BULK
HANDLING
Dedicated to improving bulk material handling
After his retirement in 2009 as CEO of TAKRAF,
Rainer continues to work with TAKRAF as
consultant in the field of materials handling. In
this capacity, he has made significant
contributions to the development of TAKRAF’s
innovative new gearless drive technology for
the El Teniente and Chuquicamata underground
conveyors in Chile. The two Chuquicamata
principal conveyors will boast the highest
installed drive power ever produced with four
5,000 kW drives per installed conveyor and will
also employ a ST10,000 N/mm steel-cord belt.
This again represents another world first and
will ensure the future viability of one of the
largest copper mines in the world.
mining industry particularly in copper, iron ore,
coal/lignite and bauxite having worked in
association with most of the world’s major
mining companies.
Having to work frequently in developing
countries with restricted access to high-tech
materials and often with a lack of skilled labour,
taught him to keep designs simple and to focus
more on constructability and maintainability
Background of a materials handling pioneer
Rainer’s engineering thesis was performed in
cooperation with his employer Weserhütte, a
well-known German materials handling
company at the time. The thesis dealt with the
design of a shiftable drive station for a 1,600
mm wide overburden conveyor in Spain.
After graduation, Rainer continued to work at
Weserhütte before moving to PWH, O&K and
Krupp in various positions.
The last 20 years of his career were with
TAKRAF with the last 10 years as its CEO and
President. Rainer’s vocation was dedicated
entirely to the materials handling industry. His
positions have varied, but he has always
maintained a strong focus on engineering.
His professional life and achievements were
influenced by his extensive international
experience. He spent 10 years, from 1978 to
1988 in Australia and was then stationed in the
USA from 1988 to 2000. Having executed
projects all over the world, he gained a
profound understanding of the international
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rather than on stylish and non-practical designs.
Through his extended materials handling
experience, he has been involved in a wide
variety of materials handling systems, ranging
from stockpile machines, open-cast mining
equipment, crushing plants of stationary,
semi-mobile and fully mobile versions, to
shiftable, stationary or overland high capacity
belt conveyors transporting over 30,000 t/h. His
dedication and expertise undeniably pushed
the materials handling envelope and will
forever impact the fields of conveyor and
material handling design.