June 7 - Expeditors' Project Cargo Services division was awarded an upgrade power project by Rayoiner Performance Fiber in Augusta, USA for its Fernandina Beach processing mill.
Project Cargo Services was the lead team to the client but also worked with Expeditors' local offices to create a transportation plan which would allow a seamless process for deliverables, says the company.
The objective was to deliver a GE gas turbine and accessories from Italy and a GE generator plus accessories from Brazil to the Fernandina Beach job site.
Expeditors Project Cargo Services team was tasked with meeting critical milestone dates for the gas turbine and generator and chartered BBC Switzerland, a geared ship that was in the requisite position within the Mediterranean Sea, on last In / last out terms for the ocean transport of the turbine.
Expeditors worked with a 16-18 day transit from Italy to Fernandina Beach, where the 83 tonne gas turbine was discharged via the ship's crane to Expeditors' hydraulic Goldhofer trailer and then delivered to the job site using local police and private escorts through the main town of Fernandina Beach to the mill approximately 2.4 miles (3.8 km) away.
The six axle-lin hydraulic trailer was required because of the tight turning radius conditions on the job site, where the gas turbine was lifted onto the foundation pad using a 500 tonne capacity mobile crane.
The 53 tonne generator was then shipped from Brazil to the port of Savannah via a ro-ro ship, on a 100 tonne capacity mafi trailer, then transloaded onto a 10 axle trailer.
The generator was delivered to Fernandina Beach, then again transferred to a six axle line hydraulic Goldhofer trailer using a 1,000 tonne capacity gantry crane system, which uses less of a footprint then a mobile crane using its outriggers.
The transfer was required because the 10 axle trailer was over 200 ft (60.96 m) in length including the prime mover, which would have presented turning problems and would have placed the unit too far from the mobile crane's reach capacity had an attempt been made to offload the unit at the job site.
The hydraulic trailer, at only 30 ft (9.14 m) in length, has a much shorter turn radius and Expeditors was are able to place much more weight on the axles.
