IGMA Bulk Terminal Amsterdam

IGMA Bulk Terminal Amsterdam, a part of Cargill, is a bulk terminal in the Port of Amsterdam. IGMA specializes in the transshipment of bulk cargo, ranging from agricultural products to coal and minerals.

With over 40 years of experience, IGMA Bulk Terminal Amsterdam’s trained professionals know how to handle bulk products and employ the most advanced techniques to successfully transfer cargo from ship holds to barges, coasters, and silos.

For the Figee luffing crane, a better-performing open gear lubricant was needed, as the gearing of the winches for the slewing and top mechanism of the slewing ring is subjected to enormous forces. The previously used GreenLube HT-OT grease did not stay in place sufficiently.
Lubrication of the open gears left much to be desired—the grease was everywhere except where it needed to be. As a result, there was insufficient lubrication and protection of the slewing ring, leading to significant wear.

In September 2008, Frank Kleijn suggested lubricating the slewing ring with SWEPCO 604 Outside Gear Lube, as this grease is not only more environmentally friendly but also provides excellent protection for open gears under extreme loads, even in freshwater, saltwater, and brackish water. Additionally, consumption would decrease, as re-lubrication would be needed less often and in smaller amounts.
SWEPCO 604 is an environmentally friendly lubricant. It is classified as “Yellow” according to the SFT Norwegian Pollution Classification System.

• With SWEPCO 604 Outside Gear Lube, grease consumption has significantly decreased, and the grease stays much better in place than before.
• The open gears on the slewing ring show less wear, and the accumulation of grease in free spaces is no longer an issue.
• It is also cleaner around the slewing ring, as the grease no longer gets thrown off.
• Due to the positive results achieved with the test crane, all cranes were lubricated with SWEPCO 604, and in 2010, they switched to its successor, SWEPCO 164 EP Open Gear Grease. Since then, even less grease has been used compared to the results with SWEPCO 604.

“Since the slewing ring is subjected to immense loads, we were curious to see if a different lubricant would better protect the open gears. This way, the crane’s operational capabilities could be increased, and overall maintenance costs could be reduced. After more than two years, we can confirm that the test has brought the desired improvement. We then confidently switched to the successor, SWEPCO 164. Additionally, for several years now, we have been lubricating the crane cables with SWEPCO 115 Food Machinery Grease to significantly reduce environmental impact with this more environmentally friendly product compared to most conventional lubricants.” –F. Röttgering, Maintenance Supervisor IGMA Bulk Terminal Amsterdam.