Steel pipes can be used in a variety of ways - as static elements in building construction or as pipelines for various substances, whether solid, liquid or gaseous. Before they can be installed, however, they must first arrive safely at their place of use. Brinker Fetten Logistik in Duisburg takes care of this: a merger of two long-established logistics companies with more than 80 years of experience in the industry. The transport experts have now opened a new logistics center in Duisburg for even more efficient handling. "Duisburg is one of Germany's transport and logistics hubs," says Ludwig Fetten, Managing Director of Brinker Fetten Logistik. A completely new 6,000 square meter hall has therefore been built on the 21,000 square meter site. Its five doors are arranged so that 60 employees can work simultaneously at up to ten picking and loading stations. To ensure smooth operations, the pipes have to be transported quickly from place to place within the hall. "And we have to do this sensitively, because the safety of our logistics experts and the efficiency of our processes are at the heart of our business," says Ludwig Fetten. Konecranes therefore supplies an all-round package comprising a total of six state-of-the-art CXT Neo double-girder overhead cranes and comprehensive service support - specially designed to meet the requirements of Brinker Fetten Logistik.

Reliable cranes lift pipes in piecework
In addition to the efficient transport of goods, the new logistics center in Duisburg also offers space to put the finishing touches to the steel pipes. Ludwig Fetten: "We can sandblast the pipes for our customers directly and treat them with corrosion protection. That saves a lot of time and money." After processing, the bulky freight has to be transported quickly to the picking and loading stations. "The steel pipes are up to 16 meters long and weigh up to ten tons, which makes transporting them quickly a special task," explains Dirk Gawrich, Sales Manager at Konecranes.

Konecranes equips the six CXT Neo double-girder bridge cranes for Brinker Fetten Logistik with two hoists each to lift the bulky goods safely. Dirk Gawrich: "The two hoists can access different points on the pipe and lift in balance." The CXT Neo double-girder overhead bridge cranes with spans of 19 and 29 meters thus transport their freight safely from the warehouse to the truck. The cranes are equipped with synchro-hoisting tandem control for absolutely synchronized operation. In addition, the hoisting and travel speeds of the hoists, the trolleys and the cranes themselves can be infinitely adjusted thanks to ASR hoist inverters. "A high crane travel speed is important in order to transport the pipes efficiently to the loading points and onto the waiting trucks," says Dirk Gawrich. The energy chain of the CXT Neo cranes also ensures a safe working environment. It runs the primary power supply and control cables along the crane bridge. This protects the important connections from wear and tear and at the same time keeps the working area underneath the crane bridge clear. Another safety aspect: the crane operators control the powerful systems by radio remote control with integrated load display. This allows potential overloads to be detected quickly. pb