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the same height as the crane bridge. In rainy condi- tions, the hopper can be protected under a moving roof by remote control. The goods are gently trans- ported to a container scale on land via a closed sys- tem of conveyor belts, allowing trucks and rail cars to be quickly loaded.
Alternatively, the import goods can be temporarily stored in Silo 3. The concrete silo entered operation in 2014 and features two identical silo cells that can each store up to around 10,000 tonnes of up to four separately sorted types of fertiliser. Together with Silo 1 and 2, this results in a total storage capacity of ap- proximately 45,000 tonnes for fertiliser.
The fact that a silo is empty happens sometimes, but should not be misinterpreted. “Our storage space is continuously booked out by our long-standing cus- tomers,” notes Reidock. Goods can be stored for any time from a day to six months. “We would like to have more storage space to meet demand from our cus- tomers and we would also invest a considerable amount into the location,” explains Hagel.
Everyone at the company is proud of the cleanliness throughout the site. However, the corrosive and hy- groscopic fertilisers are a challenge to store and han- dle, as they damage material. “For this reason, we
have gradually replaced the normal steel in most construction components with stainless steel, such as the conveyor belt substructure, and parts of the roof structure with wood,” says Reidock. But more could still be done: “We could handle three to four times the amount we do currently, and I would also be willing to invest tens of millions of euros in this ar- ea,” Hagel says. This isn’t possible on the current property, he continues, due to the limited space. Hagel is therefore interested in extending the proper- ty – a plan also supported by his customers. “Reiher- stieg is ideal because it doesn’t silt up and its water depth of 11 metres is also suitable for large ships. But we would need more storage space. That is why we have been seeking the approval of the city for a larger site area for quite some time,” emphasises Hagel.
His grandson Julian adds: “I have grown up with this company. My great-great-grandfather founded this business more than 150 years ago and I now see my future here. But if we have no possibility to extend our site, there is a danger that Hamburg will lose more handling volume to competing ports. For instance, we dispatched four 30,000-tonners in April that also had other ports of discharge besides Hamburg, such as Antwerpen or Szczecin, because we lack sufficient storage space.”
PORT OF HAMBURG MAGAZINE 2/24 ALL-PURPOSE PORT
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The facility is connected to the Deutsche Bahn network via two in-house railway tracks.
© HHM/Claudia Behrend