BEUMER Groups’, Beckum/Germany, U.S. subsidiary, the BEUMER Corporation, has been awarded a contract to design, supply and install a nearly 6.5 km overland conveyor at Knight Hawk Coal’s Prairie Eagle Mine in Illinois (Figure 1).
The Knight Hawk project is a strategic win for BEUMER, allowing the company to broaden its mining sector footprint, according to Brad Williams, Vice President of Sales and Business Development for BEUMER’s Conveying & Loading Division, based in the Kansas City area. “We are very accustomed to handling coal and coal residuals in the power industry, but we are excited about the opportunity to focus on a project directly in the coal mining sector,” Williams said.
The curved troughed belt conveyor will carry coal from Knight Hawk’s new underground mine portal to its main coal preparation plant at Prairie Eagle. The overland conveyor will allow Knight Hawk to seal a portion of its underground mine and bring coal to the surface near its current mining activities. Commissioning of the new conveying system is scheduled for April 2019.
“This project is right up BEUMER’s alley from a technology standpoint, as it will become our third overland curved troughed belt conveyor installed in North America in the last five years,” Williams said. “Our curved conveyor technology allows for a single-flight system that costs less to install and operate than a conventional conveying system, and will offer Knight Hawk long-term financial and environmental benefits when compared with trucking.”
“The original request for proposal called for four straight conveyors requiring three transfer towers,” Williams explained. BEUMER’s winning proposal features a single-flight curved conveying system that eliminates the cost of tower steel, and greatly reduces the quantity of components and necessary spare parts. It reduces the dust, noise, maintenance and operating costs associated with the transfer points, and offers 98% reliability compared with roughly 92% reliability of four conveyors operating in series.
Prairie Eagle is the hub of Knight Hawk’s coal mining operations, processing and shipping more than 80% of the company’s 5 mt of annual coal production. Opened in 2005 as a surface mine, the Illinois facility was expanded to include two underground mines, Knight Hawk’s primary coal preparation plant, and multiple truck loading facilities. Prairie Eagle is widely recognized as one of the most efficient underground mines in the United States.
On 1st January 2018, Amir Reza Sinai was appointed as the new managing director of the BEUMER Group Co., Ltd., based in Bangkok/Thailand. The subsidiary, which has 59 employees, acts as the BEUMER Group’s regional headquarters in South East and East Asia, where it covers the divisions Conveying & Loading Systems and Palletizing & Packaging Systems. It also provides solutions for the cement industry.
The Cooperativa La Cruz Azul S.C.L, third-largest cement manufacturer in Mexico, required an entire packaging line for the flexible and fully automated filling, palletising and packaging of different types of a new tile mortar. The solution of BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, won out over the competition, providing everything from one single source. This included the BEUMER fillpac R filling system that was adapted for filling different materials. They also included the BEUMER bag placer to ensure a more efficient filling of the high-quality materials. With this new packaging line, Cruz Azul can achieve their projected production capacity.
Bridges, high-rises, tunnels for roads, subways and sewage systems: some of the biggest construction projects in Latin America are currently being built in Mexico. This makes the country the second largest cement market on the continent, right after Brazil. In order to hold their own against national and international competition, Mexican manufacturers are developing more and more high-class materials. Cooperativa La Cruz Azul, headquartered in Mexico City, is one of them. The production of this leading company, founded in 1881, is aimed exclusively towards the domestic market. The manufacturer operates four plants with a yearly production of around 8 mt of Portland cement, which is only one of their end products. The main plant is in Jasso in the state of Hidalgo (Figure 1).
Fig. 2. BEUMER Group supplies everything from one single source. This includes the BEUMER fillpac filling system. It can be adjusted to the changing parameters of the different materials. // Bild 2. Die BEUMER Group lieferte alles aus einer Hand. Dazu gehört die Abfüllanlage BEUMER fillpac R. Diese lässt sich an die veränderten Parameter der unterschiedlichen Materialien anpassen. Photo/Foto: BEUMER
Success plays an important role for Cruz Azul as well. Its cement production represents 22 % of the national market. With the goal to further increase this share, the cooperative developed high-quality tile mortar in eight different variations as one of their new products. Distributors and end customers also want the products to arrive by the required date and quantity. A small amount of the mortar is sold in big bags, the majority however is sold in 20 and 25 kg bags. This is why the manufacturer needed an entire packaging line that could meet very specific requirements (Figure 2). Due to varying material densities, and as a consequence different flow properties of the different variants of the new product line, the filling system had to be adjustable to the different materials as well as to smaller bag sizes without extensive retrofitting of the machine through the employees. The line should then palletise precise and stable bags stacks and package them to protect the content against transport damage and atmospheric influences.
BEUMER Group presented the BEUMER fillpac R filling system to Cruz Azul. “Changing the required parameters is simple and quick and the different material is filled efficiently into two- to four-ply paper valve bags,” explains Ralph Buchholz, Director General at BEUMER de México. In October 2015, BEUMER provided the systems. Three BEUMER eomployees from Germany and one from Mexico were in charge of installing the system. “We had to integrate the line into the existing building structure and bulk storage technology,” reports Buchholz.
The BEUMER fillpac R operates with eight rotating filling spouts according to the impeller filling principle. This way it can safely handle even fine-grained tile mortar. The rotating filling impeller is characterised by its speed and maximum material throughput. “The bags are weighed during the filling process,” explains Buchholz. The BEUMER fillpac is equipped with an electronic calibration-capable weighing unit. A special software enables filling spouts and scale to constantly compare the weight. If the determined weight is incorrect, the bags are automatically removed, discharged on a chute and opened. The collected material is fed back into the process via a spillage screw conveyor and a bucket elevator.
The system has a modular structure. The system is equipped with the new BEUMER bag placer. A ream magazine for 700 bags was also added. This allows Cruz Azul to further increase the efficiency of the filling system. Servomotors drive the application unit and the suction gripper automatically. The gripping system and the application unit apply the bag from the stack onto the filling spout. The system can pack 1,800 25 kg/h bags or 2,250 20 kg/h bags with the highest precision.
For the subsequent fully automatic, reliable and fast palletising, BEUMER installed a BEUMER paletpac layer palletiser. Per hour, it gently and reliably stacks 2,200 bags in 10-bag patterns or in 8-bag patterns on pallets of 1,220 x 1,020 x 245 mm in size. “A twin-belt turning device brings the bags in the required, dimensionally stable position,” explains Buchholz. The position accuracy of this device offers a great advantage compared to conventional turning machines, because the system’s components move the bags without mechanically deforming them. Two parallel driven belt conveyors move at different speeds and turn the bags quickly into the desired position. The intelligent control of the twin-belt turning device also takes the dimension and weight of the filled bag into consideration. Exact positioning, specified by the preset packing pattern, is achieved.
The finished bag stacks are transported over roller conveyors to the BEUMER stretch hood packaging system. It packages 110 pallet stacks per hour with stretch film hoods with film thickness ranging from 40 to 100 µm. In order to facilitate the work for the maintenance personnel and to ensure high system availability, the packaging system no longer needs a platform. Maintenance work, such as changing the blades or the sealing bars, is handled at floor level. Additional benefits include the compact design and the resulting low height and small footprint.
Fig. 3. The packaging line operates around the clock, which means that the cement manufacturer can reach its projected production capacity. // Bild 3. Die Verpackungslinie arbeitet rund um die Uhr. Der Zementhersteller erreicht damit seine geplante Produktionskapazität. Photo/Foto: BEUMER
In June 2016, Cruz Azul put the line into operation (Figure 3). In order to ensure a trouble-free operation, the system supplier’s specialists stay in close touch with the customer and help out immediately in case of malfunctions or downtimes. BEUMER Group also provided the necessary spare parts. With this project, BEUMER has installed the first BEUMER fillpac R on the American market. The cooperation with the system supplier will continue. Discussions are currently held regarding new projects in the fields of conveying and loading and palletising technology.
In order to improve the efficiency of its operations, Deuna Zement GmbH, a subsidiary of Dyckerhoff, will use alternative fuels to fire the main burners of the two rotary furnaces in its plant in Deuna, a town situated in the German Free State of Thuringia. Umweltdienste Bohn GmbH, based in Alsfeld, was commissioned to supply Deuna Zement with alternative fuels and will build a processing plant on Deuna’s premises as part of this partnership.
As the general contractor, Umweltdienste Bohn engaged the BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, to provide a single-source solution for efficient conveying and feeding of the materials, which have different compositions. A pipe conveyor is at the core of the system. The enclosed system ensures environmentally safe, emission-free and low-energy transport of the material (Figure 1).
The scope of supply also includes three feeding hoppers with a screw conveyor, belt conveyor, rotary starscreens, scales, and in addition steel structure, electronics and controls.
“The client has opted for us because we supply the entire system from one source,” says Tomas Hrala, project manager at BEUMER. “Our know-how and our tailor-made systems permit us to offer optimum assistance.” Umweltdienste Bohn also gets comprehensive support from BEUMER, which can be contacted at all times.
The BEUMER Group, based in Beckum/Germany, has been named winner of this year’s Axia Award (Figure 1) in the “Utilising Innovation & Technologies” category. Auditing and consultancy firm Deloitte awarded the prize to the intralogistics specialists on 29th November 2017 in Düsseldorf in recognition of its activities in the field of digital transformation. Deloitte, who founded the Axia Award, joins forces with business magazine WirtschaftsWoche and the Federation of German Industry (BDI) to hand out this prestigious prize. This is the third time that BEUMER has won the Axia Award.
At a special awards evening, Deloitte handed out prizes to six medium-sized enterprises that have excelled in sustainable business management. Companies were recognised for their achievements across the following categories: “Accelerating Strategy & Growth”, “Utilising Innovation & Technologies”, “Shaping People & Workplaces”, “Protecting Resources & Environment”, “Special Prize – Integration” and “Special Prize – Lifetime Achievement”.
New technologies bring about radical change and destroy entire industries. Businesses that stand the test of time set themselves clear goals to expand their capacity for innovation, to fully involve their employees and external cooperation partners in the innovation process and to follow the resultant innovation strategy to the letter. The award was presented at the Axia awards evening by Lutz Meyer, Partner and Head of Deloitte’s Programme for Medium-Sized Enterprises.
For BEUMER, the optimisation of internal processes is just as important as the development of new business models. That is why the company established the BEUMER Group Evolution in Dortmund and the BG Challenge in Berlin within the framework of the Digital Hub Logistics. These develop “minimum viable products” (MVPs), i. e. prototypes that are developed just enough for a market analysis or a business model, which are completely reimagined. BEUMER places great importance on intensive exchange between the Beckum, Berlin and Dortmund sites and emphasises that the company has to remain a joint entity, albeit one that creates new ideas.
Guido Hesse (50) has taken charge of Customer Support at the BEUMER Group headquarters in Beckum/Germany, recently. As the new director, he controls and coordinates the global centre of competence and defines, together with his team, the technical and organisational principles of services and support for the BEUMER products.
The BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, has developed the BEUMER Overall Operation Monitoring app (Figure 1), an application which enables staff to maintain an overview of all the relevant parameters of their packaging line on their mobile devices at any time. The application shows the status quo of availability, performance and quality levels as well as the energy and compressed-air consumption. This ensures efficient operation of all systems. The program can be adapted to customer-specific requirements.
With this development, the BEUMER Group is taking a further step towards Industry 4.0. BEUMER Overall Operation Monitoring enables users to keep a constant eye on the current status of the filling, palletizing and packaging machines connected to their system using their mobile devices. The app clearly shows all lines with their most important parameters. This gives staff important information on the effectiveness of the entire line: availability, performance and quality level of the line or single machines, energy and compressed-air consumption. The customer can quickly evaluate all data and have them displayed in a target-performance comparison or diagram.
Users can adapt the BEUMER Group app to their specific requirements. Parameters can be added, line constellations changed and further dashboards added.
Further information/Weitere Informationen: BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG www.beumergroup.com
Of the 3.5 million or so companies in Germany, fewer than 1 % conduct research. This small but exclusive community includes the BEUMER Group, based in Beckum/Germany. In order to acknowledge their special commitment to research and development, the Association for the Promotion of Science and Humanities in Germany (Stifterverband der deutschen Wissenschaft) honoured the system provider with the “Innovation through Research” seal of approval (Figure 1). “We are delighted to receive such an accolade,” says Mark Antonius Behler, who is responsible for innovation management at BEUMER.
Although a good idea is an important prerequisite for successful innovation, there is actually much more to it. “The idea has to be implemented technically and brought to market maturity,” explains Behler. And only someone who conducts research can discover something new, innovate and create growth. BEUMER has therefore firmly integrated innovation management into its corporate strategy for the methodical planning, management and testing of innovations. Since these processes involve company-wide operations, all employees participate in shaping and maintaining a culture of innovations.
The Association for the Promotion of Science and Humanities in Germany regularly distinguishes creative companies that are driving research with this special seal of approval. The seal is valid for two years.
Further information/Weitere Informationen: BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG www.beumergroup.com
Transportadora Callao S.A., the logistics operator of a special cargo terminal in the port of Callao/Peru, relies on a BEUMER Group pipe conveyor for the transportation of zinc, copper and lead concentrates of different mining companies from the warehouse to the terminal (Figure 1). With its ability to navigate curves in three dimensions, the conveyor can be optimally adapted to its routing course of approximately 3,000 m. The conveying system prevents the concentrates from coming in contact with the environment and ensures dust-free transport to the ship’s holds. BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, was responsible for engineering and supply, including the steel structure, supervision of the installation and putting the pipe conveyor into operation.
Callao is located directly on the Pacific Ocean. It is one of the largest cities of Peru, with the largest airport in the country and one of the most important fishing and commercial ports in South America. A modern ship loading terminal for ore concentrates was built in this port and it is operated by Transportadora Callao S.A.
About 75 % of the imports and exports of Peru, one of the most important mining countries world-wide, are handled in Callao. In order to satisfy the increasing demand the Peruvian government decided to expand the port. Besides additional storehouses, the plans also foresaw the largest, most modern ship loading terminal in the country. Peru also wanted to change the way the raw materials were transported to the ship loading areas. Before the construction of the special terminal, trucks were used to transport the concentrates from the warehouses to the port terminal.
The mines in central Peru transport their concentrates to the warehouses, approximately 3 km from the port. This required an absolutely protected method for the transportation of material, to prevent particle emission into the atmosphere. Transportadora Callao opted for the BEUMER Group Pipe Conveyor.
Due to its enclosed transport, the Pipe Conveyor not only protects the environment against harmful impacts during the transport of the lead concentrate, it also allows conveying over long distances and navigation through tight curve radii. Due to its ability to navigate curves, this belt conveyor requires a lot less or no transfer towers at all, depending on its length and the available curve radii. This results in substantial cost savings for the customer, and allows BEUMER Group to easily customise the system to the individual routing. Durable conveyor belts guaranteeing tensile strength are used. The engineers use different dimensioning programs to determine the ideal belt design. They use them to calculate tractive forces and forces that arise during acceleration and deceleration and also to determine possible curve radii. BEUMER Group provides tailor-made feasibility studies for each project. Another advantage is the reduced noise emission that the system provides. This is ensured by special idlers, as well as low-noise bearings and selecting the right conveying speed. Noise measurements along the Pipe Conveyor resulted in values that are consistently far below the permitted limit values.
BEUMER Group supplied and installed a Pipe Conveyor with a centre distance of 3,195 m. Due to the system design and the required system capacity, it was designed with a diameter of 400 mm. The conveyor transports 2,300 t/h, at a speed of 4.5 m/s and is driven by three motors with a capacity of 650 kW each. The system is equipped with filters, strippers, a dedusting unit and a control system. BEUMER Group was responsible for engineering and automation, and supplied the steel structure and the necessary components. The site managers supervised the installation and put the system into operation.
Fig. 2. The Pipe Conveyor ends at the transfer tower, where the material is transferred to the ship loading system. // Bild 2. Der Pipe Conveyor endet am Übergabeturm, von dem aus das Material an die Schiffsbeladeanlage übergeben wird. Photo/Foto: BEUMER
The process is practically free of faults and, above all, safe. Trucks or trains transport the mining commodities from the mines to the ore storages, from where they are transported to the open access station. Here, the concentrates are received by a feeding 43 m belt conveyor that transfers it to the pipe conveyor at a height of 6 m. A dedusting unit ensures that no material is emitted during this process. At the end of the route, the conveying system runs along the seaside in the naval port of Callao to the transfer tower (Figure 2). Here, the belt opens automatically. It transfers the material to another belt conveyor that conveys the ore to the ship loading system.
This system, in operation now for 17 months, caused a significant increase in speed by 500 % for loading concentrates and reduced the ship’s waiting time until loading by more than 80 %. These advantages lead to savings for the exporters and improve the competitiveness of the country’s mining industry.
Further information/Weitere Informationen: Beumer Group GmbH & Co. KG www.beumergroup.com
The BEUMER Group, Beckum/Germany, uses its newly created Conveying & Loading Systems (CL Systems) division to develop and implement complex system solutions throughout the world for different industries, such as mining and the cement industry. The team is made up of experienced staff from the branches distributed around the world who work together on the projects. What they all have in common is that they understand the user, which means that they can develop tailor-made solutions. This is demonstrated by three impressive completed projects.
TPI Polene Public Company Ltd.
The operators for whom BEUMER has successfully commissioned conveying plants includes the TPI Polene Public Company Ltd. The third largest cement producer in Thailand uses this complex system solution to transport crushed limestone from the quarry to the blending bed. The challenge in designing laid in the nature of the ground between the quarry and the cement plant. It was exceptionally demanding not only for numerous obstacles but also for a steep downhill section of the conveyor. The team designed a complex, but above all cost-effective, integrated system comprising a total of eight belt conveyors covering a distance of 6,129 m (Figure 1). BEUMER also supplied a PLC plant control system, transfer stations, filter systems and foreign body collectors.
The system is designed for a conveying capacity of 2,200 t/h. The key items in the limestone transport system are two downhill belt conveyors operating in the generator mode followed by a troughed belt conveyor with horizontal curves. The material passes from the crusher discharge belt the first two troughed belt conveyors. The material is then transferred to a long overland conveyor with a speed of 4.5 m/s by an accelerator belt with a speed of 2.6 m/s. Three more conveyors finally transport the material to the blending bed. One particular feature of the downhill conveyors is their power generation. With a total of 640 kW/h generated energy that is fed into the power grid they make a substantial contribution to the cost-effective operation of the overall system.
BEUMER supplied four further belt systems with a total length of 989 m to deal with the discharge from the blending bed and supply the material to the raw mill feed hopper. The conveyors were all built and installed in only eleven months. The commissioning phase, lasting three months, was followed by performance tests.
Cong Thanh
Cong Thanh, the Vietnamese cement producer, also relies on the system solution expertise of the BEUMER Group for transporting crushed limestone from the quarry to the blending bed. The CL team discussed the various technical options intensively in a joint workshop held with the producer. Various routes were worked out and compared on the basis of the narrow terrain that was available. One conveyor section that drops steeply in some places with numerous obstacles in the terrain and seven road crossings was particularly challenging.
Fig. 2. BEUMER managed to route the conveyor along a very narrow stretch of land in Vietnam for the cement producer Cong Thanh. // Bild 2. In Vietnam realisierte BEUMER für den Zementhersteller Cong Thanhden Routenverlauf auf einem sehr schmalen Landstrich. Photo/Foto: BEUMER
A total system consisting of four conveyors with a combined length of 3.5 km is now in use (Figure 2), BEUMER also supplied a PLC plant control system. The main component is an overland conveyor with three horizontal curves and a total drive rating of 600 kW. It is designed for a continuous conveying capacity of 2,200 t/h.
The heaped material is transported in trucks from the quarry face to the crusher. The limestone that has been pre-crushed to less than 100 mm is then transferred by discharge conveyors to an accelerator belt that feeds the long belt conveyor.
The troughed belt conveyor for downhill transport is 1 m wide, with a distance between centres of 3,200 m, and drops 70 m. The conveying speed is 4.5 m/s. The low operating costs are a special feature. Due to the downhill section the operation of the fully loaded conveyor is virtually energy-neutral. Its consumption during continuous operation is less than 200 kW, which means that not even 0.1 kW is required per tonne of transported material.
Sinoma International Engineering Co. Ltd.
The CL Systems division of the BEUMER Group has also been very successful in Indonesia. The plant construction company Sinoma International Engineering Co. Ltd. was awarded the contract by the Indonesian end customer, Cemindo Gemilang, to supply a turn-key cement plant to Java. It should reach a daily clinker production of 10,000 t. Sinoma commissioned BEUMER with the design and supply of an overland conveyor between the quarry and the plant.
Fig. 3. The route of the overland conveyor for the end customer, Cemindo Gemilang, passes through the middle of the rain forest. // Bild 3. Der Verlauf des Overland-Conveyors für den Endkunden Cemindo Gemilang führt mitten durch den Regenwald. Photo/Foto: BEUMER
The challenges in this project were not only the demanding topographical routing but also the rainforest. Joint discussions were held between the BEUMER team, Sinoma and the end customer. The team worked out various routes and compared them. The entire system now comprises six conveying plants with a total of length of 7.6 km (Figure 3). BEUMER also supplied acceleration and discharge conveyors and a PLC plant control system.
The system is designed for a maximum continuous conveying capacity of 3,000 t/h. The main component is a 7.4 km long overland conveyor. Upstream of this troughed belt conveyor is an intermediate hopper with a capacity of about 120 t. The material passes from this hopper via a variable-speed discharge conveyor to a downstream acceleration belt with a speed of 4 m/s that feeds the overland conveyor. This controlled loading system ensures cost-effective operation of the plant, especially during the start-up phase. It also has a favourable effect in the dimensioning of drive components and the belt, and reduces the operating costs.
The troughed belt conveyor has a width of 1,200 mm and a distance between centres of 7,381 m. One tail drive and two head drives are installed, each with a rating of 545 kW. The plant conveys the material at a speed of 5 m/s and negotiates a height difference of minus 188 m.
The conveying system also runs past villages and for long sections passes through rainforest that deserves to be protected. The CL Systems team has taken numerous design measures to reduce the noise impact on people and animals, e. g. low noise idler rollers and appropriately dimensioned protective hoods at the drive station. The construction time lasted only one year.
Further information/Weitere Informationen: BEUMER Group GmbH & Co. KG www.beumergroup.com
