Racing to lift and move steel coils

One of two new Cometto MTH45 straddle carriers for Schultze Steel Service at Arcelor Mittal in Bremen, Germany. Photo: Cometto

This type of handling equipment may be slightly peripheral to ICST’s typical subject matter but it is interesting all the same. A pair of these new highly specialized straddle carriers has joined a fleet in Germany for steel coil handling.

Steel maker Arcelor Mittal stores more than 6,000 steel coils in a 12 hectare storage area at its site in Bremen. Specialist contractor Schultze Steel Service uses a fleet of straddle carriers to move and manage the stock of steel.

It has just added a pair of new Cometto MTH45 straddle carriers to its fleet. “We have been working together on this challenging project since 2019 and were ultimately able to win the contract in the hard elimination process,”, said Joachim Kolb, Cometto sales manager.

“Our design office showed what it is made of here. We started with virtually a blank piece of paper and came up with a high-tech straddle carrier.”

Rosso racers

The machines are described as “the Ferrari among straddle carriers.” They are red, come from Italy and are fast. Despite weighing 43 tonnes top speed is 25 km/h. All up, with a 45 tonne payload and weighing a total of 88 tonnes, it still makes 10 km/h. Not only that, Schultze Steel Service reported its 500 hp diesel engine also gives a 30 % reduction in fuel consumption over the old equipment.

Operator comfort was an important consideration in the buying process. In the fully glazed operator cabin there is a pneumatic driver’s seat. Along with the straddle carrier’s air suspension this helps on the rough ground of the transport route.

Commenting on the difference it makes, Fabrizio Lippi, Cometto technical director, said, “we filter out around 80 per cent of the most extreme vibrations when driving over uneven surfaces. That protects the equipment and, what’s much more important, the driver’s back.”