Port Everett

For example, Port Everett realised that with the region’s recent construction boom cement was in demand, so it moved from aluminium ore handling to a cement terminal for Lehigh cement manufacturers.

Luckily, the port inherited a lot of equipment from its former business, including a giant vacuum pump that was installed over two decades ago (because even then with its ores business, dust was an issue).

This pumps the cement through the receiver into kettles which fill two offloading screws – and from there, conveyors and belts get it to the silos and distribute it evenly inside.

However, terminal manager Mike Bennett, says the operation chose to put the screw loaders in instead of air-slides to keep the introduction of air to the cement as low as possible. Which adds yet another issue to the cement mix.