Page 49 - HUB-4 Magazine Issue 94

Bulk Handling
[
‘Competitors models do the same job as the
Liebherrs but without the fuel efficiency and
operator comfort’
Nathan Turner, operations manager
[
The loading process is handled entirely by the fleet of 21-
tonne L 556 XPower loaders, fitted with long-arm
configurations and Ulrich hi-tip buckets. Powered by Liebherr
4-cylinder engines developing 183hp, the loaders easily cope
with the lightweight material while returning impressively low
fuel consumption – averaging just 10.4 litres per hour.
The additional reach of the long-arm version of the L 556
XPower adds 520mm of pin height to the loader. That extra
reach and load-over height is an asset when loading the road-
going articulated trailers, which sit much higher off the
ground. Just three passes from the loaders – each equipped
with a 5.5 m³ bucket ¬– are enough to fill the trucks to
capacity.
The loaders are in typical Liebherr Rental specification and
include a host of features that would incur extra costs from
many plant hire companies, such as a 360° camera system, an
active personnel detection system at the rear and adaptive
LED lighting – particularly useful at Scunthorpe where
operations run round the clock.
It was left to Thomas Jaehrig, senior category manager at
British Steel, to have the last word on “going rental”. ‘We felt
there was a better, more productive and economical way of
undertaking this operation. So far, we’re seeing the benefits;
our repair bills are lower, our uptime has increased, our fuel
costs have come down and they are simply a very good
company to deal with.’
The material
Coking coal is a crucial ingredient in the steelmaking process,
specifically for primary steel production using blast furnaces. It
is converted into coke, which acts as both a fuel and a
reducing agent in the blast furnace. Supplies are sourced
globally to ensure minimal contamination. Shipped into the
nearby Port of Immingham, the coal is discharged on to trains
and transported to Scunthorpe in loads of around 1,000
tonnes at a time.
www.hub-4.com Sept/Oct - Issue 94
| p49 |