Heyl & Patterson Blog

It seems that the U.S. coal industry is getting back on track after a few turbulent years.  Production is rebounding, prices are high and overseas demand remains promising.  However, the industry still faces considerable challenges, ranging from dwindling domestic stockpiles to indecisive regulators.  With Asia and its continually increasing demand for coal finally knocking on America's door, there is some debate over the longevity of this relationship.

Coaltrans USA once again unites the leaders in the American coal industry for the latest market commentary.  How are domestic coal markets evolving?  How do regulatory decisions impact the availability of capital?  What infrastructure developments are needed to ensure that this route remains cost-competitive?  Heyl & Patterson will be among the representatives at the 12th year of the conference to discuss the changing dynamics of the U.S. coal basins.  The conference sessions are pertinent to both Heyl & Patterson's Bulk Transfer Division for Rotary Railcar Dumpers and Renneburg Division for Fluid Bed Dryers.

Among the topics to be discussed at the convention:

• An overview of the U.S. coal sector
• Coal and natural gas: In fear or in tandem?
• Developing new U.S. coal projects
• U.S. met coal in the global context
• Rapid development of met coal reserves and its impact on thermal coal
• Capital availability and government regulation

Coaltrans USA’s featured presentations will be from Paul Reagan – President, Sampling Associates International; Fred Palmer – Senior Vice President of Government Relations, Peabody Energy; John Eaves - President & Chief Operating Officer, Arch Coal; and Bob Pusateri - Executive Vice President of Energy Sales and Transportation Services, CONSOL Energy.

Coaltrans USA will be held on February 2-3, 2012 at the JW Marriott Marquis in Miami, FL.

For more information about Heyl & Patterson's bulk material handling capabilities, click here:

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Tags: Heyl & Patterson, trade shows & conferences, process equipment, bulk material handling equipment, coal handling

Power generation comes from a variety of heat-producing sources: oil, natural gas, nuclear, geothermal, wind, solar and of course, coal.  The heat boils water and creates steam.  The steam, under high pressure, spins a turbine.  The turbine interacts with a series of magnets to produce electricity, which is transmitted as moving electrons through a series of wires to homes and businesses.

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Tags: Heyl & Patterson, trade shows & conferences, barge unloaders, industrial dryers, coal handling, coal dryers, railcar dumpers

Coal is handled and stored several times during its journey between the mine and the eventual consumer.  About 2.5 million tons of coal are burned in U.S. power plants each day.  This is equivalent to roughly 21,000 railcars in transit, so coordinating production and consumption is no easy task. Accidents, rail strikes, severe weather and disasters that take out bridges and rail lines can all disrupt deliveries for utility customers who are dependent on a reliable coal supply for their power plants.

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Tags: Heyl & Patterson, trade shows & conferences, bulk material handling equipment, coal handling

Mining is one of Australia's most important industries, creating significant employment and greatly contributing to the Australian economy.  It's also a vital source of export revenue.  Australia is the world's leading exporter of coal and iron ore, and is among the leaders in nickel, zinc, aluminum, gold and uranium.  Minerals make up about 35% of Australia's total exports.

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Tags: barge unloaders, reps, bulk material handling equipment, railcar movers, side arm chargers, railcar indexers, train positioners, coal handling, wagon tipplers, ship unloaders, railcar dumpers

Heyl & Patterson pioneered the design for the Continuous Barge Unloader, which has been a staple solution for handling bulk materials on waterways.  These machines have solved a variety of unloading problems for many customers demanding reliable, safe and versatile systems.  Diverse cargos such as coal, iron ore, bauxite, alumina, corn, wheat, soybean, agricultural by-products, wood chips and limestone have been successfully offloaded by Heyl & Patterson.

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Tags: barge unloaders, bulk material handling equipment, coal handling, ship unloaders

Each year, nearly half a million barge-loads of bulk material such as coal, grain, wood chips, crushed stone, sand and minerals travel to delivery points along our nation’s inland waterways.  River transportation is the safest and most efficient method for moving massive quantities of materials.  Ports and other points along the rivers utilize various types of unloading systems to quickly and economically offload the barge traffic that comes their way.

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Tags: barge unloaders, bulk material handling equipment, coal handling, ship unloaders

Indonesia is one of the largest coal producers and coal consumers in the world.  Over the past two decades, Indonesia's coal industry has transformed itself from being an unknown, minor player in Asia's coal markets to the world's largest exporter of steam coal.  Indonesia created this world-scale industry despite challenges created by widespread government corruption, a weak legal system, the Asian Financial Crisis of 1997 and the fall of the Suharto government in 1998.

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Tags: barge unloaders, bulk material handling equipment, coal handling, wagon tipplers, ship unloaders, railcar dumpers

The busiest cargo port in the western hemisphere is the Port of South Louisiana.  It extends 54 miles along the Mississippi River between New Orleans and Baton Rouge.  About 6000 vessels pass through on an annual basis, and it accounts for 60% of all raw grain exports from the American Midwest.  Grain and other commodities such as coal, ore, wood chips, sand, feed and salt are classified as bulk cargo.  As the name implies, bulk cargo is transported unpackaged in large quantities, and is often transferred from ship to shore by some form of bucket unloader.

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Tags: Heyl & Patterson, trade shows & conferences, barge unloaders, bulk material handling equipment, coal handling, ship unloaders

In the past few weeks, Australia has suffered the worst flood in its history.  With an estimated cost of about $5 billion, it’s shaping up to be the nation’s most expensive natural disaster.  Satellite views of the northeast state of Queensland show an affected area the size of France and Germany combined.  In Brisbane alone, Australia’s third-largest city, as many as 20,000 properties and 200,000 people have been affected.  And economically, the worst hit sector is expected to be the coal industry.

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Tags: bulk material handling equipment, coal handling

Tags: Heyl & Patterson, trade shows & conferences, bulk material handling equipment, coal handling