Rolling out the Red Carpet at the Halifax Harbour Container Port HALIFAX HARBOUR, — two independent communication ports for Halifax Harbour’s strategic location and complete EDP and print ticket programma- Halifax incredibly efficient infrastructure and ser- bility. It easily programs two formats with Harbour vice have made it a gateway to the United up to 300 characters and creates complex States and and the preferred con- custom tickets. It drives up to eight 350- Explosion ® nection to . In 2005, the 70-acre ohm load cells and features RATTLETRAP During World War I, after German Fairview Cove Container Terminal, oper- three-stage digital filtering for eliminating U-boat attacks began, Halifax ated by Cerescorp Company, deepened the most vibration interference. Harbour became an assembly container berths to 55 feet, the deepest on point for merchant ship convoys the eastern seaboard, and can now handle As we watch the trucks line up and roll awaiting naval escort. the world’s largest container vessels. through, it reminds us of a perfectly co- On December 6, 1917, the Mont- ordinated parade, minus the brass bands. Blanc, a 3,121-ton French cargo When Calvin Whidden, vice president and The four truck scales provide the weight of ship fully loaded with 2,653 metric director of the container terminal, moved the containers for both weight distribution tons of wartime explosives, collided ahead to updating the truck scale facility, and total weight loaded on the ships. As the with the Imo, a Norwegian ship. he asked for recommendations. “I called truck approaches the truck scale, the truck around and asked companies about scales. and container identification is started. The Twenty-five minutes later, the Mont-Blanc I wanted a company that could handle this photo ID information is sent to the weigh , which was not flying project from start to finish; not someone master station. The truck continues to a ki- warning flags, exploded with more force than any man-made explosion who would sell me the equipment and run osk, the next available weigh master selects ever before. The ship was instantly for the hills.” John Beaulieu’s All Weigh that scale, and the weight and ID informa- destroyed in a giant fireball that Systems, Inc. and Rice Lake SURVIVOR tion are displayed at his terminal. The driver, rose over a mile into the air. truck scale were the dealer and truck scale via a telephone system, responds to a series of choice. Calvin adds, “John is always of questions and is issued a ticket allowing The explosion caused a tsunami available and was quick to respond to every the truck to enter the terminal and off-load. in the harbour that lifted the 5,043- Imo issue that arose during the project. He is Today, the facility handles several hundred ton up onto the Dartmouth Mont-Blanc’s clearly a hands-on person that solves prob- trucks and nearly 500 containers a day. shore. A portion of anchor shaft, weighing 1,140 lems for his customer.” That’s a big parade indeed. pounds, was thrown nearly two and a half miles from the blast. All Weigh Systems Inc. started the in- John Beaulieu has been a Rice Lake dis- The explosion was felt and heard stallation in November and finished in tributor for 20 years. “I like the one-stop in Charlottetown, Prince Edward December 2007. The installation is four shopping. Very seldom do I order some- Island, roughly 135 miles north. in-coming lanes with Rice Lake 80 x 11 thing and it’s not immediately available. Approximately 2,000 people were foot SURVIVOR OTR scales connected to You know, commitment goes both ways— killed. Many, who had been watch- IQ plus® 355 Digital Weight Indicators. it works for Rice Lake and it works for All ing from windows, were blinded The fully interactive IQ plus 355 features Weigh Systems.” n when the glass shattered inward.

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