Double bag handler speeds output

THE LAST two years have been a period of vigorous expansion in Cape Town for SA Stevedores (SAS) - which also provides stevedoring and related functions at the
ports of Richards Bay, Durban, Port Elizabeth East London and Saldanha Bay.
This, said SAS executive Hugh Wyatt, followed the re-establishment of the company’s own identity in the port of Cape Town after severing a joint-venture operation at the beginning of 2003.
While continuing to provide a service
to its established clients, SAS also acquired
a major export contract in March of
that year - being contracted by PPC
Cement to handle its total export
volumes through the port.
“This encouraged us to introduce
certain innovative projects which enabled
SA Port Operations (Sapo) to double their output,” said Wyatt.
Two of these innovations were
the introduction of multi-unit bag
lifting spreaders, and new forklift trucks
with a capacity to reach the required
stow height.
“We realised that Sapo fulfilled an important function in that they deliver
the cargo to the hook.
“Given this, SAS developed a double
bag handler which allowed that doubling
of Sapo’s output.”
These changes saw SAS vastly increasing
the shift tonnages to in excess of 2 500-tons per 8-hour shift - well within world standards.
“It allowed us to load a vessel of
20 000-t in 4-days whereas, in the past, this would have taken approximately 10-12 days.”
Following this success, SAS started looking for other business - with a particular focus on the bulk market, Wyatt told FTW.