Formosa Plastics Corporation order two 640 D-type Siwertell ship unloaders
Bruks Siwertell has received an order for two 640 D-type Siwertell ship unloaders from Formosa Plastics Corporation (FPC), part of the Taiwanese conglomerate, Formosa Plastics Group, which will bring the total number of continuous screw-type Siwertell unloaders operated by the company to thirteen. The new totally enclosed unloaders will be installed at Kaohsiung Port, in southern Taiwan, where they will offer the efficient, environment-friendly handling of salt.
“The order makes FPC one of our biggest repeat Siwertell equipment customers and we are delighted that they have returned to our technology once again,” says Per Karlsson, President, Bruks Siwertell AB. “We are confident that our continuous mechanical ship unloaders offer the very best that the market can deliver, particularly when handling difficult materials at high capacities.”
The new rail-mounted units will be used to unload salt, a source of chlorine, which is used in the manufacture of many types of plastics. They offer a continuous rated capacity of 1,000t/h and will discharge vessels up to 80,000 dwt. “Our reputation for the reliable handling of salt is strengthened by the fact that FPC already successfully uses Siwertell ship unloaders to handle it. This was one of the main reasons why it approached us again,” explains Karlsson. “In particular, FPC’s good experience with two of our unloaders at its Mai-Liao facility in Taiwan; one of which was delivered in 2006, and another in 2015.”
Like the Mai-Liao unloaders, the latest pair will feature design additions to enhance their efficiency and enable them to withstand the corrosive effects of salt. These will include an optimized inlet feeder, specifically developed for unloading salt and making it ideal for handling compacted materials at a high discharge rate.
“With any unloader tasked with handling salt, corrosion has to be one of the major considerations,” notes Karlsson. “Other unloading technologies used for this material cannot match the capabilities of a Siwertell unloader and its long maintenance intervals, which is why we can maximize equipment availability and through-ship performance, and keep maintenance costs as low as possible.”
The two unloaders will arrive fully assembled at Kaohsiung Port’s jetty number 16 on a heavy lift vessel and are due to be mounted on the rails, commissioned and fully operational by the end of 2022.