Hilgefort GmbH was commissioned with the production of a material hopper for a blast furnace in Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany. The material hopper was required for the delivery of the new blast furnace 5A in September 2016.
The hopper weighs a total of 33,000 kg, measuring 5.8 m long, 4.7 m wide and 4.9 m tall. The material hopper was entirely produced, stress-relief heat treated, pressure tested and finally surface treated in Dinklage. An external partner lined the interior with wear-resistant ceramic.
The operational capability of the bell provided was also tested in Dinklage. This is achieved by fitting the bell to the hopper and performing a function test. The bell is then removed again for transport.
Owing to its size, the material hopper was transported from Dinklage to the inland port at Sedelsberg before being shipped to Eisenhüttenstadt. This involved the material hopper being transferred onto a smaller barge in Magdeburg, which could easily navigate the waterways as far as Eisenhüttenstadt. The hopper was unloaded and put in temporary storage by the client at the end of July 2016
