Precision placement for Schares

In Oldenburg, northwest Germany heavy goods specialist Schares used a step lifter mounted on a four-axle Cometto MSPE self-propelled vehicle combination in a side-by-side configuration to lift and move a bridge weighing 160 tonnes into place.

The bridge was 22.5 metres long and five metres wide. The step lifter raised it from three to five metres while the SPMT then moved it sideways into its resting position.

According to Cometto, the vehicle’s electronic steering system enabled the structure to be positioned to the exact millimetre. "The driver does that effortlessly and with great accuracy via the remote control," says Cometto sales manager Joachim Kolb.

When the operator received the message ‘component in correct position’ on the theodolite, the SPMT lowered itself and set the bridge down on its supports.

Cometto also highlights the Cometto MSPE’s special steering programme designed to turn the axles individually, meaning the loading platform always remains in position and does not perform any relative movement.

Christoph Schares, managing director of the company, is using the SPMT/step lifter combination to replace other bridges: "We're doing the same thing again next week," he said. "Then the second decrepit railway bridge right next to it will be replaced."