ISO - Veyors - King of the Islands
InBulk Technologies, part of the International Bulk logistics Group, InterBulk Group plc, is making new ground in supply of its patented non-tipping ISO-Container for cementitious materials in areas where there is difficult access to inter-coastal areas and islands.The ISO-Veyor is an intermodal tank container developed by InBulk Technologies, facilitating easy transition between road and rail and sea.
It consists of a cylindrical vessel constructed within the frame dimensions of a 20ft or 30ft ISO unit. It can be handled exactly as a standard ISO container, utilising currently available trailer chassis and rail car rolling stock and is compatible with container shipping as it shares the same ISO dimensions of standard shipping containers. The ISO-Veyor can be handled efficiently and easily by standard container infrastructure.
The ISO-Veyor can be filled at source and remain sealed until the point of delivery thus removing the need for intermediate handling or storage of the contents.
The clever part is that the ISO-Veyors fluidisation membrane is designed to follow the curvature of the tank barrel, avoiding the need for space consuming cones, thus allowing superior payloads and discharge performance in terms of both time and residue remaining. With the simple addition of an air supply (and without tipping so reduced opportunity for accidents or need for a costly tipping chassis) The ISO-Veyor discharges its contents, 30 Tons in 30 minutes and leaves very little material behind following every discharge.
The major advantage that the ISO-Veyor system offers is transportation flexibility.
Cement, Coal Ash, and Lime are being loaded at Terminals by gravity thru standard manholes, while mounted on a trailer or railcar, and then transported to a rail or barge shipping terminal for trans-shipment, without double handling of the material, to markets or destinations hundreds of miles away.
One area where InBulk have witnessed a surge of activity is for customers operating to projects located on Islands. Some scenarios include construction projects, where the ISO-Veyor provides an ideal system for intermodal deliveries without the requirement to make investments in Silos or large volume storage facilities.
Previously, handling situations required a Pressure Differential Tankers on Ferries or RORO ships. Costs due to trailer damage, driver hours, longer distances and fuel surcharges are avoided. The ISO-Veyor is more environmentally friendly as it allows its owners to make choices between the most efficient methods for transport.
The ability for the material to be stored horizontally, up to four units high, also offers on-site storage options that in the past were hampered by economics or space limitations or lack or trailers or railcars.
The products able to be transported in ISO-Veyors has extended market access for powders like cement, fly ash, ground granulated blast furnace slag, white cement, aluminates and by-products. Future developments will see this range extended to chemicals and food grade versions, which would be fully cleanable in line with current systems for liquid ISO-Tanks.
Jim MacLean, Business Development Manager for the US explains: “Through our parent group’s global network, InBulk now have the ability to offer a managed dry bulk logistics service almost anywhere in the World.
New enquiries from Mining, Construction, Offshore Oil, and Industries seeking new supply sources have increased dramatically since our first start of operations, especially from Island locations.
The enquiries have included ISO-Veyors travelling between locations in the Caribbean, Central and South America to North America. In Asia, Indonesia and Malaysia is also an interesting market with a lot of scope for development.
The ISO-Veyor has also made some notable strides in key overseas markets such as the US. In December 2006 Lafarge North America became the first American owners and operators of the ISO-Veyor.
Lafarge North America’s Montreal office has ordered more of the 20ft PH type ISO-Veyor for a marine shipment of cement powders to Newfoundland customers from the Port of Montreal.
A Lafarge spokesman in Canada comments, “We are delighted to be placing another order for ISO-Veyors as the flexibility of this solution minimized logistical risks, while reducing costs to a minimum and maximizing supply chain efficiencies. Empty containers are offloaded, transported to our terminal for reloading and returned same day to the Ship for the return leg. Lafarge also recognizes the ISO Veyor technology supports our corporate goals for sustainability”.