SWISS HEAVY-LOAD LOGISTICS PROVIDER, FRIDERICI SPECIAL, HAS PURCHASED FOUR SPMT POWERHOSS MODULES FROM TII SCHEUERLE FOR USE AS REPLACEMENT CHASSIS FOR TWO GANTRY CRANES.
The lifting equipment plays an important role in the refurbishment of Geneva airport’s runway and must meet particularly high demands regarding load-bearing capacity and reliability so that air traffic operations are not affected in any way. Tests have now proven that the SPMT PowerHoss is ideally suited for this task.
The runway at Geneva Airport requires major refurbishment. The operator has so far used two mobile gantry cranes to replace the individual concrete slabs, each measuring 15 by 8 metres and weighing 180 tonnes, that make up the take-off and landing surface. However, the two cranes have seen better days and the condition of the chassis in particular was causing problems so Geneva Airport was looking for a replacement solution. Together with the TII Group subsidiary, TII SCHEUERLE, the industry expert for heavy-duty transport both on and off-road, the heavy-load logistics provider, Friderici Spécial, developed the concept of replacing the chassis of the two gantry cranes with two SPMT PowerHoss 260s. These models with six axle lines respectively each offer a payload of 256 tonnes.
The construction now had to prove that it was up to the task and that it would carry out its service with absolute reliability. Although work is taking place during Geneva Airport’s downtime period in the night, if one of the cranes stops due to a malfunction on the runway, air traffic will be halted as the airport only has one runway. This must not happen under any circumstances. “We had to make a list of all possible problems that could arise and present a plan of what we would do if one occurred. Whatever happens, we must succeed in removing the mobile cranes from the runway before flight operations re-start,” explained André Friderici, Technical Director of Friderici Spécial. This includes, for example, that the SPMT PowerHoss vehicles are equipped with special connection elements so that they can be moved away by means of an airport towing tractor if necessary.
Geneva Airport has now tested the implementation of the emergency timetable together with the Swiss heavy-load logistics provider. “Everything went according to plan. The SPMT PowerHoss and the emergency plans worked perfectly,” reported André Friderici. Nevertheless, those involved did experience a surprise. “The new possibilities compared to the previous system are incredible. The technical leap forward is fantastic, especially regarding the manoeuvrability of the SPMT PowerHoss modules which feature all the well-known multi-directional steering control programs, is really impressive. Our customer, Geneva Airport, is very satisfied,” said the technical director.
Now the gantry cranes only have to prove that they are capable of lifting and transporting the 180-tonne concrete slabs in their new configuration, i.e. with the SPMT PowerHoss as the chassis, and that they also have sufficient power reserves. “We are carrying out tests using a load of 240 tonnes. I am absolutely convinced that this will not pose any challenges for the transport modules,” explained André Friderici. Then, from April onwards, the mobile gantry cranes can be put into operation which is expected to last for several decades.
Even before the deployment at Geneva Airport and independent of the use as chassis for the gantry cranes, Friderici Spécial had already tested the SPMT PowerHoss modules during a number of operations in order to verify their basic suitability. This included the transport of transformers weighing more than 100 tonnes each and the transportation of the drilling head of a tunnel boring machine in a narrow tunnel. The SPMT PowerHoss had to prove both its load-bearing capacity as well as manoeuvrability. In addition to the technical features of the SPMT PowerHoss, the advice provided by TII SCHEUERLE experts also convinced the experienced heavy-lift professionals at Friderici Spécial.
The compact, self-propelled transport modules from the SPMT PowerHoss series are the specialist vehicles for heavy intra-company transport assignments. They have all the advantages of the SPMT series and are likewise just as functional but are powered by an integrated PPU and can be combined according to the plug-and-play principle to form combinations that are capable of safely transporting even the heaviest of loads. The PowerHoss model range includes vehicles with two, four or six axle lines. Payloads of up to 85, 175 or 330 tonnes per module are possible. A vehicle combination of SPMT PowerHoss 330s, each with six axle lines, is capable of moving loads with a unit weight of up to 1,320 tonnes.
