500-ton transport with free-floating turbine

The planning and preparations for this unique transport lasted more than a year: In November 2018, Universal Transport Czech Republic could finally take a turbine from the manufacturer in Pilsen to the port of Lovosice, from where it was transported by barge to Hamburg and finally from there  to its recipient , a power plant in West African Nigeria.

The transport on the roads required the full expertise of our experts. The first part of the journey presented the UT team Ostrava already with several challenges. First, in Pilsen, a solution had to be found to take the large cargo to the trolleybus system. Not an easy task, but the colleagues decided on a special technique: The turbine was mounted free-floating in a kind of cage between two Goldhofer modular vehicles. So, the transported turbine came to a maximum height of 5.75 meters and was therefore low enough to pass through the contact wires. In terms of length and weight, however, it reached 72 meters and 500 tons, including the trucks.

These figures show that heavy goods logistics require expertise as much as creativity. Only with a free-floating suspension it was even possible to implement the transport of the turbine. Due to the enormous length, the turbine had to be reloaded out of the cage onto a 20-axle trailer on the outskirts of Pilsen. The journey then continued with dimensions of 40 meters in length, 6.30 meters in width, 6.60 meters in height and a total weight of just 341 tons by then.

This process reminded of a well-rehearsed orchestra. Many interested people were able to get an idea of ​​this, who followed the transport live on site or listened/watched in the radio and television.