A forwarder-friendly stevedore

A forwarderfriendly stevedore

RHB Continues to invest in Heavy Lift CapaCity

“it Has Been quite a Busy peRiod at ouR teRminaL”, states mike van deR pLuijm, diReCtoR of RHB stevedoRing & WaReHousing, as He enteRs tHe ConfeRenCe Room foR an inteRvieW WitH offsHoRe industRy. “tHeRe is a Lot going on in business for us. positive things. However, offering stevedoring and warehousing facilities to mainly tramp services can also be challenging. our planning often changes rapidly and the weeks often look very different on tuesday than what was expected the day before.

All photos CouRtesy of RHB.

Nevertheless, behind this setting operates a company that knows exactly what it wants. With 89 years of experience and knowledge in the handling of breakbulk, RHB has built up a strong presence in the offshore industry, always looking at the opportunities offered by market developments. this recently resulted in the commissioning of a Liebherr crane at the company’s terminal, which with a maximum lifting capacity of 208t can be considered to be the heaviest mobile harbour crane in europe. Expert in breakbulk “RHB is an expert in the handling and storage of any type of breakbulk”, mr van der pluijm explains. of course, this commodity has changed in many ways throughout the years. in the early days,

The Liebherr LHM550 has a lifting capacity of 144t.

a 30t load was quite heavy. ever since we started our family-owned business, loads have grown bigger and heavier and we have always kept up with this scaling-up. Looking at the offshore market, the oil & gas industry is still very important for RHB, although the offshore wind industry has also been relevant for us for many years. in fact, we have been facilitating this market long before its recent expansion.” He continues, “as a 100% stevedoring company, we operate independently from the market. We are considered as a trustworthy, forwarder-friendly party for the handling and storing of any type of breakbulk good. We are renowned for our high flexibility and straight-forward mentality and are proud to say that many >>

With the extra mobile crane, the company has considerably expanded the handling flexibility and capacity at its quay.

Mobilising a pontoon for an offshore wind project. RHB has been facilitating this market long before its recent expansion.

customers know where to find us for help with their handling and storage projects. from a strategic location in the port of Rotterdam area, with 730m quay facilities, we have grown into a dedicated terminal for project cargo and breakbulk.”

Third mobile heavy lift crane With project cargo increasing in both weight and size, RHB continues to invest in lifting capacity and today, the company has three mobile heavy lift cranes available. it now has one gottwald and two Liebherr mobile Harbour cranes, the LHm550 with a lifting capacity of 144t and a 208t Liebherr LHm600s. “With our new crane, we are ready for the expected further increase of cargo size, weight, and volume”, adds mr van der pluijm. according to him, it is not just weight that can be challenging but the length of heavy items, too. We can better respond to this development with our new crane. in case a load cannot be taken care of with one of the cranes, we are now capable of executing tandem lifts of 216t or 288t with extreme lengths and measurements. for heavier items, we make use of the Rotterdam floating cranes that are berthed about fifteen minutes from our terminal and can lift up to 1,800t.”

Flexibility and capacity Besides scaling-up, there was another important reason to invest in the new mobile crane, as mr van der pluijm explains. “i already mentioned our daily practice of ad hoc projects. We constantly receive requests from our customers to take care of their cargo or projects. and with the extra mobile crane, we have now considerably expanded our handling flexibility and capacity at our quay. We frequently deal with last-minute requests and last-minute changes in project scopes, and our flexibility, capacity, and short communication lines are unique in the market”, mr van der pluijm voices.

Valuable advantage Behind the quay, RHB has ample open and covered storage capacity available for both the short and longer term, and the company can rely on a extensive network of partners. “since our establishment almost 90 years ago, we have always been located in this part of the port of Rotterdam. over here, at close range from our facilities, we can use a broad range of suppliers that help us in meeting our customers’ requests. Whenever we need something, there is always someone nearby who can be of assistance. this is really a valuable advantage for us.” With the additional heavy lift crane, RHB is well prepared for the future. mr van der pluijm concludes, “the scalingup in project cargo will go on, and the offshore industry will undoubtedly continue to develop. this is good news for us and we are looking forward to the future challenges that this will bring.”