One of the many strengths of the Goldhofer product portfolio is the almost unlimited range of combination options. A case in point was the combined use of »Faktor 5« and »ADDRIVE« acquired by the heavy haulage professionals at Transportes Muciño. Transportes Muciño was thus the first heavy haulage company in Mexico to use both a »Faktor 5« and an »ADDRIVE«. A total of 13 gas turbines weighing 186 to 289 tons were transported over a distance of more than 1100 km during the construction of 3 power plants. Among them was the new El Carmen combined cycle power plant in Nuevo Leon.

“With its enormous payload plus maximum load securing options for the cargo, the »Faktor 5« was once again an indispensable helper on every single journey. With the help of the »ADDRIVE«, we were able to make the overall vehicle configuration as compact as possible and to carry out the entire project in the shortest possible time,” explains Raul Cuevas, Commercial Director at Transportes Muciño.

The routes of the more than 1100 km was mostly on good roads, but it presented a number of challenges such as bridges to be crossed, the climb into the mountains of Cd Victoria and the steep descent to Saltillo. With the additional power available from the »ADDRIVE«, the Muciño team were able to take gradients of more than 10% in their stride. Frequent use was made of the Bluetooth synchronisation feature on the »ADDRIVE« for optimum coordination with the tractor at travel speeds of up to 15 kph. Goldhofer’s switchable auxiliary drive thus provided the necessary additional traction on critical passages. It also made it possible to cross bridges without using tractors in order to reduce the overall weight of the configuration.

As a result, the gigantic rig – some 95 m long, 6.84 m wide and around 5.3 m high – reached the various power plants without any notable problems. And there the »ADDRIVE« demonstrated its versatility once again: “In view of the confined space on the site of the power plant, we replaced the tractor with the »ADDRIVE« there. That gave us the manoeuvrability we needed for the extra-long rig and enabled us to achieve precise positioning,” says Cuevas. As a result, each individual gas turbine was delivered exactly to the specific unloading point and the entire project was completed on schedule.

Since the nineties, Transportes Muciño has placed its trust in transport solutions from the house of Goldhofer. In 2016, the Mexican company took delivery of a Goldhofer »Faktor 5« high girder bridge, and that put them in a position to handle some very special heavy haulage operations. They also acquired four »ADDRIVE« units from the old-established German company so as to have a critical advantage for operations in mountainous terrain especially. Transportes Muciño was founded in Altamira, Mexico in 1979. The company has since made a name for itself as Mexico’s leading transportation specialist and handled major international projects in the USA, Canada and the Dominican Republic. Part of Muciño’s recipe for success is the use of advanced transport solutions “made in Germany”.