Service - Taiwan

Major unloader refurbishment project minimizes downtime in Taiwan

A major refurbishment project in Taipei Port, Taiwan, for Chia Pei International’s Siwertell ship unloader, was planned with such precision that it could happen within the operator’s narrow maintenance time slot. The unloader is now back up and running, meeting its capacity requirements and owner’s expectations.

Customer need 

Taiwanese coal handler, Chia Pei International, has been served by a Siwertell VST 790 OD screw-type ship unloader since 2008. The rail-mounted unit is located in Taipei Port, Taiwan, the country’s newest international port, and discharges coal at a rated capacity of 2,000t/h from vessels up to Panamax size.

This hard-working unit keeps a tight schedule for Chia Pei International’s coal terminal, and when it became necessary to undertake a major overhaul, the company turned to Bruks Siwertell for help.

The refurbishment work required was extensive, including changing the slewing bearing, which requires all of the slewing parts to be dismantled. To ensure that the entire work schedule could be planned for, a thorough inspection was initially needed.

With only a two-month window available for all repair and maintenance work, any project had to be carefully managed and carried out. 

Our solution

Bruks Siwertell has supported Chia Pei International for a number of years, keeping the ship unloader in good condition. It is in almost continuous use in the port and is critical to the area, feeding local power-generation plants and the storage facilities of other major power stations. 

The owner and Bruks Siwertell worked closely together to establish a refurbishment plan that could be completed within the very narrow stoppage allowance at the terminal. Although the slewing bearing was known to need replacing, part of finding a good solution for this operator was ensuring that everything that needed attention, repair or replacement was identified in advance.

Following the inspection, in addition to the slewing bearing, a list comprising everything from hinges to platforms and handrails was generated, including a decision to repaint the machine.

All maintenance work was well planned, organized, and carried out successfully; the unloader is now operational and meeting its capacity requirements.

Bruks Siwertell knows that, with attention to good service, its machines can last for decades, and as part of its commitment to customer service throughout the lifetime of an installation, it will help operators with everything from refurbishment projects to navigating the availability of spare parts.