Storage tank fabricators Oostwouder and Siemerink have expanded Loders Croklaan’s palm-oil tank farm in the Port of Rotterdam, The Netherlands, built in 2004 using duplex LDX 2101®, with 41 new tanks, consuming 1300tns of the same grade. Loders Croklaan’s palm oil refinery and fractionation plant, which processes 2500-3000tns of palm oil daily (enough to fill more than 500 Olympic pools each year), is supported by a large storage tank farm right at the company dock. When planning the farm in 2003, both the palm oil company and Dutch tank fabricator Siemerink looked for alternatives to the conventional storage tank material for edible oils, austenitic stainless steel 1.4301 (ASTM 304). With local assistance from Outokumpu, both were convinced that Outokumpu’s proprietary duplex grade LDX 2101®, newly introduced to the market at that time, would bring them considerable competitive advantage. The farm comprising 17 tanks was completed in 2004, with the tank walls and roofs built out of LDX 2101® – a total of 716tns of the material. The new contract will be split between two tank fabricators, Siemerink and Oostwouder. The latter, specializing in on-site construction of welded tanks, will be in charge of larger units. Siemerink, fabricating at the company plant, will be using 2-meter-wide duplex coil, a product only available from Outokumpu, and reap additional advantage as there will be less welding compared to conventional, narrower coil widths.
