L O G I S T I C S
BONFIGLIOLI
PARTNERS WITH KILIC
ENGINEERING ON
LARGE GRAIN PROJECT
The company has
Bonfiglioli recently partnered with Adelaide-based engineering firm, Kilic
Engineering on a large grain transportation project. Kilic Engineering
is a diverse mechanical engineering company owned and operated by
the Kilic family since 1973.
a long and proud
history of excellence
in designing,
manufacturing and
installing a very wide range of
conveyors, material handling
systems, chute work and
associated structural elements.
With an established reputation
built over years of operation in
the industry, Kilic Engineering
looked to a trusted supplier for this
mammoth project. Danie de Vries,
state manager for VIC, SA and TAS
from Bonfiglioli says that the initial
challenge was local support.
“While Bonfiglioli is well established
in both Australia and New Zealand
– 31 years and counting, Kilic
Engineering required ongoing local
support and on-hand expertise
for this project in South Australia.
Thanks to our distributor network,
we were able to make this happen
through our partner, Motion Control
in Adelaide”.
The project
Craig Dennis, general manager
for Kilic Engineering says that
this application ultimately
formed part of a large system for
T-Ports. “T-Ports specialises in
innovative solutions for the export
of commodities, partnering with
customers and investors to use a
flexible model that positions port
infrastructure close to the product’s
origin.”
The application required large
amounts of grain products to be
handled on a consistent basis.
Here, grain is dropped into dual
hoppers by trucks. The grain is
then moved into silos and finally
into a large haul shipping vessel
via a boom conveyor. “This boom
conveyor is a long conveyor which
goes from the land over to the
shipping harbor and then into the
ship,” explains Craig.
Some 1000 tonnes of grain is
needed to be transported per
hour to a 24000-ton silo storage.
Once ready for loading, the ship
is loaded at a capacity of 13800
tonnes per day.
“The locally fabricated Ahrens steel
silos can be filled directly by trucks
direct from growers or from the
nearby bunker site via an internal
haul road between the two Lucky
Bay sites. The system design made
in collaboration with our customer,
Ahrens, includes belts, gantries,
services, framework, conveyors,
piling and concreted works and is
based on ‘off the shelf’ solutions,”
says Craig.
The port itself underwent a harbour
extension in 2014 and now
incorporates two berth pockets
for simultaneously loading or
discharging two 87-metre or longer
self-propelled self-discharging
vessels.
Previously unseen in Australia
for grain exports, the use of a
transhipment vessel means T-Ports
requires less than four metres of
depth in the harbour, eliminating
the need for major jetty structures
and other port infrastructure.
T-Ports transhipment technology
is capable of operating in seas of
up to 5m wave height and 30 knot
winds.
Due to the port being located close
to the product, these facilities
substantially reduce the road
haulage distances, hence reducing
32 JUNE 2020