BEUMER Group

Joseph Dzierzawski has been named President and CEO of BEUMER Corporation, the US subsidiary of BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, in Somerset, New Jersey/USA, effective 27th April 2020. He will be fully responsible for the business lines Conveying & Loading Systems, Palletizing and Packaging Technology, and Sortation and Distribution Systems in the North American market.

With its digital marketplace, the start-up Sparrow Networks ensures that the participants are supplied with the appropriate spare part as quickly as possible in the event a component in their systems fails. Sparrow connects the stock of the system operators with each other. Thanks to the network, a suitable supplier can always be found quickly. This prevents long downtimes and expensive storage costs. BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, supports founder Meir Veisberg, bringing digital projects into its corporate group (Figure 1).

“We were missing a sensor. One simple part that would have cost 500 €. In the end, the failure cost us several hundred thousand euros,” says a logistics service provider. “This is a common problem,” says Veisberg. “Time and again it happens that in the event of a failure the right components are not in stock.” And it takes time for the suppliers to deliver them – too much time which can be very expensive. He has worked out an efficient solution together with his start-up Sparrow Networks. He provides a digital marketplace where the participants can offer components from their own inventory and buy components from other members. “We created a huge virtual warehouse,” says Veisberg. “We enable members to share components.” They receive the required spare part quickly; long downtimes are a thing of the past.

The founder receives extensive support from the Berlin-based, autonomous company builder Beam, a spin-off of BEUMER. “We try to solve unique problems in logistics together with the start-up teams,” explains Managing Director Robert Bach. “My task is to find young entrepreneurs with business ideas that are relevant to us. For this we are planning on founding three start-ups per year and transfer them, consolidated under Beam, into a separate company. This now includes Sparrow Networks.” BEUMER wants to open up new business areas in logistics with these companies.

Members of the new platform benefit from an almost unlimited pool of spare parts. Thanks to the high availability, their systems experience significantly less downtime, they can reduce their own stock and keep fewer parts in stock in the future. These are significant cost savings. And due to the constant exchange, older parts are always replaced by new ones.

“Not everyone is suitable to be a founder”, says Bach. “We require at least two years of start-up experience or very good knowledge of the logistics sector.” Veisberg has been living in Berlin for some time now. “What I did before? I worked as a product manager for a long time – until I got to know Beam and Robert Bach. Since September, you can access our digital marketplace under www.sparrow.parts,” says Veisberg. The founder manages the data exchange and ensures the quality of the inventory. Every registered potential buyer can offer their own stock on the online marketplace. “Sparrow lives on this. The participants provide as many spare parts as possible,” Veisberg describes, “but the participants only upload the quantity they want.” After all, no company should find itself in the unpleasant situation of no longer being able to access a spare part that is suddenly needed in an emergency.

With the start-up, BEUMER can successfully pursue its goal of bringing digital solutions into the corporate group. In urgent cases, e. g., the system provider can now provide its customers with even better support, strengthening its position on the market. And Sparrow Networks? “I benefit from the cooperation with BEUMER Group in the form of generous start-up financing, an extensive network of experts and customers, and a great deal of know-how,” Veisberg says happily. “My company is now part of the BEUMER family.”

Further information:
BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG
www.beumer.com

Christian Schneider is the new director of the human resources department “People and Culture” (P&C) at BEUMER Group, headquartered in Beckum/Germany. A lawyer by trade, he will be responsible for the People and Culture division of the corporate group in his new position.

Companies often choose trucks to transport limestone, coal, ores and other raw materials as efficiently as possible to the factory and from there to the port, sometimes over distances spanning several kilometres. Most of the time, the vehicles drive on public roads, which are not always well-paved. And as the route can go through hilly areas and nature reserves, across rivers and instable grounds, the trip often includes detours which costs time and money. If it goes through populated areas, it can be particularly taxing for local residents. The more raw materials are transported, the more trips are necessary. These factors motivate companies to take a closer look at the alternatives. The BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG, Beckum/Germany, offers open troughed belt conveyors and closed pipe conveyors for these scenarios. But will the investment pay off? “That depends on the particular application,” says Richard Munson. He has been with BEUMER in Kansas City/USA, since 2010 where he manages the development and sales of conveying systems for the energy, cement and mining industries and port terminals. “Companies should carry out a profitability evaluation beforehand,” he advises.

There are different methods to run an economic evaluation, including the net present value method, which is a type of profitability calculation. “Simply put, it means that all future income is discounted to time zero and compared, including the initial investment,” explains Munson. This method uses a calculation interest rate that reflects the best available alternative investment. The user receives a capital value, also called net present value (NPV). If this value is positive, it means that the company will make a profit with the investment.

“Another option is cashflow analysis. It estimates the surplus that remains when deducting expenses from earnings,” Munson explains. Based on the annual difference of the total operational costs between conveying and trucking, the user calculates if investing in a conveying system will pay off. Different variables are required to exactly evaluate both transport options, e. g., the transport costs per ton, the material volume that needs to be moved within a set period of time, and also the specific investment cost and tax depreciation plan. “A comparison of conveying and trucking in a time diagram results in the break-even point,” explains the BEUMER expert.

Depending on the topography, length and power consumption, costs for conventional conveying systems average between 1,000 and 3,000 €/m. More costs are added for the construction, supply and the mechanical and electrical installation. Complex construction work is also often necessary. This makes the initial investment in a conveying system fairly high. “The operational costs however are considerably lower than with the use of trucks,” reports Munson. “The costs for the vehicles also include, e. g., the labour input, vehicle depreciation, maintenance, repair, fuel and street maintenance. And oftentimes there are additional, more difficult to identify charges.”

To operate a conventional conveying system, the typical costs for transporting one ton of material amounts to 20 Ct, with trucks the costs are roughly 3 €. “The biggest variable for the vehicles is the number of trips per hour,” says Munson. “In case of short and direct routes, this ranks better than for long routes, where detours are necessary to get to the destination.” Troughed belt conveyors and closed pipe conveyors lead directly to the destination. They can also be adapted to the specific surroundings. An essential feature of the technology is that it enables horizontal and vertical curves. Angles of inclination of up to 15° are possible, depending on the characteristics of the material to be transported and the topography, with lengths greater than 12 km. Due to their ability to navigate curves, considerably fewer and in some cases no transfer towers are required. This results in substantial cost savings for the customer and the system continuously transports the material even over challenging ascending and descending sections, rivers or street crossings (Figure 2). Using BEUMER calculation programs, the experts precisely calculate the static and dynamic tractive forces of the belt during the system development phase. This is the prerequisite for the safe dimensioning of the curves.

For trucks, more cost factors must be taken into account that are not as easy to estimate as the number of routes, e. g., control measures against dust and rain drainage. These variables are eliminated completely in case of closed pipe conveyors. “If circa 1,000,000 t/a of bulk material are moved, then the gross differential value between trucks and a conveyor, using the above mentioned costs of the material that needs to be conveyed, is at 2.8 M €,” calculates Munson. The conveying system pays for itself after only a few years.

The electric drives and low-energy belts have a positive effect on the operational costs of the belt conveying systems. They are also better for the environment compared to the truck drives. Therefore, especially in these times of climate change and increasing greenhouse gas emissions they are considered a more sustainable option. The motors used for these systems are usually adjustable which permits the loads to be optimally distributed on the drive units under various operating conditions. If the belt conveying system conveys downhill, the system works in regenerative operation. The generated electric energy is fed to the mains by a regenerative feedback unit. This way the owners can further reduce the operational costs of the entire system.

“Depending on the project, belt conveying systems require up to 90 % less primary energy than comparable truck transports,” says the sales manager, referring to a concrete project implemented for the Chinese cement manufacturer Sichuan Yadong Cement (Figure 1). Trucks operated with diesel fuel required a specific primary energy of 11.4 kwh/t of transported material at their site. The belt conveying system which was built later on required on the contrary only 1.44 kwh. If, as in this case, 7.5 M t/a of raw material are transported, the user can save a total of 74 M kwh/a with the belt conveyor. This corresponds to an energy consumption of more than 20,000 single-family houses. Solely by saving diesel fuel, the operational costs of the company are reduced by more than 5.5 M €/a.

So does the investment in a belt conveying system pay off? “More often than people realise,” explains Munson. “In the end, the operator needs to consider the total costs per ton over time when evaluating both transport options.” The fact is: The operational costs for a belt conveyor are considerably lower than for a truck. The decisive factor is how much material is transported during the project term, then it can pay for itself quickly. Not to mention the BEUMER conveying systems are more environmentally friendly from the beginning.

Further information:
BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG
www.beumer.com

To reduce the use of expensive primary fuels like coal and oil in the energy-intensive cement production, operators focus increasingly on alternative fuels and raw materials. BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, offers tailor-made systems for the entire material flow chain – from receiving and unloading the delivery vehicle to storing, sampling and conveying the materials. For precise and controlled feeding, the system provider has now developed a screw weigh feeder suitable for a variety of materials (Figure 1).

The majority of alternative energy sources are fuels such as chopped waste tyres, plastic, paper, composite materials, textile and scrap wood mixes. They have different bulk densities and can have an extremely high moisture content. These inhomogeneous bulk materials require considerable know-how in their handling. To be able to feed this material mixture, the BEUMER Group in cooperation with its customers developed a screw weigh feeder, which can be equipped with an automatic calibration system. The highly precise system is suitable for the continuous, controlled and reliable transport of various bulk materials. Even explosives can be safely conveyed as all components are available also in ATEX version.

The controlled feeding capacity is up to 30 t/h. The system is dimensioned for bulk densities reaching between 0.08 and 0.8 t/m³ and the regulation ration is 1:20. Depending on the local conditions, the weighing tolerance is between 1 and 2 % and enables very high consistency in controlled feeding. In addition, the completely closed screw weigh feeder is protected against dust and other environmental stress.

Further information:
BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG
www.beumer.com

For the third time in succession, the business magazine Capital and the personnel marketing specialists at Ausbildung.de and Territory Embrace have published a study on the “Best Trainers in Germany”. Right at the forefront is the company BEUMER Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG in -Beckum/Germany. The system supplier was able to achieve five out of five possible stars in the study and is therefore listed among the 445 best training companies in the country (Figure 1).

Over 600 companies responded to a detailed questionnaire that was provided with more than 90 questions. The result of this comprehensive study clearly reveals the challenges that a number of different companies face. More than a half complained about a declining number of applications submitted by young people, while 70 % determined a decrease in the quality of applicants themselves. “These challenges faced by companies result in particularly good conditions for apprentices, however,” remarks Gero Hesse, who is the managing director of Territory Embrace, a service provider for employer branding and talent relations. The companies pay special attention to the requirements of the respective apprentices and offer individual support.

No fewer than 445 companies received good or even excellent evaluations in the examined criteria of supervision, in-house learning, opportunities for success, digitalisation and innovation, and marketing for training. BEUMER performed above average in all areas and achieved the maximum rating of five stars. Consequently, the mechanical engineering company was designated one of “Germany’s Best Trainers” and stood out thanks to its excellent performance and top quality. “We are very happy with this result”, remarked Michael Dilla, head of technical professional training at BEUMER. “This shows us that we are on the right path, since we give special attention to the development of the trainees we take on.”

The participants in the study come from all regions and industries within the country – from corporations listed on the German stock exchange to organisations run by local tradespeople. Young people on the search for the right apprenticeship can use this for guidance on how to get off to a good start in the world of work and professional training. (BEUMER/Si.)

To reduce the use of expensive primary fuels like coal and oil in the energy-intensive cement production, operators focus increasingly on alternative fuels and raw materials. BEUMER Group offers tailor-made systems for the entire material flow chain – from receiving and unloading the delivery vehicle to storing, sampling and conveying the materials. For precise and controlled feeding, the system provider has now developed a screw weigh feeder suitable for a variety of materials (Figure 1).

The majority of alternative energy sources are fuels such as chopped waste tyres, plastic, paper, composite materials, textile and scrap wood mixes. They have different bulk densities and can have an extremely high moisture content. These inhomogeneous bulk materials require considerable know-how in their handling. To be able to feed this material mixture, BEUMER Group in cooperation with its customers developed a screw weigh feeder, which can be equipped with an automatic calibration system (Figure 2).

The highly precise system is suitable for the continuous, controlled and reliable transport of various bulk materials. Even explosives can be safely conveyed as all components are available also in ATEX version.

The controlled feeding capacity is up to 30 tons per hour. The system is dimensioned for bulk densities reaching between 0.08 and 0.8 tons per cubic metre and the regulation ration is 1:20. Depending on the local conditions, the weighing tolerance is between 1 and 2 percent and enables very high consistency in controlled feeding. In addition, the completely closed screw weigh feeder is protected against dust and other environmental stress.

Further informations:
BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG
www.beumergroup.com

In the past, a coal-fired power plant was once in operation in the Belgian town of Flémalle. The coal residues are landfilled on a fly ash stockpile. Now, the stockpile is to be entirely emptied and the terrain transformed into a nature park. A pipe conveyor of the BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, is being used to transport the fly ash to the Maas river for shipment (Figure 1). The system has not only been adapted to operate along the steep mountains, but its enclosed design prevents the volatile material from coming into contact with the environment, while enabling a low-noise transport to the destination. This is important as the pipe conveyor passes over public motorways, railways and residential areas. This extraordinary project is characterised by the cooperation of the BEUMER Group team with the customer Tractebel Engineering (Group ENGIE). The transport of the fly ash is carried out in strict compliance with safety standards, taking into consideration environmental protection and the effect noise pollution has on the local residents.

The neighbourhood around the Belgian town of Liège is calm and picturesque with small villages along the Maas. Industrialisation started very early in the region of Wallonia, as coal was available in abundance. Even though the mines were closed years ago, there are still residues of slates and stones or bottom ash. In Flémalle, e. g., less than 20 km away from Liège: for approximately 50 years there are about 2 M m³ of the mentioned materials in a fly ash stockpile within proximity of the once largest coal-fired power plant. The stockpile is indeed surrounded by a wall, but according to a study, in the long run, it will represent a major threat for the local residents as it is displaced every year by several millimetres. In addition, the fly ash is an important additive in the manufacture of cement and concrete. It must be prepared to remove foreign substances such as wood or metal and to limit the grain size to 70 mm for the cement industry. In a project that is the only one of its kind in Europe, the Belgian power supplier Elektrabel commissioned its subsidiary Tractebel Engineering to dimension and install a processing plant. The company offers engineering and consulting solutions for the energy and nuclear energy sector as well as for industry and infrastructure. It is planned to dissipate the complete stockpile in the next ten years, and to transform the terrain into a nature park, which will be developed according to the wishes of the local residents and authorities.

Until then, the bulk material has to be transported to the Maas that is approximately 2 km away (bee-line). However the terrain is very mountainous. The use of trucks would imply driving on public roads for long distances. This would have caused detours, slowed down transport times and raised costs. In addition, the environment would be harmed by exhaust gases, dust and noise. The project lead opted for the BEUMER Group pipe conveyor as economical alternative.

The system supplier provided a conveying system with a centre distance of 1,800 m. “Due to the system design and the required system capacity, we have designed the pipe conveyor with a diameter of 260 mm”, explains Vincent Ferlay, Managing Director BEUMER Group France. The conveyor transports 300 t/h of fly ash at a speed of 2.3 m/s. Most importantly though: the enclosed transport of this machine protects the environment from the dry and dusty material. This was an important requirement for the construction of this solution to be approved in the first place. “The project planning absolutely had to guarantee a safe transportation of the material,” reports Ferlay. “The fly ash had to be prevented from exiting or falling on the ground, even in the smallest quantities”, since the route passes public motorways, railways and residential areas. The noise emission played an important role too. The BEUMER Group team developed special sound-absorbing elements that were also used to enclose the pipe conveyor bridges. “Along certain line sections, the noise level had to be kept under 35 dB(A),” says Ferlay. This is also possible with special sound insulation, idlers and low-noise bearings.

The pipe conveyor transports fly ash across the open environment, navigates large inclines reliably and can be designed to accommodate tight curve radii. This is why only a few transfer towers are required, depending on the length of the conveyor, the terrain conditions and the curves. BEUMER Group can customize the conveying system to match the individual routing, thus protecting the environment and reducing the costs. The system supports are up to 10 m high. Durable conveyor belts guaranteeing tensile strength are used. BEUMER Group makes use of own dimensioning programs to determine the ideal belt design, thus enabling to analyze tractive forces but also forces which occur due to acceleration and deceleration – always taking into account the net weight of the belt and the transported material. This method also lets you calculate possible curve radii. For these types of projects, BEUMER Group also offers feasibility studies and profitability calculations. The colour scheme was selected so that the system blends in well with the environment.

The system supplier provided the turnkey system and all of the necessary components such as filters, strippers and dedusting units. The system provider also provided the engineering, automation and the steel structure, as well as loading systems. Excavators load the material into hoppers and on vibrating feeders. From there it is transported to the feeding area of the pipe conveyor. BEUMER Group installed a ship loader at the end of the conveyor line. It consists of a fixed boom with an extendable telescopic belt conveyor (Figure 2). This way the ships are loaded efficiently. The ship loader is also equipped with a dedusting unit which keeps the process emission-free. Every day, 2,000 t of fly ash are loaded on a ship and from there transported to a cement plant.

Further information:
BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG
www.beumer.com

At bauma, which will take place in Munich/Germany from 8th to 14th April 2019, BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, will provide information on their efficient transport solutions for the mining industry, among other areas. Overland conveyors and pipe conveyors transport various raw materials over long distances and often through rough terrain. This is generally faster, more cost-efficient and environmentally friendly than trucking. The system supplier also offers comprehensive technology for the cement and building materials industries and is the only supplier to provide complete packaging lines from a single source – from filling and palletising to transport packaging of the pallet.

The overland conveyors and pipe conveyors of BEUMER can be used by companies in the mining industry to transport various bulk materials, even over long distances and often through rough terrain (Figure 1). High angles of inclination and tight curve radii enable individual routing adapted to the respective task and topography. BEUMER relies on camera-equipped drones for the planning, projection, implementation and documentation of these systems. Using special software solutions, the system supplier evaluates the aerial photographs photogrammetrically to generate digital terrain models.

The product range of the system supplier includes stackers and bridge reclaimers for storage yards, whether with or without blending bed systems. These stack bulk material and guarantee a maximum blending effect. Users can also efficiently homogenise large quantities of different bulk materials and bulk material qualities and thus ensure the uniformity of the raw materials used. For efficient loading, BEUMER supplies ship loaders with fixed booms and extendable telescopic belt conveyors, as well as bulk loading heads, which are used to load bulk materials into silo vehicles quickly and without dust.

BEUMER will present economic solutions for companies from both the cement and building materials industries at the trade fair. In cement plants, clinker with temperatures of 500 to 800 °C is transported from the kiln cooling system to the silos. With its belt apron conveyors, BEUMER offers robust solutions for efficient transport. A belt instead of a chain as the traction element allows higher speeds and a slimmer design while still delivering the same level of performance. These conveyors are therefore particularly suitable for modernisations.

When it comes to filling, palletising and packaging cement, BEUMER Group offers complete packaging lines from a single source – a unique selling point in this industry. The system supplier offers the BEUMER fillpac filling machine for different requirements in various versions. The unique feature of this filling technology is that it can handle a wide range of materials, from very fine to coarse structures. In addition, various palletising solutions and a high-performance packaging system with sophisticated features are available.

Against the background of the global climate debate, the use of so-called alternative fuels and raw materials (AFR) in the energy-intensive cement production is steadily increasing. BEUMER offers tailor-made systems for the entire material flow chain in cement plants – from receiving and unloading the delivery vehicle to storing, sampling, conveying and dosing the solid alternative fuels.

BEUMER at bauma: hall B2, booth 413

Further information:
BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG
www.beumergroup.com

Sichuan Yadong Cement Co, Ltd. in Peng-zhou, China, has been relying on a 12.5 km overland conveyor from BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, in order to convey limestone from their quarry to their silo. When constructed in 2009 it was the longest belt conveying system in BEUMER history. -BEUMER installed a longer system in 2016. The troughed belt conveyor runs through hilly terrain and nature reserves, over streams and unstable ground. The second project includes two additional overland conveyors, with an overall length of 13.7 km, transporting limestone to the cement plant (Figure 1). Unlike the first project, the task here was to build the conveyor across inhabited areas. Noise emission limitations set forth by the government also needed to be considered.

The southwestern Chinese province of Sichuan is the source of the majority of different ores in the country, such as titan, lithium and silver and plays a major role economically. The electronics, mechanical engineering, metallurgical, chemical, medical, food and building material industries are all pillars of the economy. One of the cement manufacturers in the region is Sichuan Yadong Cement Co, Ltd. located near Chengdu, the capital of Sichuan. The company is a member of the Asia Cement Group, headquartered in Taipeh/Taiwan.

In 2004, the company decided to build a new cement plant in Sichuan. During the development phase, Asia Cement Group received approval from the Chinese government to use an abandoned railway to transport the limestone. Halfway through finishing the plant however, the government decided to build a new dam. The area intended for the transport was to be flooded, which would have changed the project conditions considerably. Roads would be flooded and the trucks would have to take significant detours. Asia Cement Group was also planning on building two additional kiln lines at this location. It was determined, as a time and cost efficient alternative, to install a troughed belt conveyor able to navigate horizontal and vertical curves. For this, the company turned to BEUMER Group. For many years now, Asia Cement has been relying on the system supplier’s expertise and is currently operating several of its bucket elevators.

BEUMER Group took over the mechanical and electrical engineering and supplied the core components for the overland conveyor and monitored and commissioned its installation. The advantage is that the Chinese subsidiary BEUMER Machinery Shanghai can be reached easily and deployed quickly to site.

In May 2006, Asia Cement Group awarded the contract for the 12.5 km long system. The overland conveyor can reach a mass flow of 1,500 t/h and a conveying speed of 4 m/s. “Compared to other conveying solutions, the open troughed belt conveyors are suitable for higher throughputs. Horizontal as well as vertical curve radii are possible,” explains Andreas Echelmeyer, Director of Conveying and Loading Systems at BEUMER Group. They can be adapted to the specific task and topography. Using BEUMER calculation programs, we can precisely calculate the static and dynamic tractive forces of the belt during the development phase of the system. This is a prerequisite for the safe dimensioning of horizontal curves. The type of drive technology and conveyor belts needed are based on these calculations. This ensures longevity of the entire system.

The terrain is hilly and covered with dense bamboo forest, parts of which are listed as nature reserve. For this reason, the government did not approve a service route nor deforestation. The ground also presented a major challenge for the BEUMER Group engineers. “The ground is unstable due to previous coal mining. In other areas, the ground consists mostly of granite that could only be partially removed,” explains Echelmeyer. Another section of 1.5 km had to be guided across a river. These framework conditions contributed to the fact that 90 % of the system was installed manually on site. As it was impossible for trucks to transport the components, they were carried by mules, one part at a time, to the place of installation.

The route of the overland conveyor was coordinated between BEUMER Group and the cement manufacturer. The system supplier calculated the tractive forces of the belt considering the eight horizontal curves with radii of 1,000 to 5,000 m. The routing was checked for its feasibility on site. The complete route was checked by employees on foot, passing through rough terrain, in order to reliably check the predefined positions for the 460 supports for their suitability directly on site. Whenever technically possible, the routing of the conveyor was adapted to the topography. Height differences of up to 100 m had to be overcome within shortest distances, so several sections were equipped with bridges of up to 55 m. One section was realised with a 130 m long tunnel.

In close cooperation with the customer, BEUMER Group designed the overland conveyor and the bridges. The system supplier developed, built and supplied the core components for the drive and take-up station as well as the belt of an overall length of 25 km, the idlers and the drive technology. Since February 2009, the overland conveyor has been transporting bulk material from the quarry to the bulk loading system. Since commissioning of the first section, the mass flow of the conveyor was increased in two steps. Today, the system conveys a mass flow of 2,200 t/h at a conveying speed of 4.5 m/s.

In July 2013, Asia Cement contracted BEUMER Group again for an additional, efficient overland conveyor to replace the trucks transporting the limestone from the bulk loading system to the cement plant. A mass flow of 2,200 t/h of limestone was necessary to meet the plant’s requirements. For this project, the first conveyor was to be customised to these requirements. “We were planning a second troughed belt conveyor with an overall length of 13.7 m,” says Echelmeyer. This is the longest system in the history of BEUMER.

Projects of that size are often unpredictable, so flexibility was needed from the engineers. During the planning phase, the cement manufacturer acquired another plant in Lanfeng, approximately 10 km away. “Now we had to design the system so that both plants could be supplied with limestone,” explains Echelmeyer. The team had to divide the overland conveyor in two parts. After 5.4 km, an additional conveyor can be added to be fed to Lanfeng in the future. In February 2015, the system supplier started with the installation of the conveyor frame.

Both overland conveyors have four horizontal curves with radii of 1,200, 1,500 and 1,800 m. “We provided the engineering and the individual parts such as pulleys, motors, drive and control technology and the entire automation,” describes Echelmeyer. The installation was monitored by a BEUMER Group supervisor and the wiring of the system was supported by a BEUMER electrical engineer. The system supplier was also in charge of the commissioning in May 2016. The troughed belt conveyor is now supplying three kiln lines, a fourth line is planned.

The requirements were different for the two projects. The challenges for the first project were the hilly terrain, instable grounds and crossing through conservation areas and over waterways (Figure 2), for the second project the system had to be built crossing through populated areas. The Chinese government has set out exact regulations on the noise emission levels so that the residents would not be impacted. The system supplier took several constructive measures in order to reduce the noise emissions. “We used noise-reducing idlers and customised protective covers on the drive stations,” explains Echelmeyer. In collaboration with the operator, BEUMER Group optimised the conveyor frame and the completely enclosed conveyor bridge.

For the whole project, BEUMER Group was able to ensure that the limestone is transported safely and quietly, without disturbing the residents or disrupting the surrounding nature.

 

Further information:

BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG

www.beumergroup.com