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The three pillars of our port logistics business are loading, unloading, and barge transport services. The Company unloads steel raw material, loads steel products, and provides other services at the Port of Kobe and the Port of Higashi-Harima. We employ highly skilled staff, including foremen who oversee all aspects of unloading cargo, delivery operators who handle all operations from warehousing products to loading ships, and crane operators who are directly involved in loading ships. In addition, we perform agency operations, such as preparing and adjusting charter agreements related to intra-port transportation, as well as customs clearance services mainly for steel exports. We work hard to support shippers in these and many other ways.

Kobelco Logistics introduced the Sky Juster™ to aid in the loading and unloading of cargo at ports for Kakogawa Works. The Sky Juster is a device used to control the direction of lifted cargo and was developed by Obayashi Corporation for the construction of Tokyo Skytree. It uses gyroscopic effects to maintain the position of lifted cargo, freely control its orientation, and stop rotation. This technology improves various aspects of loading and unloading cargo and mitigates the danger of especially high-risk operations, such as touching hoisted cargo and standing under lifting equipment. It is especially effective for loading and unloading heavy steel plates.

Our expertise in transporting oversized and overweight cargo even garners acclaim from industry peers. One case where we demonstrated our strength in this field was the loading of a ship propeller massing over 100 tons. The request came from a marine shipping company that needed to ship the propeller manufactured by a company outside the Kobe Steel Group to Shanghai. The comprehensive loading operation involved lifting the propeller with a floating crane, loading it onto the ship, and fastening it inside the hold.

Kobelco Logistics works to improve the quality of its logistics services in many different ways. Take hot rolled wire rods for example. After going through heat treatment, pickling, and drawing, the rods are forged into a variety of shapes. Any defect in the surface of a rod can cause cracks to form during the forging process. In addition, customers’ surface quality requirements are becoming increasingly stringent as forging processes become ever more sophisticated. As part of our efforts to reduce damage to wire rods, we have developed new lifting equipment that reduces squeezing when the rods are hoisted.