100,000 operating hours and still going strong

Nueva Palmira, one of the most important commercial ports in Uruguay, is situated at the confluence of the Uruguay and Paraná rivers. The company Corporación NAVIOS operates dry port terminal facilities comprising two docks, where Mississippi barges (60 m long and 11 m wide) and Jumbo barges (60 m long and 16 m wide) are serviced by a Liebherr duty cycle crane, type HS 871 HD. It is equipped with a 3.5 m³ grab when handling iron ore, or an 11 m³ grab when handling grains. Goods are unloaded into a hopper and transported through conveyor belts to a silo for storage, or a truck for further transportation in land, or directly to an ocean-going vessel. The average working cycle time for grain is 30 seconds with a load of approx. 6 tonnes. The HS 871 HD, mounted on a fixed pedestal, averages 12.5 operating hours per day with an output of approximately 12,000 t. That means a yearly turnover of 1.3 million tonnes.

Long-serving and durable

The HS 871 HD from Liebherr-Werk Nenzing, which was put into operation in 1992, has serviced over 25,000 barges over the years and at the end of 2018, reached the grand total of 100,000 operating hours - a huge milestone. “This crane was put into full operation in 1992 and has 100,000 operating hours. It has had few breakdowns and is an extremely reliable machine with an optimal performance / price ratio. This led our company to acquire Liebherr in its new investment,” praises Ing. Daniel Canobra, Maintenance Manager, Corporación Navios S.A.