Process industries have to run continuously without interruption. Alimak elevators provide quick and easy access for inspection and preventive maintenance, ensuring that machinery performs accurately and smoothly and turning downtime into uptime.
Alimak has been associated with the pulp and paper industry since 1966, when the first Alimak rack and pinion industrial elevator was installed on a digester in Swden. Numerous industrial plants around the world have chosen to use our elevator systems to monitor and service their processes since then.
Investing in the future
SCA is a Swedish timber, pulp and paper manufacturer with headquarters in Sundsvall and approximately 4,000 employees. Its main products include publication papers, solid-wood products, pulp and forest-based biofuel. SCA is Europe’s largest private owner of forest land, with 2.6 million hectares, the size of Macedonia
The company has recently invested SEK 7.8 billion in Östrand pulp mill in Timrå, Sweden under project name “Helios”. The new factory, which started up in June 2018, will be a world-class in terms of product quality, environment and competitiveness. It is one of the largest industrial investments ever in Sweden.
SCA pulp mill produces bleached kraft pulp and CTMP and doubled its production capacity from 430,000 tonnes to 900,000 tonnes through the investment.
Kraft pulp is produced by boiling chips into pulp that is then bleached using hydrogen peroxide and oxygen to produce cellulose fibre that is as pure as possible. Crude turpentine is also extracted from the wood.
Valmet and Andritz were tasked with delivering large parts of the process equipment in the Helios projects and to carrying out all process engineering and mechanical engineering work, manufacturing and installation.
A new Alimak elevator
The old Östrand mill had an Alimak industrial rack-and pinion elevator installed and running since 1986. For the new factory, Valmet decided to go for an ALIMAK SE 700 to facilitate easy access for service and inspection of the boiler. The rack-and-pinion elevator is installed on the outside of the structure and used approximately 25 times per day. The elevator car and landings are made of stainless steel, ensuring long service life in even the toughest environments.
The decision to invest again in an Alimak elevator was based on the brand’s reputation for safety and reliability in rough environments —which the site easily can be described as.
Made for industrial use
Alimak industrial elevators are available with extruded aluminium or stainless steel cars, ensuring long service life in even the toughest environments. The drive unit is located on top of the car, which climbs on a self-supporting mast, requiring no supporting elevator shaft or separate machine room. The mast is made of galvanised steel. The erection of the elevator mast takes place from the car itself. If installed early in the construction process, the elevator can often be used in the actual construction of the building on which it will then remain as a permanent elevator. The design and modular construction of Alimak SE elevators enable specific user requirements to be met from fully standardised components. Capacities range from 300 kg to 7,000 kg. Alimak SE elevators are available in singleor twin-mast configurations and with travel speeds up to 1.0 m/s. The largest Alimak elevator built and delivered so far is a 24,000-kg capacity unit guided on four mast towers. Lifting heights well in excess of 250 metres are possible with Alimak rack and pinion elevators.
ELEVATOR DETAILS
Location: Östrand pulp mill, Timrå, Sweden
Application: Boiler
Elevator type: Rack and pinion
Elevator model: ALIMAK SE 700 FC
Capacity: 700 kg
Elevator car size (W x L x H): 1.04 m x 1.43 m x 2.17 m
Speed: 0.8 m/s
Lifting height: 60 m
No. of landings: 5
GALLERY
Alimak’s rugged rack and pinion elevator has earnt a strong reputation in the cement industry over many years of successful installations. This level of trust can be seen in action at the Omya cement plant in Avenza, Italy.
They have been impressed by the quality and performance of a previous Alimak industrial elevator installed at the plant in 1991, along with the excellent maintenance record. Omya therefore contacted Alimak when the time came to replace the existing elevator and presented some very specific requirements and parameters.
The cement plant environment presents some of the toughest working conditions in any industry and therefore calls for an equally robust industrial elevator capable of withstanding a wide range of challenges. Cement plants unavoidably mean an environment subject to dust issues along with high levels of heat and humidity. These conditions can place strain on workers climbing up and down, as well as any equipment which has not been made to high standards, impacting productivity and safety. You can rest assured that all of Alimak’s elevators will stand the test of time, with Alimak’s reputation of industry innovation and high quality manufacturing, all vertical access equipment has been tried and tested in the world’s most demanding industrial settings. Alimak´s shaft-less elevators cuts out the risk of dust particle build up and the traction problems associated with standard elevator operation.
Omya presented a challenging brief which required an industrial elevator with a payload capacity of 2,000 kg. In addition, the car dimensions needed to be large enough to transport pallets through a single door for entry and exit located on the opposite side to the elevator mast. The project was further complicated by the very limited space available and predesignated fixing points of the elevators mast tower tie-ins, which could not be adjusted.
After careful analysis and development work by our expert mechanical engineers, Alimak have been able to produce a specialised rack and pinion elevator for this project which meets the unique specifications while delivering all the benefits of our wide range of robust industrial elevator products.
ELEVATOR DETAILS
Location: Omya cement plant, Avenza (MS), Italy
Installation year: 2019
Lift type: Alimak SE 2000 FC
Capacity: 2000kg
Elevator car size: (W x L x H) 1.04 m x 1.43 m x 2.17 m
Speed: 0.6 m/s
Lifting height: 43.5m
No. of landings: 7
GALLERY
Alimak built on a 20 year history of delivering custom vertical access solutions for Duomo di Milano to significantly reduce the time cost associated with accessing the construction site on the roof of the structure.
Milan Cathedral is the fifth largest church in the world and has a history going back centuries. The Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano is the institution responsible for the conservation and development of the Cathedral. Established in 1387 by Gian Galeazzo Visconti, it has been safeguarding and restoring the Duomo for more than 630 years. The Candoglia marble used in the Cathedral requires continuous maintenance work in order to not collapse. It is a very long and ongoing regular maintenance, refurbishment and developing project. There is no set completion date for the works on the landmark.
Over the last 20 years, Alimak has been chosen as the main supplier of vertical access solutions to Veneranda Fabbrica del Duomo di Milano due to the brand’s worldwide reputation for safety and quality. The Group’s scope of work includes the supply of temporary vertical access equipment, installation and a maintenance contract for the vertical access equipment on site.
Just six months after commissioning the project in July 2018, Alimak Group dismantled a transport platform to allow the installation of an Alimak Scando 450 construction hoist in January 2019. Sought directly by the customer for their industry-leading vertical access solutions, Alimak was trusted to design, install and maintain a construction hoist that guaranteed rapid and safe access to the top of the cathedral for maintenance.
The Scando 450 FC12/22 C-door construction hoist that was selected features a 56 metre lifting height and speeds of up to 42m/minute reducing the time taken to access the roof of the cathedral from 5 minutes to just 90 seconds, making it four times faster than the previous transport platform. Overall, the new construction hoist significantly reduces the time cost associated with accessing the construction site on the roof of the cathedral.
The hoist was also equipped with several special adaptations to accommodate the architecture including a 2.2 metre cabin designed to utilise the limited space available on-site. The hoist was also painted light ivory to blend in with the monument for minimum visual impact as the site is visited by two million tourists each year.
DETAILS
Location: Duomo di Milano, Milan, Italy
Applications: Cathedral
Elevator type: Construction Hoist
Elevator model: Alimak Scando 450 FC12/22
Capacity: 2000 kg
Lifting height: 56 m
No. of elevators: 1
GALLERY
In 1989 Alimak supplied three special construction hoists, to solve the access difficulties in the ventilation shaft during the construction of the Channel Tunnel. The 50.5 km undersea rail tunnel links Folkestone, Kent in England with Calais in Northern France.
The adjacent photo, shows the special construction hoists that were designed by Alimak to meet the high density traffic requirements feeding men and materials down the 9 metre diameter, 100 metre deep shaft from the surface, to the service tunnel face workings on the Channel Tunnel. The logistics involved in the movement of men and materials down the ventilation shaft were described by the user as “enormous”. A 24-hour per day operation was serviced by a three shift system with at first 700 men, increasing to 1200 men, all transported in the hoists. Three Alimak hoists were installed to meet these requirements. In March 1989 Alimak were requested to provide a vertical handling system that would move the total number of men at each shift change. The method developed by Alimak was to provide a double Deck Alimak Scando 20/30 — operating at 28 metres per minute and two Alimak Scando Super 28/37 C units operating at 96 metres per minute. This system gave the flexibility needed by the client, as the total man carrying capacity per journey for the three units was 106. The double deck car was able to discharge both units simultaneously using split landing arrangements at both levels in the shaft. Also available was a total goods carrying capacity of 8.8 tonnes.
During the first 4 months of operation these units recorded over 7800 running hours.In that period the cages had “clocked up” a total of 4100 km’s over 25,000 cycles. The client carried out standard maintenance procedures on a weekly schedule (4 hours each Saturday morning), and this ensured the reliability and availability of the equipment. Alimak backed up the units by providing 24-hour call out for breakdown cover.
The three hoists were in continuous operation apartfrom these periods of service shut-down, and allowing for a 90 second load/unload cycle, the combined travelling distance of the three hoists were conservatively estimated at 65,000 km’s each year — well in excess of the usual maximum travelling distance of construction hoist equipment. The double deck hoist was specially developed to suit this application and to give the high density traffic movements required.
GALLERY
Alimak SE 1200 elevator supplied to provide permanent access to the Maerz Kiln at the lime operation of Buxton Lime & Cement in UK.
An Alimak SE 1200 rack and pinion driven industrial elevator was supplied to Tarmac, for access to the new Maerz kiln at their lime operation in Buxton. The elevator will be used by the station operators, to transport personnel, tools, parts & larger palletised loads, to improve movement, safety & productivity at the facility. In addition the elevator was designed to allow the movement of a stretcher, to enable movement of an injured person from the upper levels of the kiln. The client chose the robust rack and pinion drive, due its proven 40+ year record in heavy industrial environments such as lime and cement production facilities, power stations, chemical plants, ports, steelworks & offshore vessels. The Alimak rack and pinion driven elevator was ideal for interfacing with the irregular shaped kiln structure, as the Alimak support structure could be adapted to suit varying structural distances. Another benefit was the elevator did not require an expensive supporting elevator shaft and machinery room, which is required with other elevators. Alimak also has a small personnel access elevator operating on a storage silo on the same facility.
FLEXIBLE FOR ANY TYPE OF APPLICATION AT A PLANT
A lime plant is a tough place for any piece of machinery to operate in, and the elevator is no exception. Alimak rack and pinion elevators adapt very well to the dusty environment. There is a working solution for any transport requirement within the plant.
Silos, preheaters, electrostatic precipitators, bagging facilities, chimneys and raw mills are typical applications for Alimak elevators. Elevator capacities may vary depending on the size and weight of the goods to be transported – ranging from maintenance personnel only to heavy replacement parts and sacks.
Alimak elevators are designed to withstand tough environments, such as high levels of lime dust in combination with high temperatures.
ELEVATOR DESIGN
Alimak elevators are designed to operate in demanding industrial environments, outdoors and indoors and require no expensive elevator shafts. The Alimak rack and pinion drive system offers advantages over wire rope and hydraulic elevators. They do not require an expensive machine room as the elevator carries its own machinery and no load bearing elevator shaft is required. The rack and pinion elevator also has safety advantages over traction elevator
ELEVATOR DETAILS
Location: Buxton Lime & Cement, UK
Application: Lime kiln
Elevator type: Rack and Pinion
Elevator model: Alimak SE 1200
DOLCapacity: 1200 kg / 16 passengers (2,600 lbs)
Elevator car size: 1.30 m x 2.08 m x 2.17 m (W x L x H)
Speed: 24 m/m (80 ft/min)
Lifting height: 37.92 m (125 ft)
GALLERY
Alimak service technicians identify and upgrade the electrical equipment and machinery to extend the life of a 25-year-old port crane elevator.
Installed in 1990, Borg Havn in the city of Fredrikshamn in Norway makes use of an Alimak rack and pinion elevator to access their 45 meter ship-to-shore container crane. A critical piece of equipment at the port, the Alimak elevator not only allows the crane driver easy access to the cabin but is also used during necessary servicing and maintenance, which reduces downtime and improves port efficiency. The elevator also enables swift and safe access for emergency response if required. Following an on-site service inspection, Alimak identified corrosive damage that had occurred to the elevators electrical cabinets. They were damaged beyond repair and required to be dismantled and replaced.
25 years of service in marine environment
The elevator was still in operational shape after 25 years of service but due to the port’s need to upgrade it´s container crane, they also opted for an upgrade of the associated elevator at the same time.
A complete upgrade of the elevators electrical equipment was carried out. Electrical cabinets, all cabling, landing control boxes and the elevator machinery was dismantled and replaced with new equipment.
Alimak worked closely with the port of Borg Havn throughout the duration of the project, providing engineering, technical, electrical and rigging support. The Alimak rack and pinion elevator has been in operation at the Borg Havn since 2015, providing the port crane driver with access to the container crane.
ELEVATOR DETAILS
Location: Borg Havn, Fredrikstad, Norway
Application: Ship-to-shore container crane
Elevator type: Rack and pinion
Elevator model: Alimak Scando Mini 4/9
Manufacturing year: 1990
Capacity: 400 kg/3 persons
Elevator car size (W x L x H): 0.7 m x 0.9 m x 2.15 m
Speed: 0.65 m/s
Lifting height: 45 m
GALLERY
An external Alimak freight elevator with 2,000 kg payload capacity has been installed at the Dormagen plant of Bayer AG, Germany, one of the world’s biggest chemical groups.
More than 35 years ago, Bayer bought their first Alimak rack and pinion elevators for permanent installation on a chimney at their main site in Leverkusen. Since then Alimak has delivered a number of permanent elevators to the company which operates a total of five sites in Germany. The Dormagen Chemical Park near Düsseldorf occupies six square kilometres of land and no less than 6,800 people are employed there.
For the new “B655” building at Dormagen the plant management chose a goods and passenger elevator from the Alimak range of rack and pinion elevators. The elevator is needed to transport bags with plastic granules as well as personnel. The staff work in three shifts and the elevator is used an average of 5—10 times per shift.
The elevator travels a total of 14.5 meters in an open steel structure. Apart from the base station there are four upper access levels to the adjacent building. The landing levels have manually operated double-leaf doors which are mechanically and electrically interlocked.
As the Alimak Rack and Pinion elevator does not need any elevator shaft, no such provisions had to be made which saved costs and simplified the planning process. The Alimak rack and pinion elevator system offers a wide range of car sizes for lifting capacities between 300 kg and 7,000 kg. The car that Bayer AG chose to use in Dormagen is 1.43 m wide x 2.99 m deep and operates with variable frequency drive, the travelling speed being 0.6 meters per second.
DETAILS
Location: Bayer AG chemical plant, Dormagen, Germany
Application: Steel tower
Elevator type: Rack and pinion
Elevator model: Alimak GP 20 FC
Capacity: 2,000 kg
Elevator car size: 1.43 m x 2.99 m (W x L)
Speed: 0.6 m/s
No. of landings: 5
Lifting height: 14 m
GALLERY
Seven Alimak rack and pinion elevators improve access at Boliden’s Aitik mine expansion. The Aitik copper mine is Europe’s largest open pit copper mine.
In 2009 Alimak provided seven Alimak rack and pinion driven elevators for Boliden’s Aitik copper mine, located near Gällivare in northern Sweden. The elevators are a part of Boliden’s total investment of SEK 6 billion (about $940 million) in this open pit mine, which includes a new modern concentrating plant that will double the production capacity, from 18 million tons to 36 million tons of ore annually.
The Alimak elevators have been installed to facilitate the maintenance and inspection of different applications such as crushing, ore stockpile, grinding, flotation and de-watering. The working environment in the mine creates high demand on the elevators durability and reliability. The Alimak elevators accommodate lifting heights between 14 meters and 48 meters and payload capacities between 400 kg to 1,800 kg. They are equipped with the modern ALC-II microprocessor-based control system, emergency phone, and overload sensing device.
Remote monitoring
All elevators are equipped with Alimaks’ online A3 remote monitoring system, which means the elevators can operate 24 hours a day fully monitored with any faults being transmitted instantly for speedy correction and to minimize downtime.
Experience in the mining industry
The Alimak rack and pinion elevator is the perfect solution for both underground and surface mining industry applications, such as pelletising plants, smelters, concentrators, and other ore processing plants. Hundreds of Alimak elevators have been delivered to a variety of mine applications around the world, including the Aitik copper mine. The deepest Alimak elevator goes 640 meters below ground at the Grasberg mine, Irian Jaya in Indonesia. It is also the highest situated Alimak elevator at an altitude of 4,100 meters. The deepest situated Alimak elevator is for the Sudbury Neutrino Observatory in Canada, about 2,000 meters below ground level.
ELEVATOR DETAILS
Location: Aitik copper mine, Gällivare, Sweden
Project: Mine expansion project Aitik 36
Installation year: 2009
Application: New concentrating plant
Elevator type: Alimak SE
No. of elevators: 7
Capacity: Varies between 400 kg and 1,800 kg
Lifting height: Varies between 14 m and 48 m
