DMC Introduces Main Frame Dredge Design Concept For Export Customers

I have always regarded the Europort Exhibition as one of the most if not the most useful for us as American dredge builders.

The major U.S. aggregate and construction shows have only a small number of attendees with an interest in dredges. Conversely almost 40 percent of the attendees at Europort are directly involved in the dredging industry and these attendees represent countries that we do not reach with the other shows. In addition to Europe the conference is attended by potential customers from Africa the Middle East and the Far East to name a few.

The focus of our exhibit this year was the introduction of a new concept of portable dredges – the “Main Frame” concept – which we are promoting for our export customers.
My colleague Bob Sutton and I demonstrated this concept in our Europort booth.

We manufacture and assemble the “main frame” of the dredge while most of the steel work is done in the customer’s country. This concept not only saves tremendously on transportation costs but on the total cost of the completed dredge as well. It also minimizes the major technical requirements for the local manufacturer.
The main frame which includes all the main machinery including diesel engines dredge pump winch systems hydraulic system and service water system is shipped from DMC completely assembled. Upon arrival at the local assembly site the main frame is simply dropped into the locally-built hull.

We had a lot of interest in this concept at Europort held in Rotterdam on November 8 through 11 and potential customers seemed to immediately recognize the benefits.