Meher Hermanns
introduces new bulk silo
Meher Hermanns introduces new bulk silo Meher Hermanns India (MHI), which manufactures V-shaped and Lupa bulkers for the carriage of dry powders and granular products like, cement, flyash, sand, alumina, English clay and powdered chemicals, has come up with the ‘mini silo’. The bulker will detached from the truck and positioned onsite. The truck is free to do another run in the time it takes for the bulker’s contents to be fully unloaded. After this is achieved, the bulker may be re- coupled with the truck. ‘A regular-sized bulker makes a trip and a half per day, in cities like Mumbai, Bangalore or Hyderabad. With its nimbleness, the ‘mini silo’ can make up to three trips a day,’ explains Anil Tandon, MD, Meher Hermanns India. He adds, ‘given the reduced downtime afforded by the mini silo, fewer trucks would be needed for the bulkers.’ The consignment is procured at the loading point,
after which the truck proceeds to the client’s site. The portable bulk silo is erected, following which the truck moves to take on its next assignment. Thus far, MHI has delivered two 20-tonne, silos to Ambuja Cements. Orders are in hand for a further 18 units, which are to be mounted on the BharatBenz 3123 platform. These mini silos are meant to ‘ liberate’ cement companies, logistics service providers and end customers from the constraints imposed by the use of cement bags. ‘ While in India, 90 percent of the market uses cement bags as against bulkers, the situation is exactly the opposite in developed markets,’ observes Tandon. This is for good reason. Relative to cement bags, bulkers save time and cost towards the acquisition and maintenance of bagging machines, labour, packaging, wastage and delivery. ‘Close to 400 bags are needed for 20
tonnes of cargo. This will take up to an hour to load. The mini silo will take 5- 6 minutes to pack in the same payload of cement!’ exclaims Tandon. Further, ‘ if the cost of each bag were to be taken as Rs 10 and packaging costs at Rs 5, we are looking at an investment of Rs 6,000 on these bags. Against this backdrop, the mini silo can potentially save Rs.300 per tonne of consignment.’ It helps that the mini silo does not require aeration or electricity to function. Since it is placed in a standing position, gravity does the job. The material stored within the silo can be accessed through a butterfly valve, which can be accessed by workers who use wheel barrows or other material carriers, to take the material to the required location The mini silo is also versatile. Besides the cement industry, it can also cater to other materials like carbon black, soda ash, detergent, sugar, salt, food grain, malt, oil and liquid. Meher Hermanns intends to target medium and large sized construction companies, as well as companies that transfer chemicals for various products like soaps and beverages. ‘Depending upon the application, the silo may be constructed out of various materials like mild steel, stainless steel or aluminium. But the core system remains the same,’ says Tandon. The company’s three factories located in Ambernath, near Mumbai can produce 50 bulkers per month.
Add-ons
Meher Hermanns’ mini silo comes with a range of add- ons. To facilitate heavy- duty cement pumping for the construction of high rise buildings, the company supplies a pump fitted with a battery and diesel genset. Further, to optimise efficiencies, a sensor can also be installed in the silo, which can alert the cement company about cement levels in the silo. ‘If say 18 out of 20 tonnes of cement has been dispensed by the bulker, the sensor will send a text message to the dispatch department of the cement company to move the next truck,’ states Tandon. Meher Hermanns provides a four-year warranty on its bulkers. The company also undertakes
regular training on preventive maintenance and provides servicing guidelines for all OEMs that it works with.
V-shaped bulkers
Meher Hermanns entered the Indian market in 2002 by supplying to Ambuja Cement, its first V-shaped bulker, mounted on a 25 tonne GVW truck platform. ‘When we began, this category was largely disorganised. However, the benefits of a V-shaped bulker over a conventional bulker were soon realised. The former’s discharge speed was ten times better. In other words, it took just a minute to unload a tonne,’ says Tandon. It was not long before the company supplied nine more similarly specified trucks to the cement major. Meher Hermann’s business registered a marked upturn during 2004- 08, just as the Golden Quadrilateral road development project gathered momentum. The company delivered close to 400 bulkers, with 23 cbm tanks to OEMs like Tata Motors and Ashok Leyland. Meher Hermanns, later supplied its first semi trailer bulker to JP cement. Meanwhile, a directive from the government of India mandating the substitution of gypsum with flyash as polyconic material in the making of cement, also gave the bulker maker’s business the much-needed boost in 2007. ‘Between 2011-12 the Total Industrial Volume (TIV) for bulkers was 1,500, of this 1,350 was driven by flyash,’ says Tandon. In 2007, the company forged a business alliance with Tata Motors to sell Meher Hermann bulkers across India. This arrangement continues, even as MHI has inked a similar alliance with VECV. At present the company makes V-shaped of capacities ranging from 14-51 cbm. However, MHI has exported 70 cbm bulkers to customers in South Asia and the
Middle East.
Product development
The bulker maker undertakes product development, post receipt of design specifications from Germany. Relevant variations and adaptations are however undertaken in India. ‘The hydraulic systems are developed in Germany, while the development of tanks, welding of spouts as well as the modulation of capacity is undertaken in India,’ says Tandon. Throughout the production process, Meher Hermanns adheres to strict parameters covering measurement, alignment and thickness of the sheets that go in to the making of the bulker. Due diligence is also accorded to areas like load distribution on the chassis as well as brake adaptation for smooth functioning between the tractor and the bulker. ‘There are 67 check guidelines to ensure the highest levels of safety,’ says Tandon.