Projects: Exceptional freight on barge and road - Boxco transports 880 ton splitter column for Mexican refinery to Mumbai Port on 2 x 28 axle lines of SCHEUERLE-KAMAG K25 SPE

Below is a press release from the TII Group on a record transport by an Indian Transport Company- BOXCO in October 2013

Boxco Logistics has set the bar high yet again, by roll on-roll off of the longest column ever that was transported in and out of Mumbai port on SCHEUERLE KAMAG K25 self-propelled modular transporters.

It all started in the industrial township of Dahej in the state of Gujarat at ISGEC Heavy Engineering’s manufacturing plant. A 91 meter long, 880 ton splitter column built for a refinery in Mexico, shadowed the workshop buildings. Apart from the splitter, a 380 ton quench water tower and a 250 ton demethaniser were also to be transported along with their accessories. The transportation of the columns from ISGEC plant to Adani port was a challenge, as the splitter measured 91 m x 9.5 m x 9 m in dimensions. Civil works

like road widening, removal of obstacles including dividers and light poles were carried out prior commencement of transportation. Electrical line shutdowns also had to be arranged with the local electricity boards. In coordination with the local police, the transportation was carried out using SCHEUERLE-KAMAG K25 self-propelled modular transporters. The team faced a large number of challenges including turning restrictions like dividers road ends and conveyor belt structures which were mastered by the

elaborated steering modes of the SCHEUERLE-KAMAG K25 SPE. The transportation of all 3 pieces of equipment was carried out in a span of four days. The entrance wall to Adani port was razed to move the convoys into its premises. On site transportation at the port also posed a challenge due to narrow passages existing especially for the 91 m long splitter.

The shipment schedule for equipments from Dahej stood on the edge of the harsh ongoing monsoon season. The derrick barge “Triton Vision” under tow by 30 t bollard pull “MT Canara Progress” had been chosen to complete this mammoth task of sea transportation from turbulent waters of the Narmada delta in Gulf of Khambat up to the port of Mumbai. After engineering the required stowage plan, executing the jetty civil

works and ramp construction the barge arrived at Dahej jetty under tow by smaller tugs due to low draft conditions of the Narmada basin. After stowage of the cargo, seafastening was carried as per pre-calculated. Upon survey of the cargo and fastenings, the barge loaded with the refinery equipment was hauled by the smaller tugs up to Dahej anchorage, where it was handed over to “MT Canara Progress”, which

transported the loaded barge up to Mumbai port. Upon arrival and alignment of the barge at Mumbai port, delashing was carried out based on the hot works and rigging plan. The SCHEUERLE-KAMAG K25 SPE used at Dahej were also used to successfully carry out the roll off operations at Mumbai port. “MV Roll Dock Sea” arrived at Mumbai in last week of June for loading the columns on board. While the smaller two

columns were lifted by the vessel hook, the 91 meter long splitter was too large and heavy for the same. It is for this reason that rolling on the column using SCHEUERLE KAMAG K25 SPE was the obvious option.

1000th KAMAG K24 axle line delivered to the Sarens Group

The Sarens Group, based in Wolvertem, Belgium, has a workforce of around 4,000 employees and is recognized as one of the giants of the special transportation industry. "Better safe than sorry" is one of the maxims of this globally operating company. In order to meet this requirement as well as ensuring that the quality promises it gives to its customers can be kept, the enterprise needs safe and reliable equipment. Sarens therefore relies on the K24 modular transporter from KAMAG. With the delivery of the thousandth axle line on 27th June 2013, the focus was not on looking back but instead on the future.

"The world is our market and it is precisely here - namely, across the globe - that we want to continue to steadily grow. We are on the way up. Nothing is too heavy or too high for us", said Ludo Sarens, President of the Board. "Having reliable vehicles at our disposal is the most important thing as we have to rely 100 % on our equipment. Those who want to be at the forefront of our business cannot afford to have any breakdowns or malfunctions; therefore, we continue to strengthen our fleet with KAMAG modular transporters", added Sarens. In particular, integrating KAMAG Transporttechnik in the TII Group, the recognized world leader in heavy-duty vehicles, provides the required framework for ensuring reliable delivery and a long-term partnership between Sarens and KAMAG.

In recent years, Sarens has been continuously investing heavily in the expansion of its modular transporter fleet. Sarens placed an initial order for a total of 4 platform elevating transporters complete with hydrostatic drive back in 1985. In 1989, this was followed by the first order for two 4-axle modular transporters which proved themselves to be a flexible and powerful transport system during operations. This resulted in a continuous expansion of the modular transporter fleet in the following years.

The high-performance K 24 modular transporter from KAMAG is used for moving large industrial installations, transportation of complete bridges or other large components. Loads ranging from 10,000 to 15,000 tonnes are no longer uncommon. In the shipbuilding sector, too, modular transporters from the TII Group are being used more and more. Depending on the weight of the ship sections to be transported, customized transporter combinations can be configured which precisely match customer requirements.

The container dimensions of the modular transporter facilitate worldwide use. As the vehicles are 2430 mm wide, this means they can be transported via water or land transport routes to anywhere in the world on a container flat rack. KAMAG modular transporters are available in a 4 or 6-axle design. The hydrostatic drive system turns the heavy-load units into powerful but nevertheless precisely controlled vehicles. The required oil pressure for the drive, lifting operations and control function is generated by a Power Pack Unit which is coupled at the rear. The electronic control allows mechanical coupling or operations using a loose coupling mode. KAMAG K24 modular transporters are also available in a "split" version with separation in a longitudinal

direction. The individual vehicle modules are compatible with previous Type 24 generation and can also be coupled to the mechanically steered K25 platform trailer.

The electronic all-wheel steering program provides a total of 8 different steering modes such as diagonal, circle or transverse. The steering movements take place by means of a low maintenance rack-and-pinion gear. The selected steering line can be moved forwards or backwards on the axle grid. The coordinate crosses for the steering and lifting systems can be separated from each other which allows highly flexible combination possibilities. Each of the modules has its own lifting system that is controlled by the on-board electronics. The entire combination can be raised or lowered or just an individual module. Every lifting group has pressure sensors for displaying and calculating the load as well as the load centre of gravity (COG).

Excerpts from TII communique

Axle line number 1.000 KAMAG K24 modular transporter at Sarens, Belgium

The first use of the 1.000th axle line – KAMAG stands for reliability and efficiency

1.000 axle lines, about 25 years of trust: The management of Sarens, KAMAG and the TII Group/TII Sales in front of the 1000^th delivered axle line KAMAG K24

30 Years of SPMT (Self Propelled Modular Transporter) from SCHEUERLE

June 2013

30 years ago, the first SCHEUERLE SPMT was developed and delivered to a company that is today the world's leading provider of heavy transport and lifting -  Mammoet in the Netherlands. In this 30-year period, SPMT has written transportation history. In this respect, Mammoet has been the initiator: if the 2,012 axle lines purchased by Mammoet with a total loading capacity of around 100,000 t were coupled together one after the other, then the 330 m high Rose Tower in Dubai - one of the tallest buildings in the world - could be loaded nine times over. Worldwide, more than 8,000 SPMT axle lines from Scheuerle are in regular use, an impressive fleet of vehicles that "moves the world".

Excerpts from TII Group Communique 

The management of SCHEUERLE and Mammoet as well as the management and owners of TII Sales and TII Group met at Pfedelbach to celebrate the 30th birthday of the SCHEUERLE Self-Propelled Modular Transporter (SPMT).

30 years old and still fully functional: One of the first ever delivered Self-Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMT) that was given to SCHEUERLE by Mammoet during the celebration in Pfedelbach, the birthplace of the SPMT

For the 30th Birthday of the Self-Propelled Modular Transporter (SPMT), Mammoet offered one of the first delivered vehicles back to SCHEUERLE as a present and symbol of a long-term, trust-based relationship

Jan Klejn, CEO at Mammoet and Otto Rettenmaier, owner of the TII Group, cut the birthday cake for the 30th Birthday of the SCHEUERLE Self-Propelled Modular Transporter (SPMT). In the Background: Herman Smit, COO at Mammoet and Fabian Weingart, member of the Rettenmaier family

Space Shuttle Endeavour's Farewell Run on Road

The Endeavour has flown 25 successful missions, travelled nearly 200 million km, spent 299 days in space and circled the earth 4671 times.

Accustomed to speeds of upto 28000km/h Its "Last Mission" was to crawl at 3km/h through cheering crowds in Los Angeles.

13th October 2012. NASA's Endeavour was Transported from Los Angeles International Airport to California Space Center, a distance of about 19km. The job was done by SARENS North America of the SARENS Group with close cooperation between various public and private entities on specially designed array of KAMAG Self Propelled Modular Trailers (SPMT). SARENS is one of the largest Heavy-Lift company in the world with Headquarters in Belgium and branches in over 50 countries. SARENS India has its head office in Delhi. 

This was the first time and probably the last for such event. Here are some photos. 

REUTERS/Patrick T. Fallon 

..........................................................................................................................................................................PS: I couldn't trace from which source i got most of the photos. There are so many. I am not using the photographs for any monetary gain. Kindly, don't sue me please i have too much already to worry about ;-).