The order for Bunge consists of 11 belt conveyors with a belt width from 800 to 1,400 mm and a capacity ranging from 200 to 800 tph, 14 chain conveyors with a capacity from 160 to 500 tph and six bucket elevators with a capacity ranging from 250 to 500 tph. Furthermore, Cimbria has supplied Q-piping systems, including diverters and connecting boxes in sizes of Q40 and Q55, all manufactured in 5 mm hot-dip galvanized execution. In addition, Cimbria Moduflex has supplied 3 x HDF400 loading chutes with integrated filter units and multi-purpose heavy duty outlets. Cimbria said that the total contract for the materials handling and related equipment came to approximately €3 million.
The Port of Swinoujscie has more than 12 m draft, and it is suitable for loading and unloading of large vessels such as Handymax, which is typically 150-200 m in length and between 20,000-30,000 dead weight tonnage (DWT), and Panamax, which is typically up to 275 m in length and between 45,000-55,000 DWT.
The 132 m x 50 m x 32 m facility was initially designed as a single flat warehouse, with a storage capacity of 45,000 tonnes of soy meal that was typically imported from Bunge crushing plants in Argentina and Brazil. Cimbria said that shortly after commencing construction of the main storage facility, Bunge increased the storage facility by another 5,000 tonnes by adding a new 32 m x 30 x 23 m building. This store will primarily be used for the export of rape meal from Bunge plants in Poland but will also be used for other types of grain.
Cimbria said the facility, which was put into service earlier this year, is able to handle a total of 1 million tonnes annually, 700,000 tonnes as import and 300,000 tonnes as export. The new facility was built in accordance with the latest standards, including ATEX classification, whilst at the same time also complying with Bunge’s internal company standards on equipment, as well as to local port authority requirements, a challenge which required a good degree of co-operation between Cimbria, Buttimer Polska and Bunge.
Cimbria noted that it is worth remarking that all the materials handling equipment has been chosen to comply with Bunge’s own design specifications calling for very low conveying speeds, for example — all the belt conveyors run at max. 2.0 m/s, the chain conveyors run at approx. 0.3 m/s and the elevators at approx. 2.5 m/s. These requirements necessitate the use of “oversized” equipment in order to meet the requirements of Bunge, just as a number of technical modifications on the handling equipment were required before Cimbria was able to qualify as a supplier to Bunge. For example, all bearings and drive arrangements are equipped with Food Grade oil or grease, just as the drive drums on belt conveyors and elevators are coated with a special antistatic rubber lining.
