Seite/Page: 3 8. Dezember 2009
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Redaktioneller Artikel E-Maxi – englisch : BASF
BASF is the world’s leading chemical company – The Chemical Company. They benefit from 97,000 employees and over 300 production sites worldwide. At the BASF Ludwigshafen site, situated in the southwest of Germany, basic petrochemical and inorganic substances are processed into complex and high-value chemical products for the global markets. The Ludwigshafen site located on the Rhine riverbank covers ten square kilometres, and its modern logistics infrastructure for road and rail transport forms the world’s biggest interrelated chemical area. The internal and external rail traffic plays a decisive role in the safe, efficient and environment-friendly transportation of the BASF chemical products. Day after day, 850 – 900 railway cars are operated in the BASF railway siding. So it is logical that an enormous quantity of wagons must be regularly inspected and repaired. Such inspection and repair work is done in the BASF workshops for locomotives and railcar wagons.
In March 2008, BASF decided to purchase the battery driven railcar mover ZAGRO E-MAXI, developed and manufactured by ZAGRO Bahn- und Baumaschinen GmbH in Germany. The aim was to find and economic solution for indoor operation and efficient shunting work in their workshops. Before making this investment, however, they started a pilot project to study and test the ZAGRO E-MAXI during 6 months operation. They put the hauler to the acid test: the study included not only operational test runs under working conditions but also operator convenience, maintenance expenditure, life cycle cost, energy consumption per shift as well as labour protection, industrial safety and environment protection.
Following the judgement by Michael Edinger, who is responsible for the BASF railway transportation, shunting vehicles and workshops, the ZAGRO E-MAXI got best scores in said study. “Using the ZAGRO E-MAXI, the operators in our workshops can perform the shunting work in a quick and efficient manner. They move whatever arrives in the workshop area: locomotives up to 140 tons service weight, tank wagons, platform wagons. Thanks to its low height, the ZAGRO E-MAXI can even move the bogies when the power vehicles are lifted out.”
Previously, laborious and complex shunting manoeuvres were necessary to reach the track. Today, they manage the change of tracks in the twinkling of an eye. The track guiding equipment of the ZAGRO E-MAXI is installed at both sides of the hauler for hydraulic lowering and lifting by means of the radio remote control unit. The operator has perfect visibility of the track guiding wheels. In addition, the limit switches survey the complete lifting and lowering movement of the system to ensure safe handling.
Same as everywhere, the space available in the BASF workshops is limited. But the ZAGRO E-MAXI offers an unbeatable manoeuvrability. The operator selects parallel or circular driving modes. When selecting the circular driving mode, the turn radius of 1.6 metres makes it possible to turn on the spot. The parallel driving mode enables the operator to reach the parallel track directly without any laborious manoeuvres. Its radio remote control facilitates efficient one-man operation.
Another important aspect which has convinced BASF during their purchase decision was the low noise and emission values of the ZAGRO E-MAXI. The emission problem of indoor operation is well known. The ZAGRO E-MAXI is driven by batteries to avoid any exhaust gas emission to ensure safety and health at work and protect the environment. “The background noise in the BASF workshops has been considerably reduced. Now, we do our shunting work nearly noiseless”.
The powerful batteries of 2 x 40 volt / 320 Ah capacity ensure that the ZAGRO E-MAXI is operated during one week in one-shift operation before it becomes necessary to re-charge its batteries. As soon as the battery level indicator shows the value of ¼, the operator connects the hauler to the battery charger. The manufacturer offers two solutions: the battery charger is either mounted at the hauler, or, as an option, the stationary battery charger is installed in a separate area of the workshop. BASF decided to purchase the onboard model which allows the operator to connect the ZAGRO E-MAXI at any 380 volt socket in order to ensure flexible re-charging.
The summary given by BASF points out that the investment was profitable: Using the ZAGRO E-MAXI, the inspection and repair work in the workshops for locomotives and railcars is handled in a speedy, efficient and versatile manner. Health at work and environment protection is ensured.
According to their corporate philosophy, BASF – The Chemical Company - conduct their business with the principles of sustainable development.