When Tom Determann, owner of Determann Terminals, Camanche, IA, went on a mission to replace an aging cable crane for his barge loading and unloading operations, he had a short list of needs — capacity and versatility. He met those needs — and realized a 50 percent increase in production — after purchasing a Komatsu PC1100LC-6 excavator with a customized material handling package. The attachment package, provided by Young Corp., is performance-matched to the PC1100LC-6 through a partnering agreement with Komatsu.
Determann required a machine that could handle the diverse materials coming into Determann Terminals via barge, rail and truck. “We’ve got a strong minimill steel industry in this area, so we needed a heavy-duty machine that could accommodate attachments for 50,000-lb. steel coils, pig iron, heavy ores and various grades of scrap. We also load and unload fertilizer, grain and twine.
“I chose the Komatsu PC1100LC-6 because it was the only excavator that could fully utilize all the attachments I wanted,” he said.
Partnering for a Perfect Match
Before finalizing his decision, Determann consulted with Ron Szpak, district sales manager for attachment manufacturer Young Corp.
“Ron was the key putting the right package together for us,” Determann explained. “We also got a lot of help from Glen Carr at Road Machinery, the Komatsu distributorship in Iowa.”
“Tom and his partners were looking at various makes and models of excavators,” Szpak noted. “Large payloads were a priority, and I was able to size up tools for the Komatsu PC1100LC-6 to meet or exceed Determann’s special working conditions.”
The attachments provided by Young include:
• a 9-cu.-yd. (7 cu m) rehandling clamshell bucket for coal and other light to medium weight bulk materials.
• a 4-cu.-yd. (3 cu m) extra heavy ore-handling bucket for pig iron and heavy ores.
• a 7-cu.-yd. (5.4 cu m) , five-tine scrap grapple for various grades of scrap metal.
• a 78- by 120-in. (198 by 305 cm) Walker RLSD magnet for bar-type pig iron and heavy metals.
• a rotating tool for positioning a C-hook when handling coils or positioning a rectangular magnet when handling various metals.
“Tom and his partners wanted to be prepared to handle whatever type of material came up the river,” Szpak said. “And now they are.”
In addition, the PC1100LC-6 is equipped with a 55-ft. (17 m) two-piece material handling front, which includes a boom and a stick. It has a special cab riser that is 11-ft. (3.4 m) high for visibility and mounted forward 4 ft. (1.2 m). The car body was widened to a square footprint for maximum stability. Other cab modifications include weld-in shoe inserts to provide ground protection, an 81-hp (60 kW) generator package for charging the large magnet, and special hydraulic control package to operate the various tools.
“This is the most versatile PC1100LC-6 in North America in terms of quantity and variety of tools it’s designed to utilize,” Szpak said.
Performance Driven
Since receiving the PC1100LC-6, Determann Terminals has seen its productivity increase dramatically. Nestled between the docks and Determann’s 105-car railroad siding, the excavator unloads three 1,500-ton (1,350 t) coal barges or 50 rail cars per day. “We’ve increased our coal barge unloading from two barges to three per day, and even the 50,000-lb. steel coils went from one barge to two. I don’t think too many people are lifting steel coils with an excavator,” Determann added.
The 150-ton (135 t) PC1100LC-6 gets its exceptional power and production capacity from a 611-hp (455 kW) Komatsu SAA6D170E-2 engine. The machine’s boom and arm geometry allow users to apply a greater amount of digging force, easily accommodating the challenges posed by coal and other hard materials. In excavator form, it provides a bucket digging force of 107,590 lbs. (48,802 kg), and an arm crowd force of 91,930 lbs. (41,699 kg).
Other features include: a swing priority switch that automatically determines optimum speed for the boom and swing in response to swing angle in truck loading operations; a boom quick-drop valve for faster boom down movement; and a boom “shockless” control that reduces shock loads as the boom is stopped in either the up or down position.
Although attachment options are many, Komatsu’s strategic partnering with Young Corp. and other attachment manufacturers ensure end-users make the correct choice for their applications. Partnerships guarantee attachments are performance-matched to each Komatsu machine so productivity is always enhanced.
“Komatsu and its partners in the attachment industry offer the best solutions to any and every challenge,” said Mike Murphy, manager of Komatsu’s Working Gear Group. “Working hand-in-hand with our partners, our goal is to increase the overall value of the product to the customer.”
A Smooth Transition
Szpak returned to the Determann docks for the PC1100LC-6’s installation and stayed during its first few weeks of operation. “Determann’s maintenance people were impressed that it came on line as smoothly as it did,” he said.
“The attachments all worked as expected and some even exceeded expectations. We were hoping to get 24- to 25,000-lb. picks with the ore bucket, and it’s picking up 15 tons in pig iron,” Szpak added.
Attachment changing is done by removing a single pin from one tool and transferring it to another and can be done in about 30 minutes. Both Szpak and Determann initially figured on making attachment changes once or twice a week but the tools have been changed more frequently because of incoming work.
“We like to keep an attachment on for a day or two without changing,” Determann explained. “But we have to adapt to whatever the barge lines or rail lines are bringing in.”
Building for the Future
Determann’s father, Andy, started Determann Industries in 1938 as an asphalt paving company. “We dredged out the harbor for sand,” Determann noted. “After we made a big hole in the ground, we had to do something with it, and that’s how the terminal business got started.”
On-site facilities also include several hundred thousand square feet of warehousing and conveyor capacity of 300 tons per hour (270 tph) per hour.
The Mile 512 Upper Mississippi River location is the only river operation Determann has, but it is a stopping point for barges from around the world. Determann has unloaded steel from India, pig iron from Russia, twine from South America, HBI (hot briquetted iron) from Venezuela as well as domestic steel and scrap. The adjacent minimills of Northwestern Steel and Wire and Ipsco Tubulars Inc. also provide a steady flow of materials to Determann Terminals.
“Versatility is important to us because we are always changing to meet our customers needs,” Determann said. “As times change, our customers change with them, and we have to as well. In the 1980s, we did a lot of grain; in the ’90s, we’re doing coal and steel. And who knows what the next 10 or 20 years will bring? My biggest challenge is trying to figure out what my customers will be doing next.
“This PC1100LC-6, on which Komatsu and Young Corporation have collaborated, fits my needs,” he said. “Whatever material we need to handle, I now have one machine that does it all. And that’s the key to anyone’s business — you’ve got to do more with less.”
This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.
Today's top stories
