The logistics company Hoyer (Hamburg, Germany; www.hoyer-group.com) has expanded its Kombi Terminal Schkopau (KTSK) in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. The terminal has been lengthened by 220 m and equipped with a second portal crane. New transhipment points and new storage capacities have also been created. This public terminal with discrimination-free access will thus be able to process up to 110,000 cargo-handling operations per year.
Hoyer commissioned the Kombi Terminal in Schkopau between Leipzig and Halle in 2005. It ensures rail and road links between the major German seaports and inland ports and the Port of Rotterdam, and handles traffic throughout Europe, especially to the Netherlands, Belgium and Italy.
As a result of the enlargement, considerably more full-length trains can now be accommodated, and turnaround times shortened. Ulrich Grätz, director Supply Chain Solutions at Hoyer and managing director of the KTSK Kombi Terminal Schkopau GmbH, says: “The demand exists in the region, and enquiries from existing and new customers wanting to use the terminal confirmed our decision to carry out the enlargement. The terminal has undergone constant further development since it was commissioned.”
During the one-year construction phase, the logistics company lengthened each of the two tracks to 620 m and installed a second container portal crane. The transhipment area was enlarged by nearly 2,000 m2. This enables the turnaround of up to 25,000 more load units per year than in the past. The new crane, weighing 370 metric tons (m.t.) and 26-m high, and manufactured by Kranbau Köthen GmbH, has a maximum safe working load of 40 m.t. under the spreader, a maximum lift height of 14.90 m and a maximum lifting speed of up to 30 m/min with a full load.
Hoyer, the terminal’s owner, also decided to increase the storage area in Schkopau by 3,500 m2. Ingo Wiese, director of Hoyer’s Techlog business unit, says: “This enables us to meet the growing demand by ship-owners and haulage contractors for empty container depots to serve the hinterland.” The terminal now also offers a repair service for box containers from overseas traffic. Regarding the investment amounting to around 9 million euros, Ingo Wiese says: “To commemorate the Schkopau terminal’s tenth anniversary, we have further optimized the entire service and adapted it to our customers’ needs.”