Simetek carried out a large project at Mussalo Harbour

The railroad wagon unloading station manufactured by Simetek allows for the flow of goods transported by Rauanheimo to be processed at Mussalo Harbour in Kotka. The station is part of significant investments aimed to drastically increase traffic at the harbour.

Once the transit traffic train arrives at Mussalo Harbour from Russia, it travels along the new tracks to the newly completed railroad wagon unloading station and easily unloads its cargo via the unloading funnel to a conveyor belt system deep underground. The conveyor transports the load to elevators which mechanically lift the load to the next conveyor. The products travel along the conveyor to harbour operator Rauanheimo’s warehouses.

The railroad wagons arriving at the unloading station carry fertiliser, but the product could just as easily be any other bulk cargo, such as flour or seeds.

“Demand for transit traffic has increased. Without this newly constructed unloading station, it would have been impossible to transport goods to the new warehouses,” explains project manager Timo Taavitsainen from Rauanheimo.

Simetek achieved its targets

Simetek initiated preliminary planning for the project a year ago. The plans had to pay close attention to the width and type of track, as well as for the depth of the excavation in which the conveyor would be placed. The work required collaboration from many actors during the planning and implementation phases in order for the overall project to be suitable for VR’s and Rauanheimo’s existing logistics and warehouse solutions at Mussalo Harbour.

“Coordinating the conveyor and elevators into the excavation required various actors to work together to get the material flow into the right position,” explains design manager Pasi Knuuttila from Simetek.

Simetek was responsible for the project’s mechanical engineering, the manufacturing of steel structures, and the installation of the equipment. It also manufactured and installed to protect the equipment.

“Simetek was able to outline the kind of equipment that would be able to transport the load to the warehouse well. The original models were slightly modified along the way, but Simetek always presented a functional solution for the conditions whenever modifications were necessary,” says Taavitsainen.

Simetek kept to the schedule and remained within budget, despite the large size of the project. Taavitsainen praises Simetek for sufficient resource allocation and good work management.

Installation and test runs were a success

Before installation, verifying measurements were carried out on the excavation. Then, Simetek erected the elevators and installed the conveyors and unloading funnels in place. It also installed the railroad wagon’s steel load beams and turned the third conveyor more than 180 degrees from its old position into its new place. Finally, Simetek erected the shelter it had manufactured to protect the unloading station.

“The installation went well as we knew what we had sold, designed, and manufactured. The overall entity was easy to manage. Our strength is that we provide all services from design to manufacture and installation under the same roof,” says Knuuttila.

After installation, the test runs also went well. Rauanheimo is satisfied with Simetek’s way of working.

“Simetek has been able to innovatively produce new solutions that support our business operations. Our collaboration has been constructive,” says Taavitsainen.