An 80t A2C turtle hydraulic transport platform and two sets of 45t roller banks were used by Projector Transport Service of the Netherlands to slide a massive gearbox, weighing 90t, out of the middle of a narrow fabrication shop in Bochum, Germany.
The gearbox, to be installed on a dredger and measuring 5.6m x 4.17m x 2.5m, had to be transported to the customer in Sliedrecht, Netherlands, but it was the first 50m of the journey that was the trickiest.
The buyer did not want the machinery dismantling after testing and the overhead cranes in the workshop only had a joint capacity of 50t.
Aided by the roller banks, the turtle proved the ideal solution, says Projector’s project manager Arie Oorebeek.
Longitudinal, lateral and vertical cylinders, combined with the rotating capacity of the central slide, made it possible to negotiate the tight corners in the workshop and to jack the gearbox up to trailer level and so avoid the need for hiring a mobile crane.
