Cost-effective offloading of bagged products

Richard Simon has developed and extended its well known Containerpak mobile portside bagging system for distribution and end user systems based on bagged product

In the developed countries and in line with modern global transportation methods, many products such as fertilizers, grain and cement are moved in bulk.

As well as the smaller local production plants, large scale coastal plants, or inland plant connected to ports via rail networks, are exporting product using systems geared to bulk transfer.

This is fine for mass movement, but if the end user is in a developing country, distribution and end user systems are based on bagged product.

Richard Simon, a major supplier of bagging, blending, and materials handling systems have recognised this opportunity and have developed and extended their well known Containerpak mobile portside bagging system to answer such applications.

The Containerpak system finds extensive applications at ports and rail terminals.

At ports, the containers can be set up on the dockside and the bulk shipped materials can be offloaded, bagged and transported directly at the ship/quayside.

This provides a very cost effective off-loading system, cutting down wharfage and demurrage costs, whilst streamlining ongoing product distribution.

As a variation on this theme the company has also fitted fixed bagging lines onto ships to allow on-ship bagging of mass-shipped product at the port.

No Room For The Competition: A prime example of the effectiveness of these mobile units is illustrated at Karachi Port in Pakistan where weighing and bagging equipment supplied by Richard Simon dominates the quay side.

There are no fewer than nineteen of the company's mobile bagging units in the port, together with twenty five mobile electro-pneumatic gravity weighers, The first of these were supplied in 1994 and the most recent this year.

The equipment, which is operated by two main enterprises, is used predominantly for bagging fertilizers directly off-loaded in bulk from waiting ships, for onward road and rail transportation.

Fertilizer is purchased from around the world, based on price and availability, as a result, quick turnaround for the ships and entrepreneurs is vital.

This tough environment dramatically illustrates the renowned reliability of the weighers which operate almost non-stop, seven days a week.

A two shift system is operated, with only a three hour break in between.

This gives a maximum throughput capacity of 3000 tonnes of fertilizer every 24 hour period -equating to over 30 million sacks a year! Ten of the mobile bagging units in Karachi have been assembled locally by the importing companies, utilising equipment supplied from the UK.

Clyde are keen to promote this type of partnership approach and such arrangements eliminate unnecessary costs and help to support local economies.

The Containerpak System: The Containerpak mobile bagging system uses two 6 metre ISO containers converted to house the critical components of a bagging line.

The containers, which have Lloyds Register Shipping Approval, can be transported as any normal container by road, rail or sea to wherever they are needed such as ports, rail terminals and process plants.

The Containerpak system offers full flexibility in terms of operation and can utilise local power or be totally self-contained using an integral generator- especially useful where power supplies are, at best, unpredictable!.

Typically a complete system can be set up and made operational within 24 hours of arrival on site.

The Containerpak philosophy is based on a fully modular design concept where the bagging system can include all the necessary ancillary equipment such as feed conveyors and hoppers, dust extractors, air compressors and power generators, in addition to the central Richard Simon weighing technology, be it nett or gross weigh filling.

The combination of feed mechanisms, weighers and filling methods in a Containerpak system can be varied to ensure the optimum solution for a particular product.

The containers are stacked one on top of the other when operating and maximum accessibility is achieved via the hinged sides of each container, without compromising security.

Detachable tow bar and wheel assemblies provide on-site mobility while jacks allow levelling on uneven surfaces and ensure added stability during operation.

In the case of nett weigh filling, the top container receives and weighs the bulk material, and the lower container bags the product, for gross weigh filling applications such as cement handling, a bank of in-line impeller packers are sited in the lower container Containerpak systems can offer throughputs ranging from 20 tonnes per hour with one weigher and one packing line, up to 240 tonnes per hour with eight weighers and four bagging lines.

The choice of weigher and feeder system for a particular application must take into account a number of key factors which include: Product to be weighed and its material characteristics; Type and size of bag; Throughput required; Required accuracy and potential 'give away'; and Available space.

For fine powdered products like cement, gross weighing impeller valve bag packers provide the most efficient solution.

The Richard Simon impeller packer uses a horizontal impeller to feed the material through a two position gate and spout into the bags.

Fluidisation in the impeller hopper assists uniform material feed.

This version of the Containerpak system is capable of bagging cement at rates of up to 45 tonnes per hour from 4 spouts.

At the heart of each valve packer is the company's renowned load cell suspension system.

The integral flexure design and built-in overload stops prevent mechanical damage to the single point load cell and the solid construction minimizes the effects of shock and vibration.

Many years of hard-won experience have shown that this design concept provides extremely accurate weight measurement, rapid response to weight changes and excellent long term reliability.

Typical accuracies of 60 g at 1 Sigma are readily achievable for 25kg bags.

Each valve packer is controlled by a Computapak IV controller which offers unrivalled ease-of-use, recording and reporting of discharged bag weights together with application flexibility.

This unit features the company's proprietary self-optimization system which constantly monitors actual weights versus required target weights and then continually adjusts controls to maintain a tight tolerance and minimize give away.

System reliability is of vital importance in bagging lines, especially for portable systems operating in remote areas.

Almost 300 Containerpak systems are in use around the world, handling products as diverse as cement, fertilizers, grain, sugar and rice.

The systems have built an enviable reputation for reliability and ongoing performance with systems often operating 24hours a day, seven days a week even in the most hostile environments.

Conservative engineering disciplines, combined with Richard Simon's broad experience in materials handling ensures that the equipment operates well below levels where breakdowns are likely to occur without compromising the impressive bagging speed and accuracy.

The Containerpak concept is an excellent example of how experience and lateral thinking can provide ingenious solutions into traditional markets.

The company is constantly striving to improve the diversity and performance of its product offering.

As Doug Hacking points out: "Although we can supply a wide range of our own equipment, in order to maintain our leading position in the field of materials handling, we are forming strategic partnerships with leading suppliers of complementary handling equipment.

Partnering allows us to utilize the breadth and depth of our materials handling experience to design and manage complete projects.

We can supply complete systems which provide the most effective solution for the customer and equipment is supplied on the basis of suitability for a specific project." Richard Simon's extensive range of weighing equipment includes nett/gross open mouth bag weighers, belt weighers, throughput weighers, check-weighers, bulk weighers and blending lines, together with bag placers and palletisers.

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