Innovation in dredging equipment

Remote control options, dual cutter heads and fully equipped amphibious cranes for hire. Developments in the world of dredging equipment do not stand still.

Bell Dredging Pumps BV of Winkel, North Holland, is a manufacturer of machinery for the dredging industry. "We are engaged in the design, production and worldwide sales and rental of dredging equipment," said Thijs van den Outenaar, sales engineer at Bell. "The latest addition to our rental fleet is a full-option amphibian crane with dredging computer, Bell 150 pump on the arm and possibly an operator to go with it.

Rental amphibian crane

Developments in dredging equipment do not stand still. For example, the company recently expanded its rental fleet with an amphibious crane, an excavator that can work on both water and land. Van den Outenaar: "The difference with a regular excavator is the amphibious undercarriage that enables it to float. As well as the fact that the bucket has been replaced by a dredge pump that can be used to pump solids." The rental amphibious crane (20 ton class) is equipped with the Bell 150 pump on which any pump head from the Bell range can be put. This makes it usable for many types of soil.

Bell pump with double cutter, the latest addition to our pump heads range. The pump can freely descend on a cable into a pipe pole for emptying.

Innovative smarts

The rental amphibian crane is now working on its first project, deepening a lake in Switzerland for the construction of a marina. For this, the crane is equipped with some innovative cleverness such as a dredging computer and survey software. An auger head as the pump head also gives a high concentration of solids in the pumped mix and less turbid water, thus meeting the strict Swiss regulations.

An app that will allow operators and contractors not only to read their Bell products remotely, but also to control them, was also developed in early 2019. Van den Outenaar: "Power packs and booster stations can thus be started up and controlled without personnel present via a VPN connection. Furthermore, a contractor can use a built-in production calculator to select the right Bell pump for a particular project based on the calculated solids production."

For the past year, Bell has also had a double cutter as a pump head. Because two rotating cutter heads rotate against each other, the pump remains stationary underwater and can freely descend on a cable, for example, into a pipe pile to empty it. "This pump head is now widely used in the offshore and foundation industry," said Van den Outenaar.