Crane operation in assistance mode: The future begins now

Two transfer cranes developed and built by Baljer & Zembrod will soon go into operation at a new Veolia plant for treating hazardous waste produced at the Marl Chemical Park. What makes this project truly special is that these are not only electrically powered cranes, but they are also controlled from a control centre located approximately 100 metres away and supported by a sophisticated assistance system.

Sometimes it is the more unusual projects that present particular challenges, but that is precisely what makes them all the more interesting: With over 70 years of experience in the development and construction of electrically powered handling machines, Baljer & Zembrod is certainly one of the most renowned suppliers of this handling technology. The medium-sized company, based in Altshausen in southern Germany, is also one of the leading international suppliers of innovative woodworking and handling machines for sawmill log yards. "Experience makes the difference," as B&Z sales representative Jürgen Boden puts it, "and that is certainly what helped us in the case of the new plant for treating hazardous waste at the Marl Chemical Park in the Ruhr area."

New plant and new challenges

Veolia has been operating a hazardous waste incineration plant at the Marl Chemical Park since 2019. However, new politically mandated targets for ecology and environmental protection made it necessary to modernise and expand the existing waste incineration plant and build a new incineration line. Since 2020, Veolia has therefore been building a completely new plant for treating the hazardous waste produced at the chemical park. With around 150 employees, approximately 45,000 tonnes of hazardous waste are currently treated each year. With the takeover of the existing incineration plant and the construction of the largest incineration line in Europe, Veolia will have a total capacity for thermal treatment with energy recovery of almost 250,000 tonnes of hazardous waste per year in Germany. The new plant will process all hazardous waste from the Marl Chemical Park as well as other waste from industrial companies in the region. 100 per cent of the energy generated will be used in the chemical park's steam network, avoiding almost 100,000 tonnes of CO2 per year.

Project planning: Special requirements and possible solutions

At the beginning of 2020, Veolia France contacted BZH, the French sales subsidiary of Baljer & Zembrod. The background to this was a project realised in 2017 in collaboration with Veolia France, in which a semi-automated B&Z OBX V-24 handling crane is successfully in use. The new enquiry in 2020 concerned a concept for two crane systems in Marl, Germany, one for feeding a bunker and the other for feeding a shredder, "around the clock, seven days a week," as Jürgen Boden explains. "In the autumn of the same year, a meeting was held at the planning office of Envi Con Engineering GmbH in Nuremberg. We presented three options: firstly, the RSW Model LGX recycling sorting trolley for the bunker and, as an alternative, the stationary crane Model LGX II in its then semi-automated version, which Veolia France was already familiar with from the previous project, as well as the crane Model OBX V-24 for the shredder." In December 2020, Veolia finally decided to use the stationary LGX II for the bunker and the OBX V-24 for the shredder. Jürgen Boden: "Both were to be equipped with the semi-automation system that existed at the time. The second requirement was that they should be controlled from the control room of the building located about 100 metres from the location of the two cranes. We were asked to submit a detailed offer, including the necessary performance calculations. The customer's installation requirements were also part of our offer." The contracts were signed in September 2021.

Implementation: remote control and digital assistance

And what is the current status? Jürgen Boden: "We are about to start operations in Marl. Our two cranes and a overhead crane are controlled from the control centre. The B&Z LGX II and OBX V-24 cranes are, of course, equipped with the assistance system developed by B&Z, which is based on the semi-automatic system used at the time. We have continuously developed our assistance systems, and not just for this case!" Material is picked up manually via a control station in the control centre, which is supported by video systems. Once a defined position is reached, the crane is handed over to the assistance system. In both cases, this system takes over the positioning of the grab above the delivery hopper. Above the hopper itself, the crane is transferred back to the control station, which can then manually place the material into the respective hopper. The use of the assistance system also ensured that all necessary legal safety measures were implemented in the bunker and at the shredder. From the client's point of view, the project was carried out professionally, competently and in a spirit of partnership, as Dr. Jürgen Flesch, Managing Director, reports: "The good cooperation during the planning phase continued during installation and will be successfully completed with the upcoming commissioning." The operator considers its requirements to have been very well implemented and is confident that the crane system will operate reliably and safely. From the perspective of Peter Schaeidt, Managing Director and owner of Baljer & Zembrod, the project in Marl can also be described as a complete success: "We are delighted to be part of the Veolia Marl project and to be helping to drive forward ecological change with the aid of our technology. In addition, the collaboration with Veolia has also challenged Baljer & Zembrod technologically, particularly in the recycling sector. I only need to recall the project implemented in 2017 with our sales subsidiary BZH involving the semi-automated stationary crane in Bordeaux, France, the plants in Saudi Arabia and Hungary, and the stationary cranes with assistance systems currently in use at the Marl

(Article published in the magazine ‘recycling aktiv’, issue 6/2025)