Super-sized and super-powered

Powering up for a new era in bulk materials handling

SAMSON Materials Handling – creators of the original SAMSON Material Feeder - has been at the forefront of the bulk materials industry for almost 50 years. From modest beginnings as an engineering partnership in rural Cambridgeshire (UK) the company launched the flagship product, the SAMSON Material Feeder. This product provided an effective bulk handling solution which quickly sparked interest worldwide. Becoming part of the AUMUND Group in 2002 enabled SAMSON to provide partners with the opportunity for synergies and increased international support networks. With a new Managing Director, Malcolm Youll appointed in 2015, the company is set for exciting times ahead.

We asked Malcolm Youll: Since your appointment in June 2015, have you noticed any trends in mobile bulk materials handling?

There are always pressures for increased efficiency and maximising ROI. Commodity price fluctuations have a strong influence on the prices that companies are prepared to pay for bulk handling equipment. The key issue for SAMSON is to provide equipment that is reliable, easy to maintain and future proofed so that operating costs are kept to a minimum and our partners can do business with confidence.
We have seen a tendency in recent projects for “super-sizing”, that is to say larger, longer or extreme strength machines.
Projects such as:

Stormajor® Boom Feeder BF08
Baoshan Iron & Steel in China have recently taken delivery of our largest boom feeders ever - the BF08. These super-powered machines are designed for continuous operation with a capacity of 1200 tph of iron ore and 500 tph of coal. Using a 15 metre boom they create stockpiles of 8 metres high. This design can be expanded to a 30 metre boom with a stacking height of 15 metres. These machines are flexible in operation and with their diesel motor drive can operate fully autonomously requiring no fixed infrastructure or power supplies.

Stormajor® Boom Feeder BF08 with 20m boom
Two high reaching Stormajor® Boom Feeders BF04 have been commissioned for Prumo Logistica the private Brazilian company engaged in establishing the super port of Açu in Brazil. These have been developed for stockpiling coal, coke and bauxite with an extra-long boom length of 20 metres. This makes them ideal for high stockpiling as they discharge material to form a radial stockpile up to 12 metres high. They provide a luffing range of 0-27 degrees and a slewing range +/- 60 degrees. They are designed with output rates of 720 tph for coal and 1000 tph of bauxite.

Samson® Material Feeder MFD6 with heavy duty chain
Two 85 ton material feeders have been recently delivered to Namdeb Diamond Corporation’s Mine in Orangemund, Namibia. These were tailored specifically to Namdeb’s requirements to efficiently handle bulk aggregates including desert sand, gravel and tailings direct from 40 ton trucks and provide a buffer holding capacity of 66.2 tons. These super strong machines, fitted with heavy duty chain, have a regulated output rate of 1000 tph, direct to an on-going conveyor.

What future developments do you envisage for SAMSON?
SAMSON has always been in the fortunate position of being able to provide equipment tailored to specific requirements so, for example, if a client has a smaller jetty, an unusual quay configuration or site access issues SAMSON engineers can tailor equipment to suit individual circumstances. We have experience in designing equipment to convey a huge variety of materials from free-flowing grains up to heavy aggregates.

The original SAMSON Feeders were conceived as a mobile solution to receive general bulk materials such as coal and aggregates direct from tipping trucks where fixed plant was not an option. They eliminated the need for truck ramps and fixed civil works and were enthusiastically adopted by hundreds of users worldwide.

Our technology and knowhow in mobile equipment development has been incorporated into a range of products over the years including the Stormajor® (which combines the benefits of the SAMSON® Feeder with a radial and luffing outloading boom conveyor), ECO HOPPER (providing dust controlled grab unloading) and of course the Shiploader with the option of add-on conveyor components to make up a modular shiploading system.

Our engineering flexibility has always been key to our strength and a major benefit for the development of our partners. SAMSON prides itself in providing solutions.

At SAMSON our aim for the future is to exceed expectations in bulk materials handling, both in concept design, execution and aftersales service. SAMSON equipment is built to last, as are our relationships with partners.

We would encourage all potential partners to approach us to see if there are solutions to their particular issues, even if they had previously dismissed the possibility of dedicated bulk handling equipment. SAMSON excels where standard product solutions are not viable. With almost 50 years of designing solutions, it is likely that we have already had comparable experience and will be able to use that to provide a solution.

Associated Businesses

  • Ely, CB7 4EA