July 23 - International logistics company, Logwin handling the carriage of escalators and elevators to South Africa for ThyssenKrupp Grevenmacher (Luxembourg) which is constructing the Gautrain rapid transit railway - one of the most significant infrastru
ThyssenKrupp is fitting out a total of 10 Gautrain stations with escalators and elevators which Logwin is transporting from its manufacturing site in Zhongshan in China direct to the Gautrain construction sites in South Africa.
Three days before the first whistle blew in the World Cup, the first leg of the journey from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg to the suburb of Sandton got underway.
ThyssenKrupp is installing a total of 49 escalators and 39 elevators in stations underground, at ground level and at upper levels and in several adjoining aboveground sites as well, such as shopping centres and car parks.
The machinery is transported via Logwin's branch office in the Chinese city of Guangzhou. From there it travels initially by ocean freight to Durban, then on to Johannesburg. The final stage involves a number of oversize loads.
"Some components are not only large in terms of their dimensions, but are also very heavy - this makes site deliveries particularly challenging," says Jochem Heichler, Project Manager for Logwin in Johannesburg. "For example, we delivered an escalator to Sandton station that was 27 m long and weighed 36 tonnes. We then used a crane to manoeuvre it into a 35 m shaft."
In addition to transport, Logwin is handling local customs processing and intermediate warehousing for ThyssenKrupp.
"There is construction going on all over the place in South Africa - and that won't change once the World Cup is over either," Jochem Heichler says. "We're assisting ThyssenKrupp with a number of other projects as well, such as fitting out shopping centres and office buildings."
Pictured below, an escalator 27 m long and weighing 36 tonnes.
