: Big Lift Trucks : solutions - hazardous materials

Kemsea handles dangerous goods with ease

Transporting, storing and handling dangerous goods is becoming an ever-burgeoning issue in this country that many no longer wish to bear. For Kemsea Services International it is second nature, and with all the appropriate certifications and dangerous goods classifications in place, Kemsea has certainly entered the industry with a big bang.

For many, Kemsea is the answer to complying with industry-standard environment protection legislations and dangerous goods certifications. Simply put, Kemsea manage the movement of hazardous substances for other companies, therefore taking away the burden of regulatory constraints. Whilst still a relatively new player in the market, Kemsea has been established by a team of industry experts who recognised market constraints and the hassles associated with the storage, handling and movement of dangerous substances.

Kemsea has been designed as a service provider for anyone looking for an alternative for storing and handling hazardous and non-hazardous substances including chemicals, flammables, corrosives, plastics and fuels. Kemsea also provide bulk liquid storage, decanting, drum and IBC filling services as well as dry container packing and unpacking. With the added advantage that their operations are in a fully zoned dangerous goods property located in the heart of mid-western Sydney, Kemsea are looking forward to a bright future in the industry.

According to Mr Mark Conroy, Managing Director of Kemsea, a site was selected in Rosehill, Sydney that was ideally situated to the industry and came complete with 1.2 hectares of hardstand and warehouse space. The facility was already equipped with one major warehouse, 3 open warehouses, drum filling and decanting stations. "The only problem that we encountered with the site was the realisation that it was going to be extremely restrictive for the storage of our Tanktainers as the hardstand bunded area would not withstand equipment with high weight and load ratios." Mr Conroy said.

"We wanted an alternative to a container fork, a flexible piece of equipment that could efficiently maneuver in tight-spots, safely handle laden and empty Tanktainers and had low load ratios so that it wouldn't rip up our bunded areas," he said.

According to Mr Conroy the Tanktainers on Kemsea's site are generally up to 26,000 Litre capacities that need to be picked on and off trucks, safely moved around the site and inside bunded storage areas.

Kemsea were extremely cautious about what mode of equipment was chosen as it needed to comply with safety precautions and regulations for moving and handling hazardous goods.

They were faced with the issue that the heavy weights of the Tanktainers were in fact too much for the side loaders to legally transport. Previously the process of loading and unloading Tanktainers was done with two trucks; A drop deck trailer for the Tanktainer and then a skel trailer with a side loader. Handling is therefore extremely slow and methodical, costly and cautionary due to the safety issue of lifting Tanktainers fully-loaded with hazardous substances. Kemsea has a wide range of Tanktainers moving in and around their site that vary from 18,000 to 26,000 Litres and up to 33 Tonne in weight. They also needed the flexibility to load and unload 20 foot and 40 foot dry containers on and off trucks as their risk assessments indicated that they should not handle dangerous goods in containers with the standard container load ramp.

"In truth we were really hoping that we could find something that could cater to all of our needs but thought that it was a pipedream," Mr Conroy said. Kemsea researched the world- market for suitable equipment and discovered that the most ideal solution was in their own backyard. "It is ironic that we looked all over the world for the best solution to find that the Mobicon is in fact an Australian invented, manufactured and owned container handling solution." he said.

What is the Mobicon container handler?

The Mobicon is a unique, flexible, container handler with the lowest axle loading in the world. It can drive directly under an awning, inside a warehouse door, turns in tighter spaces, is more maneuverable and has the ability to handle any size container.
"The Mobicon can now take the Tanktainers off the back of trucks and safely place them on the ground and then we can pick them up and the Mobicon can take them to wherever they need to go," Mr Conroy said

"It is hard to believe that one machine can manage all of our Containers and is safer to operate than any other equipment we have ever used, including side loaders." "Thanks to the Mobicon, Kemsea can now safely, efficiently and cost effectively manage and maneuver a variety of Containers on site." he said.

Key benefits of the Mobicon for Kemsea

o Flexible and maneuverable
o Can access tight-spots on site
o Can maneuver in tight-spots
o Can handle all sized Tanktainers from 18,000 to 26,000 Litre capacity
o Can lift up to 33 tonne in weight

o Can safely lift Tanktainers off the back of trucks
o Can safely place Tanktainers on the ground
o Will not rip up hardstand bunded area of site
o Lowest axle loading of any container handler in the world
o Replaced Sideloader
o Eliminates the need for two trucks
o Safer and more efficient for handling dangerous goods
o Operators have a clear line of visible sight so they can go places with containers that couldn't before
o Mobicon does not tip over with the full weight of a container
o WYSIWYG design whereby all parts are visible to the operator and accessible to service.
o Does not require a special license to drive a Mobicon
o Easy to operate and drive

Future benefits:

o Long-term savings on yard maintenance and repair bills
o Mobicon can easily operate within the warehouse for other Kemsea services
o Ability to load and unload standard containers as well
o Significantly lower costs to operate than container forklifts
o No specialised service or repair training required
o Eliminates the need for expensive field service technicians

About Kemsea Services International

Kemsea Services International is a certified and approved hazardous and non-hazardous goods service provider for rail, road and sea transport, and safe static storage. Kemsea provide a safe, economical and environmentally safe means of transporting, storing and handling dangerous goods, liquid products including chemicals, fuels and food grade.

Kemsea is Workcover approved for dangerous goods class 2.2, 3, 4.1. 6.1 and 8 storage. (Class 2.2 = Non Flammable Non-Toxic gas, Class 3 = Flammable liquids, Class 4.1 = Flammable solids, Class 6.1 = toxic substances and Class 8 = corrosives.)

Additional services

Total pallet capacity for the Kemsea site is around 8000 pallets with 6 Mild Steel and Stainless Steel 50 Kilolitre tanks available for drum filling and decanting. The Kemsea tanks service a drum filling area, which has 2 fill stations each capable of generating around 300 drums per day. Kemsea decant into or out of road tankers via their loading bay.

The company was established in 2003 with the goal of providing quality services in the storage of dangerous goods.