The „Grand Port Maritime de Dunkerque“ in northern France is the country‘s third-largest port and its most important trans-shipment point for foodstuffs and oil products, as well as ore and coal. Several cranes are in use there each day, transporting the goods from ship to dry land.

Because this causes particularly great wear on the ship unloaders, the port of Dunkerque commissioned the company Kalenborn France to provide wearproof lining for its cranes. The challenge: to protect chutes and filling shafts as well as channels and pipes. Asuitable form of wear protection had to be found for all elements.

Kalenborn decided on a combination of three materials: KERAFLEX , KALMETALL and KALOCER. The transfer chute, whose impact surface has to withstand a material throughput volume of 4,000 tons an hour, was reinforced with KERAFLEX. The ceramic plates vulcanized into rubber mats have an extremely hard and wear-proof surface. Impact resistance is provided by the 10-mm thick rubber layer and optimal vulcanisation of the components. The unloading surfaces of the conveyor belts were also fitted with KERAFLEX. Because the conveyor belts work at a speed of between 3.6 and 5 metres a second, high wear protection is particularly important here. Delivery chutes and filling shafts were lined with KALMETALL W and KALOCER. The combination of the KALMETALL W hard overlay-welded plates and the KALOCER high alumina ceramics unites optimal wear protection with outstanding gliding properties.

A consignment warehouse has meanwhile also been constructed on site: here the employees in charge of facility maintenance can independently remove and process the required materials.

The photo shows an external view of the ship unloader’s filling shaft lined with KALMETALL W and KALOCER wear protection.