Kahler Automation
What They Needed
American Plant Food Corp. (APF), a fertilizer blender and wholesaler, was in the process of expanding and developing their dry terminal facility in Galena Park, TX. The company, which distributes product in the wholesale market, needed a solution that focused on four main factors: Equipment Operation, Speed, Accuracy, and Documentation.
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In collaboration with Watco Terminal and Port Services, the project needed an automation system to control the receiving of fertilizer from ships, barges, rail, and truck, and distribute and stage the product into the warehouse bins, while measuring fertilizer as it was received. The loadout process required automating the reclaiming functions, along with developing a truck traffic staging system, and a controls package for dispensing product via a bulk weigh tower to trucks and rail. The last component was to track fertilizer inventories received and loaded, and process orders, via a file integration system for both companies.
What We Designed
Kahler Automation was chosen to develop an automation system that would offer very efficient control and protection of the unloading equipment from incoming vessels. The process includes reading a belt scale for measuring product received by rail and ship, and truck scales for product received by inbound trucks. All receiving equipment is controlled, and a laser tripper system programmed for 28 locations puts product into the four storage bins inside the warehouse. The loadout system has four 300TPH reclaim systems, and conveyors are operated by wireless tablets in the reclaim loaders.
The conveyors fill the bulk weigh tower, which is controlled by Kahler Automation’s Plant Supervisor loading software. A truck staging system directs drivers to the appropriate loading location and pre-staging truck scales. All file handling for the railcar RFID system and truck loadout are received by Kahler’s Terminal Management software, processed during loading, and returned to both Watco and APF for proper bills of lading and legal-for-resale billing. A camera system was also developed and integrated for yard, warehouse, and loadout areas of the project.
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