WorldCargo News Online

TANK CONTAINERS
WorldCargo
news
Specials builders at home in Europe
While European tank container manufacturers
may no longer be able to compete
with their counterparts in South
Africa and China in the supply of standard
20ft ISO tanks to the market, a
number of venerable engineering companies
live on in France, the UK, Belgium,
Germany, Spain and Italy, building
special tank containers.
Augmenting the survey of high-volume
producers of tank containers that appeared
in last month’s World Cargo News,
this report focuses on the latest developments
at a number of the leading European
manufacturers of specials.
Magyar builds
In 2005 Groupe Magyar SA of Suerre in
France continued to grow its share of the
European swap tanks and specials market,
the increased demand necessitating
the use of a second production line at the
plant.The company has been able to capitalise
on its strong knowledge base in the
construction of road tankers, rigid body
trucks and rail wagons to further develop
the range of demountable tanks on offer.
“Multi-compartment tanks, baffled
tanks, specialist valving, specialist linings
and independent heating systems are
among the requirements on tanks currently
under manufacture,” states Martin
Laverty, tank container product manager
for Magyar SA. “Although the current
high steel prices have slowed demand
from some customers, most are moving
forward with their tank purchase programmes
in 2006.While not expecting a
record performance over the 2005/2006
period, Magyar SA is confident of steady
progress in this difficult and demanding
market.”
In line with the shift towards the construction
of specials that has been taking
place over the past 20 years amongst European
manufacturers continuing to produce
tank containers, Magyar points out
that a typical “standard” tank for the company
now would be an 35,000-l IMO 4
unit with four baffles and that a 20ft,
24,000-l T11 tank of the type built in large
volumes in China could conceivably be
considered a “special”.“Whatever the requirement,
with the vast manufacturing
experience built up by Magyar over 60
years, we can turn our hand to building
virtually any specification of transport
tank,” concludes Martin Laverty.
Oxygen swap
M1 Engineering of Bradford in the UK
is perhaps best known for the manufacture
of cryogenic road tankers used in the
transport of liquefied natural gas (LNG)
and industrial gases such as oxygen, nitrogen
and argon at low temperatures.
However, M1E is also engaged in tank
container manufacture and, again, the
emphasis is on units for the carriage of
cryogenic and other low-temperature liquefied
gases.
The company reports that sales of specials
for the carriage of cryogenic liquids
and other liquefied gases increased in 2005
compared to 2004 due to strengthening
demand driven in part by growth in the
Asian economies.A total of 75 such specials
were built last year, up from 60 in
2004.
Amongst the notable developments at
M1 Engineering over the past 12 months
has been the launch of a new 26,000-l
'Maximo' swap body cryogenic tank container.
The unit has been optimised for
the carriage of up to 28,000 kg of liquid
oxygen at a mean average working pressure
of 4 bar. M1 points out that the new
tank provides the market with a flexible,
intermodal alternative to road tankers.
Another recent design innovation
from M1 is a 9 per cent nickel and highstrength
carbon steel, vacuum-insulated
tank container for the transport of carbon
dioxide (CO2) which is able to carry
up to 24,000 kg of product at a working
pressure of 22 bar. “This unit is able to
carry 4 tonnes more product, or 20 per
cent more payload, than other standard
20ft ISO containers on the market,” states
Jason Gill, M1 Engineering’s sales director.
Van Hool leads
With an output of 1,500 units in 2005,
European manufacturers of tank containers have carved out a
niche for themselves as builders of specials units
Van Hool of Belgium remains Europe’s
largest producer of tank containers. Output
remained on a par with that achieved
in 2004.
The company regards all the tank containers
and swap body tanks it builds as
specials - whether made of stainless steel,
steel or aluminium; whether dedicated to
foodstuffs or chemicals; and whether for
Van Hool built this foodstuffs swap tank for
the GCA Group
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the transport of liquids, gases or powders.
Recent notable developments include
the introduction of new gas tank designs,
including swap body units complete with
an integral pump arrangement, and an
extension of production facilities for such
tanks as part of an ongoing investment
programme.The completion of work to
expand the gas tank production line has
enabled output of these units to be increased
accordingly. The current
orderbook for 1,500 such units confirms
Van Hool’s status as the world’s leading
supplier of gas tank containers. Recent
output has included several series of 30
and 40ft tanks for the carriage of LPG.
Progress at Van Hool has not been limited
to gas tanks.The company has developed
designs for high-capacity tank containers
for the transport of beer on
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April 2006 33