The Sempertrans segment of the international Semperit Group and the Agudio brand of the Italian ropeway manufacturer Leitner Ropeways have developed a completely new system for bulk transportation over long distances. Called the Flyingbelt, the new system is a combination of ropeway and conveyor belt.The unique conveyor belt suspended on ropes connects a limestone mine in South Eastern Brazil with a cement plant owned by LafargeHolcim, the largest producer of construction materials globally.
Under the most difficult topographical conditions, 1,500 tonnes of limestone per hour are transported at a height of up to 36 m. The new Flyingbelt, with a length of approximately 7 km, is the longest in the world.
“With the Agudio ‘Flyingbelt’ we have installed a very innovative bulk materials transportation system. The Sempertrans conveyor belt not only overcomes – at great height – terrain that can only be accessed with difficulty, it also transports material efficiently and in an environmentally-friendly way. More than 40 truck journeys every hour are saved,” comments Thomas Fahnemann, CEO of Semperit Group. “We are the only conveyor belt manufacturer worldwide that has the technical expertise to deliver the right belt for the special construction of a cable conveyor belt,”Fahnemann adds.
The longest flying conveyor belt in the world was produced in the Sempertrans plant in France and shipped to Brazil. The customer LafargeHolcim was convinced by the lower long-term operating expenses and the higher transportation capacities. The electricity consumption of the new conveyor equipment is only around one third of that of conventional ropeway systems and, instead of the previous maximum of 400 tonnes per hour, 1,500 tonnes of limestone can now be transported in the same amount of time. In addition, the construction work needed on the ground for traditional conveyor belts, which encroaches significantly on nature and the landscape, was not necessary for the Flyingbelt in Brazil.
Following the successful completion of the project for LafargeHolcim, Sempertrans and Agudio plan to convince further customers about the new technology. New projects are in the pipeline, also in areas other than the core mining segment.