changzhou, people’s republic of china: china is … · zhou) co., ltd, a new site for the...
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CHANGZHOU, PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA: China is about to become the new world shipyard power. In the next few years, it will assume South Korea’s number 1 position. HOERBIGER is a worldwide leading manufacturer of explosion relief valves for diesel ship engines. In order to take part in the growth of the maritime shipping industry in Asia, HOERBIGER built its own explosion relief valve plant in Changzhou, allowing the company to work more closely with the Chinese shipbuilding industry. (Page 14)
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THE DRAGON HAS
LEARNED TO SWIM …Rust-red steel—not scrap, but carefully cut rectangular sections—fi lls the docks along the banks of the Huangpu River. Further along, the steel takes shape; segments of ships can be identifi ed, bulbous bows, stem sections, parts of bulkheads and decks. All these components are waiting to be assembled. Where oceangoing freighters are built from the individual sections, glowing steel sprays from the welders’ tools. The shipyard smells of ozone, scorched air and iron slag. Constantly in motion, the overhead cranes with their ear-piercing safety alarms mark the pulse of shipyard activity. TEXT: Marcus Franken · PHOTOS: Papu Pramod Mondhe
HOERBIGER Valves (Changzhou) Co., Ltd.www.hoerbiger.com
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C hina’s shipbuilding industry blos-
soms in the heart of Shanghai,
about six miles from the ultramod-
ern Pudong financial center. Steel
plates are transformed into ocean-
going giants. It is not unusual for shipowners
from Europe, the USA, Japan, and China to place
large orders of up to ten ships of a single type.
Series Production for a Global Market
While one ship is docked in the Huangpu River
receiving final fit and finish, the gantry cranes
lay the stern of the sister ship. Meanwhile, the
components of the midship of a third vessel are
joined. Each individual segment would dwarf a
four-story building.
The electrical and hydraulic lines required for
operation have already been installed into the
double-walled side sections. Piping for liquid
management in the ship has likewise been pro-
vided. On several steel hulls the openings for the
future portholes can be seen. The shipbuilder’s
art consists of the ability to produce the massive
segments so exactly that each piece fits into the
next, despite the tendency of steel to bend and
buckle under the heat produced by cutting and
welding.
Week by Week a new seagoing Ship
At the shipyard that we are visiting, four sister
ships are being built at the same time. Individu-
al ship components are strewn about for the last
vessel. For the layman, it is inconceivable how a
seaworthy ship could be constructed from
coarse metal plates. It is deceptive: each week
the workers celebrate the completion of a ship
with fireworks and exploding firecrackers as the
ship is launched.
In one of the shipyards in Shanghai, a shipown-
er takes us to a ship being built for him. The ves-
sel awaits a sea trial. On the steel gangway we
meet men coming on board to perform the final
construction tasks. The funnels have to be
painted again, the entire interior fittings for the
crew are missing as well as various electrical mo-
tors and other technical equipment. The freight-
er’s loading cranes are also not installed yet.
“The ship will carry heavy cargo,” the shipowner
explains. The cargo holds will carry everything
that is too large or heavy for a container, such as
crane parts and container bridges, turbines,
wind power systems, and even rolling stock.
Engine Technology from Europe—
Safety from China
The sound of work shoes echoes in the hull; the
scent of oil fills the nose; the constant whirring
of ventilators and pumps is in the air. Four steep
stairways below the deck is the massive diesel
drive. The MAN engine is the size of a small
house; the exhaust line is comparable to an in-
dustrial chimney. Bearing the Augsburg type
plate of the MAN production site, the engine
produces almost 10,000 kW or 13,600 horse-
power. The ship diesel engines produced there
are equipped with HOERBIGER pressure relief
valves, as is this engine.
The HOERBIGER relief valves, which contribute
to preventing damage resulting from an oil mist
explosion in the engine crankcase, were pro-
duced at the HOERBIGER Ventilwerke GmbH &
Co. KG in Vienna, Austria. Soon European man-
ufacturers will increasingly produce marine
engines for the world market under license in
China. In order to supply them as well as local
manufacturers on site, HOERBIGER Valves
(Changzhou) Co., Ltd. was established. Europe-
an safety engineering—made in China.
The huge engine extends across several levels in the ship’s hull.
HOERBIGER relief valves in the lower area help to prevent damage
resulting from oil mist explosions. The new production plant in
Changzhou allows HOERBIGER to supply local engine manufacturers.
The engine is the size of a small house;
the exhaust line is comparable to
an industrial chimney.
The giant oceangoing vessels are assembled piece
by piece in the shipyard. The massive segments are
produced so that each part is a perfect fit to the next.
Huge cranes move the respective components into
the correct position.
Experts of the inspection company Germanischer
Lloyd examine one of the HOERBIGER relief valves
installed in the engines (picture below).
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By 2015 the World’s largest Shipyard: China’s
Shipbuilding Industry continues to grow
When Shanghai tourists sail down the Huangpu
in their tour boats, passing the heavy goods and
container terminals and the small white light-
house where the Huangpu empties into the
Yangtze, they can see the giant shipyards of
Changxing Island on the other river bank. The
heavy red overhead cranes display the CSSC lo-
go of the China State Shipbuilding Corporation.
At this site, the shipbuilding facility of the CSSC
is two and a half miles long and almost a mile
wide. In 2005, the entire grounds of the ship-
yard were still undeveloped acreage and farm-
land. Today container ships capable of bearing
more than 8,000 containers are built here. Next
to the hulls, the laborers moving in large groups
to the cafeterias resemble ants.
CSSC intends to grow further—all the way to the
tip of Changxing Island: in a few years, blazing
welding equipment will take the place of blossom-
ing mandarin orange plantations and small houses
lying between the fields. The old shipyards in the
center of Shanghai have long been too small. The
population of Changxing has moved away to make
room for shipyard expansion.
The ambitions of the CSSC are emblematic of
the aspirations of the Chinese shipbuilding in-
dustry as a whole. With 60 subsidiaries and
more than 100,000 laborers and other employ-
ees the state-owned enterprise, founded in
1999, seeks to be the largest shipbuilder in the
world by 2015. By then, it plans to produce an
annual capacity of 14 million deadweight tons;
this means that CSSC alone would commission
two heavy cargo ships per day.
In the future, gas-powered and dual-fuel engines will gain in importance in
the maritime field because their combustion is more environmentally
friendly in comparison with conventional diesel engines. Many of these en-
gine concepts already meet the International Maritime Organization’s IMO
Tier III emissions regulations scheduled to take effect in 2016. The neces-
sary safety on board is provided, amongst others, by HOERBIGER relief
valves.
PART OF
Shipyards are considered a key segment of heavy industry. Both South
Korea and China have massively expanded their capacities with state sub-
sidies. The People’s Republic continues to be the owner of the CSSC as well
as other shipyards.
Due to low labor costs compared to other markets worldwide, today ships
for mass transport are only built in Asia. Europe, with a world market share
reduced to 5 percent, primarily builds special-purpose and cruise ships;
engineering services, however, are provided worldwide.
In January 2011, the China Daily newspaper announced that during the
first half of 2010, Chinese shipbuilders for the first time overtook the previ-
ous market leader South Korea in the number of incoming orders. All mar-
ket watchers expect that in a few years China will also surpass South Korea
in the cargo capacity of ships built.
PART HOERBIGER Explosion Protection Valves
In the fifties, there was tremendous hazard potential on ships from oil mist
explosions. Explosions in engine crankcases resulted in equipment failure,
disabling the ships. The number of marine accidents rose and ships were
frequently lost due to the severe consequences of these explosions. An ad-
equate solution that would prevent these devastating catastrophes was
needed for engine manufacturers, shipyards, shipping companies, and in-
surance companies.
HOERBIGER Ventilwerke in Vienna recognized the need. Its engineers
managed to develop a relief valve for marine diesel engines which signifi-
cantly mitigated the consequences of oil mist explosions. As a result, en-
gine failures that were due to oil mist explosions were prevented.
Explosion protection in ship engines remains the largest field of application
of HOERBIGER’s relief valves. HOERBIGER is a global market leader in this
segment. In 2009, HOERBIGER established HOERBIGER Valves (Chang-
zhou) Co., Ltd, a new site for the manufacture of relief valves for ship engines.
Ship engines today primarily use the EVO and EVS type series certified by
the IACS (International Association of Classification Societies). They reliably
meet the relevant UR M9 and M66 regulations.
Explosion Protection for Intake and Exhaust PipesA new interesting application for HOERBIGER relief valves is the protection
from gas explosions in intake and exhaust pipes of gas-powered and dual- fuel
engines. At present, the EVT and EVM series relief valves developed for these
applications are employed both in stationary systems and in marine use.
HOERBIGER Valves (Changzhou) Co.,
Ltd. started production in 2009. The
new location in Changzhou manufac-
tures relief valves for marine engines.
These include the IACS-certified EVO
and EVS series.