Sept-Îles in Canada is an important gateway to the global raw materials market. There, a conveyor belt from Sempertrans ensures stability when transporting iron ore. Not just any belt, but the Autostable, known as the problem-solver belt. It performs under extreme conditions and stretches over one and a half kilometers, making it the currently longest Autostable in the world.
From rugged peaksand vast forests to wide prairies and weathered coastlines – Canada’s landscapeis characterized by extremes. This is particularly true of the north coast inthe heart of the province of Québec, where temperatures can drop well below minus40 degrees Celsius (i.e. –40° Fahrenheit) in winter. The port of Sept-Îles isalso located at the mouth of the St. Lawrence Seaway, where millions of tonnesof iron ore from the nearby mines are loaded onto ships and transported onwardsevery year.
SFP Pointe Noire(SFPPN), a provider specializing in the raw materials industry, is responsiblefor transporting the ore from rail to the cargo ships. The challenges here areenormous, as Mario Dupont, Vice President at SFPPN, responsible for Engineering& Projects, reports: “We are confronted with severe temperatures, fluctuatingweather patterns and difficult terrain. Operating and maintaining the bi-directionalconveyor systems required a reliable and efficient solution that is resistantto breakage. We have found it in the Autostable.”
„In the Autostable, we have found a reliableand efficient solution for our conveyor systems.“
The problem solver
Autostable is the self-centering conveyor beltof Sempertrans, which virtually eliminates lateral movements with a centeringforce five to eight times higher than that of conventional conveyor belt. “Thisprevents material loss and all misalignment-related damage to the belt orconveyor system. This can extend the service life of the belt and also reducethe maintenance costs of the conveyor system – even under difficult conditions.That’s why we call the Autostable our problem-solver belt,” says NathanFriesen, Area Sales Manager at Sempertrans. The correct installation wasimportant, as Jacques Lemelin, Solutions Specialist at Semperit partnerViacore, knows: “A Sempertrans team accompanied us on site for an installation andtrained our technicians according to the Autostable specifications. Thisensured that our customer SFPPN’s conveyor system is now running reliably andefficiently.”