August 8, 2017 - Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions Australia has completed the Port Kembla Coal Terminal Restoration and Compliance project, one of the company’s biggest fabrication and construction projects in Western Australia.

The company won the $100 million contract to design, supply, construct and commission three coal stackers that deposit coal into stockpiles for loading, and a reclaimer of the coal for loading onto ships for transport, to replace the over 30-year-old infrastructure at the Port Kembla Coal Terminal.

The project, which took three years to complete, used more than 3500 tonnes of locally produced steel. It was designed and constructed in Western Australia, using steel fabricated by local contractors led by CIVMEC and Doina Construction and Engineering.

More than 400 local workers were employed across several local companies.

Fabrication and construction works took place at the Australian Marine Complex in Henderson, following an innovative 3D design and engineering process that took 70,000 man-hours to complete.

The new, automated machines use radio frequency identification (RFID), radar and encoder technology for position control, providing greater operational efficiency, reduced coal ship loading time, and greater safety due to intelligent anti-collision systems.

The machines can handle 144,000 tonnes of coal per day at full operational capacity.

The equipment will be transported to its new home in New South Wales on the Jumbo Kinetic –  the biggest heavy-lift vessel in its class. Weighing 1490 tonnes, the reclaimer will be the biggest piece of machinery ever to be loaded onto a ship in a single lift at the Australian Marine Complex.

At the opening, Thyssenkrupp Industrial Solutions Australia CEO, Andrew Howie, said, “This project highlights the capability for innovative, major engineering projects in the region while benefiting the local economy.”

Port Kembla Coal Terminal operations manager, John Gorman, said, “Port Kembla Coal Terminal (PKCT) is excited to celebrate the offsite commissioning of our new stockyard machines which will transform our business to a state-of-the-art port operation.”

“The machines will deliver the latest industrial technology, making our critical link in Australia’s coal export supply chain much safer, more reliable and efficient to deliver better value to our customers.”