Technology Innovations
1. Modul Co. Ltd. elaborated know-how technology, Patent No.2127703 d.d. 21.10.98,"Method of loading/unloading for containers transported on railway platforms".
Below is the list of advantages granted by this technical solution:
- With no necessity to restuff cargo from wagon to container, the amount of paper rolls damaged during the transportation decreased from 10% to 0,5% of the total cargo volume.
- All participants of supply chain get direct saving advantage. The railways benefit from higher rate for containers' transport as compared to the rate for rail cars transport. The Shipper's expenditures are getting lower thanks to no costs for cargo restuffing in the port.
- Dwell time of rolling stock at loading point, especially at the sea port, is reduced owing to higher speed of container unloading from railway platform as compared to cargo restuffing from wagons into containers.
- Rail car fleet of Russian Railways (RZD) is getting more available, notably the most scarce part of it: so-called railcars for foodstuff (without any defects, foreign smellsб previous cargo remnants, etc). The majority of shipments under our patented technology is performed not in RZD containers (because of their shortage ), but in containers of shipping lines released after import delivery.
- Overland part of shipment is carried out by "green" and cost-effective railway transport.
2. "JOLODA" equipment for cargo loading into containers
Modul. Co. Ltd. is the oficial distributor of Joloda equipment which is widely used at our terminals.
"JOLODA" equipment was specially designed for cargo loading into HC 20 and 40' boxes without any lift trucks and with 1-2 workers only. Weight of loaded cargo can reach 27 tonnes. The device consists of special bars and pin-joint hydraulic lift ramps. Before stuffing into a container the cargo should can be completed and fixed on special pallets after what it is loaded into a container. The device is peculiar for the necessity to install the guide ways straightly and the container with an incline of 1,5-2,00 to the horizont depending on the kind of stuff, its package, load distribution, etc.
Advantages:
- Ideal for heavy lifts and OOG cargoes
- Lack of technical requirements to specialized containers with top or side loading
- Fit for standard ISO containers, 20 and 40' with end loading
- Loading under own weight for all cargoes up to 40 metres long with possibility of putting onto a roll-trailer
- High speed of loading process (30 minutes on average)
- After loading/unloading equipment is taken off
- To unload just switch the device to unloading mode and take out the load
- Device includes a system of Joloda jacks for containers and also special guideways of 40 feet long (12 m) in order to install onto an inclined plane and loading of loads into container
The device allows to load into containers loads with weight of up to 28 tons without application of loaders at once!
Work with jacks, hydraulic device and roll-trailer is done by one person!
3. Technology of loading various types of cargo into large-tonnage containers on railway platforms is one of the leading ones in the system of multimodal carriages. Since 1992 Modul Co. Ltd. has had the experience of this technology implementation at different enterprises of the country.
Loading of containers onto platforms is possible only with the use of a special construction design of removable mobile ramp which depends on the cargo type, type of applied plantforms and conditions of loadng fronts. To load rubber in packages with weight of up to 1,5 t into 40' containers onto platforms of 13-401 and 13-4012 model the company has developed and suggests using a removable mobile ramp consisting of two sections. The first section is a platform with dimensions 2500x2360x126 mm is installed between open doors of containers with a forklift putting it into special grooves.
At the end of the platform there are glasses with holes. The second section with dimensions 2400x1246x126 serves for driving of loader onto platform and has two pairs of pins. The section is installed close to the platform and is fixed with pins through glasses to the platform and also to the warehouse ramp.
After assembling of a ramp the loader stuffs the container and when stuffing is done the ramp is demounted.
4. Implementation of technological process of large-tonnage stuffing with bulk cargo with application of a bunker-conveyer unit.
Carriage of small lots (up to 5000 t) of bulk cargo in large-tonnage containers is in demand more and more and now is very relevant.
Studying this question Modul Co. Ltd. has developed a technological process and has made a mobile bunker-conveyer unit for loading of fertilizers, ore concentrates, pellets (wooden granules) and other similar cargo in 20' containers with bulk.
The unit consists of a receiving hopper, support frame, belt conveyer and portable platform to lift people. When cargo arrives in big-bags, the big bag is loaded out from the wagon and then is taken to the bunker unit. To load the cargo into a container a big bag with cargo is lifted by the forklift above the bunker, is untied and the casrgo is going into container with conveyer.
The conveyer is designed for different specific load volume of bulk cargo and it can move 1,0-1,5 tons of cargo at a time.
Implementation of technolgical process of loading bulk cargo into large-tonnage 20' containers with application of bunker and conveyer unit allows:
- To stuff containers with bulk cargo on terminals without application of apecialized machinery and equipment;
- To move the unit operatively to the required place depending on the method of cargo delivery with different types of transport and the place of its storage;
- Provide productivity of loading and unloading works at loading containers with bulk cargo from big bags;
- To increase stuffing of a container in cargo lifting in comparison with big bags and to reduce costs for cargo delivery to the consignee.
At TLK "Pulkovsky" by order of "Group magnesite" magnesite bulk cargo was transhipped using bunker and conveyer unit. Magnesite is chrystalline magnesium carbonat of brown colour without smell. It is used in industry (chemical, paper) as fire-resistant raw material which caomes in big bags.
Specialists of sales department has timely and thouroughly worked through a chain of cargo consignment delivery providing self-dumping unloading at consignee's warehouse. In this transport scheme both TLK "Pulkovsky", managers of export department, Modul Co. Ltd., owners of containers and operators of the German container terminal which fulfilled finish carrying of cargo on specialised container trucks tipper-chassis took part.
In January-February of 2010 in spite of complicated weather conditions the first lot of magnesite of 2000 tons was timely loaded into 20' large-tonnage containers and sent within stipulated time to the consignee in Germany. Unloading the cargo from containers in Germany did not cause any problems and received the consignee's approval.
The proposed method of containerization of bulk cargo allows the company to increase the range and to attract additional volumes of transhipped cargo at TLK "Pulkovsky".
Delivery of the first trial lot of cargo to the consignee in containers in bulk has shown relevance of this method of carriage which minimizes transport costs, ensures high quality and safe cargo delivery to the consignee "from door to door" and excludes impact of weather conditions.
Work on implementation of technological process of bulk cargo loading into containers has just begun and will continue with the purpose to increase the range of transhipped cargoes, to increase productivity of technological line and to reduce cost price and loading and unloading works.
At loading of fertilizers from covered wagons the unit is installed at the warehouse ramp or wagon table. The hauler driver installs a container so that the conveyer would go inside the container. The loader driver takes the cargo out from the wagon and lifts the big bag over the bunker. The worker who is standing at the attached platform unties the big bag and cargo goes into container. Container is loaded up to full capacity (Scheme 1).
Similar work is done at delivery of cargo in semi-wagons, by road or from warehouse. In this case mobile cranes or multi-loaders can be used to deliver cargo into the bunker (Scheme 2).