudi Arabia is ploughing massiveamounts of capital into modernising itstransport infrastructure, including itsports. A second terminal is under constructionin Dammam, boosting capacityby at least 1.8M TEU/year, Jubail hasbeen modernised and substantially upgradedto handle containers and the newsuper port at King Abdullah EconomicCity on the Red Sea coast is taking shape.Currently, King Abdullah Port (KAP)comprises a 1.15 km quay for containers,with capacity to handle 2.5M TEU/year. By 2017, the port’s capacity will be3.7M TEU, and by 2030 it could be asHANDLING PRODUCTIVITYTEREX PORT SOLUTIONS – CUSTOM AND HOLISTIC SOLUTIONS TO MEET YOUR NEEDSTerex Port Solutions offers a comprehensiveportfolio of products and services:A For loading & unloading, transport,stacking and handling containersA For terminals of all shapes and sizesDiscover our holisticcontainer handling solutionswww.terexportsolutions.comA For manual and automated terminalsA Advanced software to provide realistic viewsof terminal cargo flows prior to constructionA Value-preserving life cycle support toreduce downtime and cost of ownershipJoint serviceElsewhere, in the North East Asia/MiddleEast trade, Singapore-based intra-Asiaspecialist Regional Container Lines hasjoined up with Emirates Shipping Line,Korea Marine Transport Co and HanjinShipping Co, to start a new service. Seven6,500 TEU capacity ships are being de-Terex, the Terex Crown design, Terex Gottwald and Works For You are trademarks of Terex Corporation or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners. © 2015 Terex Port SolutionsJune 2015 19
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