Melco conveyor components improve productivity in shipping industry
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In order to improve productivity and efficiency in challenging shipping applications in coastal regions, internationally-recognised conveyor equipment manufacturer Melco has installed its range of Supreme high-density polyethylene (HDPE) rollers on entire conveyor belt systems at ports across South Africa.
Melco sales and marketing director Craig Warmback explains that HDPE is a polyethylene thermoplastic, and offers superior resistance to abrasion and corrosion, and provides the conveyor belt system with a lifecycle often exceeding 12 years.
Warmback highlights the fact that the Port of Richards Bay has been making sole use of Melco’s state-of-the-art range of HDPE rollers on all of its conveyor belts since 1990. “Our HDPE rollers, branded as the Melco Supreme roller, have a longer lifespan than standard steel rollers in harsh port conditions, thanks to a 12 mm external HDPE sleeve, which ensures overall cost savings with regards to maintenance and downtime.”
The machined finish of the Melco HDPE roller results in low total indicated run-out, which ultimately minimises vibration and noise levels, adds Warmback. “The reduction of noise pollution is essential to all ports, as many aim to increase productivity without the consequent increase in noise levels, due to the fact that most harbours are located fairly close to residential areas with a high population density. What’s more, HDPE is fully-recyclable and is, therefore the most environmentally-friendly roller available in the local market.”
Melco works closely with numerous other port authorities in South Africa, and Melco idler sets and rolls can also be found in Durban harbour, the Port of Saldanha Bay and Port Elizabeth harbour. Melco managing director Gavin Hall notes that Melco was involved in the successful 2009 R50-milllion conveyor upgrade project at the Port of Saldanha Bay.
“Melco was involved in the entire upgrade of the port’s conveyor belt system, in order to increase throughput. With regard to the conveyor idlers, the existing 5-roll garlands were replaced with deep trough 3-roll underslung idlers, which increased the material cross sectional area by approximately 20 per cent,” he explains.
Hall points out that this involved the installation of 2,4 km of conveyor belts, in addition to four stacker-reclaimers, which transport the product from the conveyor onto the ship. “The upgrade has enabled Saldanha to increase its iron ore tonnages from 20-million tons, to 47,6-million tons last year. A combination of the iron ore and the sea air creates a highly-corrosive operating environment for conveyor systems at Saldanha, hence the Port of Saldanha required a very specialised painting system to all steel rolls and frames.”
Looking to the future, Warmback believes that demand for the Melco range of HDPE rollers will continue to increase steadily, particularly in the local ports industry. “Port authorities are continually looking to improve competitiveness by operating more reliable equipment, and the Melco range of HDPE rollers have been proven to far outlast competitor products, especially with regards to corrosion resistance and lifespan. This ensures that they are more cost-effective, while transporting higher tonnages at faster rates,” he concludes.
Founded in 1970 with the aim of supplying world-class conveyor components to the South African mining industry, Melco is today one of the largest suppliers of idlers and rollers in Africa. Melco is an ISO 9001:2008 approved company that operates a highly-specialised testing facility, where products are tested under laboratory-controlled environments prior to field-testing, full-scale manufacture and supply. This process ensures that Melco products are among the most advanced in the world. Melco also operates quality management systemswhich control every aspect of the company. These systems are audited regularly to ensure compliance with the highest standards.
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Notes to the editor
There are numerous photographs specific to this press release. Please visit http://media.ngage.co.za and click the Melco link.
About Melco
Melco is one of Africa’s major conveyor equipment manufacturers. Melco has been a proud member of the Rulmeca Group of Companiessince 2006. Melco idlers have been successfully utilised in many bulk materials handling applications in over 75 countries throughout the world, and installed on belt widths from 200mm to 3000mm. The Melco roll product range is comprehensive, ranging from 89mm to 215mm in diameter, with bearing and shaft arrangements from 25mm to 60mm diameter.
Melco Contacts
Gavin Hall
Managing Director
Phone: 087 806 3160
Email: gavinh [at] melco [dot] co [dot] za
Craig Warmback
Sales and Marketing Director
Phone: 011 255 1600
Email: craigw [at] melco [dot] co [dot] za
Media Contact
Ryan Collyer
NGAGE Public Relations
Phone: (011) 867-7763
Fax: 086 512 3352
Cell: 072 377 5000
Email: ryan [at] ngage [dot] co [dot] za
Web: www.ngage.co.za