Cranes and specialised transport go hand in hand. It’s a marriage made in (engineering) heaven. After all, chances are if you need to lift something heavy you will need to move it into position. Yet, rather unfairly, cranes seem to hog the limelight. Their unmissable erect booms, or towering masts, proclaim ‘look at me, I’m the king of the construction site!’, whilst their specialised transport partners are, well, rather more understated.
In this feature, however, we’re looking to address this imbalance and show that the world of specialised transport can be every bit as impressive as even the most spectacular lifts. Here are our top four transport jobs, so far, from 2025…
MIRACLE MOVE: THE GREAT CHURCH WALK
Over 1,000 hours of planning went into supporting the two-day journey of an iconic Swedish church, Kiruna Church, to its new home.
Mammoet has relocated the iconic Kiruna Church, one of Sweden’s most treasured architectural landmarks. Kiruna Church is one of the country’s largest wooden structures. Its relocation became necessary due to the expansion of LKAB’s Kiruna mine, which required several buildings to be moved to a newly developed city centre five kilometres away. Mammoet was commissioned by civil engineering firm Veidekke and LKAB.
Weighing 713-tonnes, the church was moved in one piece. The operation took over 1,000 hours of planning and engineering.
To ensure the church’s safety Mammoet worked closely with Veidekke and Swedish wood engineering specialists to model and test the building’s response to lifting and transport. The operation was timed for August to avoid adverse weather conditions that could jeopardise the move.
When it came to the move, the church was jacked up to a height of 1.3 metres and placed on steel beams supported by two trains of 28 axle lines of Cometto Self-Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs). A custom monitoring system developed in-house ensured the structure remained stable throughout the journey, allowing for a maximum tilt of just 7.5 cm between sides.
The route had been carefully analysed and prepared, including temporary road widening and compacting work. Mammoet advised on these civil works and conducted road tests using SPMTs loaded with counterweights to simulate the church’s axle load.
The relocation took place during daylight hours on August 19 and 20, 2025, with the church arriving safely at its new location. Once in place, the SPMTs lowered the structure onto its new concrete foundations. The move attracted thousands of spectators, including the King of Sweden.
WINGED ASCENT
First deployment of Cometto’s BladeMAX1000 blade lifter by Hofmann.
Paderborn, Germany headquartered crane hire and heavy load transportation specialist Hofman Crane Rental used its new Cometto BladeMAX1000 for the first time to transport 15 XXL wind turbine blades.
The 81 metre blades were being moved as part of the construction of the Zerfer Schneeberg wind park project near Zerf, Rhineland- Palatinate, Germany.
The route they were transported along was challenging. It involved narrow roads, a forest, tight S-curves and a steep incline. The load also had to move from asphalt to a prepared gravel path.
The BladeMAX1000 was mounted on a 12-axle selfpropelled Cometto MSPE combination. To help ensure stability along the route the SPMT’s Stability Control System (SCS) automatically balanced the load across all 48 of its electronically steered wheels.
The SCS is also designed to prevent the oscillation of the vehicle when the blade is tilted 60 degrees into the wind.
Once at the windfarm Hofmann used a LR1800 crawler crane to pick up and mount the blades on five Nordex wind turbines (types N163 and N149), each with a capacity of 5.7 megawatts.
In future, the park is expected to generate around 81 million kilowatt-hours of green energy per year.
A video of the job can be seen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IQ8d3wkM6Mw&t=8s
BLADE RUNNER
30 of some of the longest wind turbine rotor blades in the world moved by Enercon using its Scheuerle Rotor Blade Transort System.
In Lorup, Germany, wind energy company Enercon is replacing 16 older wind energy turbines with ten modern E-175 EP5 turbines. As part of the project it is transporting 30 rotor blades to the construction site. Each blade measures almost 86 metres long – making them among the longest onshore rotor blades in the world.
Enercon has delivered the first of these blades using one of its Scheuerle Rotor Blade Transport Systems (RBTS).
Prior to the project Enercon Logistic purchased three of these systems.
The RBTS comprises a towing vehicle with a three- or four-axle semi-trailer, an adapter for the rotor blade mounting and a trailing unit with its own steering system.
The modular design allows flexible adaptation to accommodate different rotor blade types and transport requirements. The system provides a high lifting height and flexible steering control of the trailing unit is possible.
The turbine blades are being loaded at the Jade-Weser port facility in Wilhelmshaven. It took two nights for the first 99.5-metre-long heavy load combinations to cover the route to the wind park – which is a distance of around 160km.
The route is challenging. With the first deliveries, the trailing unit had to be lifted at a very wide angle in order to clear motorway guard rails and barriers. A roundabout needed to be dismantled and covered. The tractor unit and lifting adapter had to go through an underpass while the trailer was still manoeuvring on a roundabout. And on arrival at the wind park the RBTS had to reverse 800 metres along a narrow farm track.
These challenges were all successfully overcome. This, says Scheuerle, is testament to the strengths of the system.
“With the RBTS we have a wellthought- out solution that gives our drivers flexibility while simultaneously protecting the sensitive rotor blades,” says Tino Hülsmeyer, truck fleet manager at Enercon Logistic.”
“The enormous lifting height of the RBTS was crucial for this operation,” adds Markus Pflederer, sales manager at Tii Scheuerle. “Such situations are really no problem for our system.”
TREMENDOUS TBM TRANSPORT
Sarens in Poland was at the heart of an ambitious infrastructure project that will reshape railway connectivity in Southern Poland.
As part of a rail infrastructure project in Poland Sarens was commissioned to transport two tunnel boring machines (TBMs) from the Port of Gdynia/Gdańsk to Limanowa, Poland, to help construct the country’s longest railway tunnel, as part of the Budowa LK104 project.
The LK104 railway tunnel, stretching from Limanowa to Klęczany, is aimed at enhancing railway links between major cities in the country.
To transport the TBM elements – some of which required over 93 transport sets – Sarens used its fleet of MAN and Ford trucks. The job posed a number of challenges including: coordinating with the manufacturer, as delays and discrepancies in the packing list from the machine producer required extra planning; difficult road conditions, including steep hills, sharp turns, and severe icy and foggy weather; and securing permit approvals, especially for the last miles of the journey due to the difficult terrain.
Despite these obstacles, the project progressed smoothly thanks to Sarens’ indepth planning and the performance of Sarens’ transport fleet.
The transport of the TBMs was split into phases, with the smaller TBM taking one week and the larger TBM requiring two-and-a-half weeks to reach the site. A dedicated team of 80 professionals, including drivers, escort vehicle pilots, and transport specialists, coordinated efforts to ensure safe and timely delivery.
At the construction site in Męcina, Sarens’ equipment, including its Terex Superlift 3800, played a crucial role in assembling the TBM. The project’s logistics required constant monitoring and adaptation to evolving site conditions.
“Transporting these TBM components required detailed planning and precision at every stage,” says Jakub Wróblewski, logistics manager at Sarens Poland. “Despite the challenges, our team delivered a seamless transport solution that met all client expectations.”
A video of the job can be seen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=OF5ftMy79TU&t=3s
NEWS IN BRIEF
COLLETT INVESTS IN GOLDHOFER STEPSTARS
UK heavy transport specialist Collett & Sons has expanded its fleet with two three-axle and two four-axle Goldhofer Stepstar trailers. “The low height, capacity and flexibility of the new step-frame trailers make them an excellent addition to our fleet, bridging the gap between standard step-frames and more specialist equipment,” says David Collett, MD at Collett & Sons. “It’s another step forward in ensuring we continue to provide our clients with the most efficient and effective transport solutions.”
This latest investment follows the purchase of the purchase of 36 Goldhofer THP/SL-L modular axle lines earlier in the year.
DOLL TRAILER FOR BODE
Leinefelde-Worbis, Germany-based construction machinery sales and rental firm Bode Bautechnik has bought a low-bed trailer X from Oppenau, Germany-headquartered manufacturer Doll. It is using the new trailer to deliver construction machinery.
The three-axle low-bed trailer allows the transport of machinery up to 3,700 mm high, staying under the legal fourmetre limit – thus avoiding the need for expensive special permits. The trailer’s excavator trough is up to 900 mm wide and 550 mm deep, helping reduce overall transport height.
NEWS IN BRIEF
TIMBER TRANSPORT TRAILER FROM DOLL TIM TECH
German company DOLL TimTech, a manufacturer of timber transport solutions, has unveiled the LOGO 12, a newly developed semi-trailer for round timber. DOLL says thanks to its intelligent frame structure, the semi-trailer combines maximum off-road mobility with minimum tare weight. The semi-trailer is designed for timber lengths between 2 and 14 metres and is designed to provide economical long-distance transport.
TRT TRAILER BUILT FOR MCDONALD CONTRACTING
TRT, a Hamilton, New Zealandheadquartered manufacturer of heavy transport trailers, has developed the new TRT 7 Line ESS Trailer which it designed and built for Sydney, Australia-based McDonald Contracting. The trailer has a fully extended 25m deck (including rear bumper insert) and a ride height ranging from 0.89m to 2.74m.
For more details see the video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=pP4z7skGBYg
BKL EXPANDS FLEET WITH BROSHUIS TRAILERS
German crane rental sales and service specialist BKL Baukran Logistik has expanded its fleet with four four-axle semi low loaders equipped with independent wheel suspension (SL2) from Dutch trailer manufacturer Broshuis. The delivery includes two fixed and two extendable trailers, one of which is fitted with hydraulic ramps. These trailers are designed for the efficient transportation of crane components, ballast, machinery, and containers.
ESTA AUTUMN MEET
ESTA’s Autumn meet 2025 will take place on October 23rd and 24th in Copenhagen, Denmark.
The ESTA Autumn meet 2025 is scheduled to take place at the NH Collection hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark, on 23rd and 24th October.
ESTA members who wish to attend can register for meetings and the dinner hosted by the Danish Crane organization here: https://estaeurope.eu/meetings/
COSCO EXPANDS SPMT FLEET
Shipping company, China Cosco Shipping Corporation (COSCO), has expanded its Scheuerle SPMT fleet through the acquisition of a large number of axle lines and Power Pack Units (PPU) in a variety of configurations. The internationally active logistics company uses these vehicles itself or through its subsidiaries for all types of heavy transport including super-heavy assignments. With several hundred axle lines, the Chinese shipping company now operates the largest SPMT fleet in China.
NEWS IN BRIEF
LARGE ORDER FOR FAYMONVILLE GLASS TRANSPORTERS
Italian glass logistics company, the Lannutti Group, has placed an order for 400 vehicles from Faymonville’s FloatMAX series, designed for the safe transport of flat glass. “Reliable and technically advanced transport vehicles are essential for our forward-thinking and ambitious company philosophy,” said company owner Valter
Lannutti. “That’s exactly why we value the FloatMAX inloaders from Faymonville – they meet all our requirements.”
INTEGRATED SPMT TYRE PRESSURE MONITORING SYSTEM FROM COMETTO
Cometto has integrated a tyre pressure monitoring system (the TPMS) into its self-propelled vehicles. This, it claims, raises safety and time savings in SPMT operations to a new level.
The system automatically detects which tyres need to be inflated, eliminating the need for manual checks.
The TPMS uses wireless highperformance sensors that are integrated directly into the wheel rims and are equipped with easily replaceable batteries – without having to remove the tyres.
A video of the system can be seen here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_cUMQ9LW3c
