Swiss crane rental and transport company Welti-Furrer has brought its heavy haulage capabilities up to a new level with the acquisition of 18 axle lines and 4 bridges from Goldhofer.

With more than 175 years of experience, Welti-Furrer Pneukran & Spezialtransport AG are one of the oldest established companies and a leading player in the Swiss transport and relocation industry. For many years, Welti-Furrer has been employing modular solutions from the house of Goldhofer for heavy and oversized cargo transportation. In order to offer its customers state-of-the-art capacities and specifications for complex transport operations, the Swiss company upgraded its fleet of heavy-duty modules in February 2016 – and again went for a modular system from Goldhofer Aktiengesellschaft.

Welti-Furrer’s existing 15 axle lines were replaced by 18 new axle lines in the form of six modules with 2 x 2, 2 x 3 and 2 x 4 THP/MT axle lines. The order also included two low-profile drop decks (80 and 170 tons), a vessel bridge and a crawler deck with a payload of 120 tons each and two universal goosenecks. “With these vehicle combinations, we have completely new transport capabilities to offer our customers,” says Alois Mosberger, head of heavy and oversized cargo transportation operations at Welti-Furrer. “Over 80 percent of our customers are industrial companies. In recent years, the size of items such as generators, stators, transformers and major plant components has constantly increased. With the new Goldhofer modules, we can meet such requirements much more easily. The modules’ improved steering geometry has also expanded our operating range.”

With the addition of the low-profile drop decks to the fleet, maximum load lengths have significantly increased. In the case of the 80 ton deck, length limitations have expanded from 6 to 16 meters, and from 8.5 to 15 meters with the 170 ton version. The new vessel bridge also means an enormous increase in the company’s capabilities, with a substantial upgrade in terms of clear length and width from 7.5/2.7 to 22.0/3.9 meters.

The trust that Welti-Furrer has placed in Goldhofer for its fleet upgrade is not only based on the outstanding quality of the engineering; the Swiss company is equally impressed by the price-performance ratio and also the weight categories of the modular systems: “With regard to their live load to deadweight ratios, too, the Goldhofer modules are the best solution,” says a convinced Alois Mosberger. “From our suppliers, we expect not only quality products and a spare parts service with long-term availability but also competent planning support for transport operations with loads that are at the limits of rated payload or are particularly challenging in terms of handling. In this regard Goldhofer, with its team of experts, has proved itself as a competent partner that is always there when needed. I am confident that will also be case with our new modules.” The baptism of fire went off without a hitch on March 15, 2016 when a 110 ton rotor was moved from Birr to the Basle Rhine port.