01-13-2009, 10:52 AM
Josh, I suspect the situation is like the "hammer head" cranes in the harbor. You have to have a long enough dock to justify the number of cranes you install, and you have to have a bit of extra dock space where they can be moved out of the way and parked when the ship is docking or leaving. The number of cranes in use will then depend on the size of the ship. When I worked in the harbor, we had small ships come in that would be worked with 2 cranes and we had large ships come in that would handle 4 cranes.
I have one question about your plans for the manufacture of parts. I'm not familiar with the steel industry, but I don't think steel mills make any parts other than perhaps a machine shop on premises to make parts in house needed to keep the machinery running. I think the steel mill would send out the steel in rolls, slabs, or structural shapes to other companies who would have foundries or whatever was needed to produce finished parts. For instance, the auto industry receives steel in rolls that goes to the stamping mill at the plant to make body panels. They receive ingots that goes to the casting plant to be cast into engine blocks, cylinder heads, etc. Even the frames for cars are made on site from raw steel.
I have one question about your plans for the manufacture of parts. I'm not familiar with the steel industry, but I don't think steel mills make any parts other than perhaps a machine shop on premises to make parts in house needed to keep the machinery running. I think the steel mill would send out the steel in rolls, slabs, or structural shapes to other companies who would have foundries or whatever was needed to produce finished parts. For instance, the auto industry receives steel in rolls that goes to the stamping mill at the plant to make body panels. They receive ingots that goes to the casting plant to be cast into engine blocks, cylinder heads, etc. Even the frames for cars are made on site from raw steel.