Capital Equipment News February 2015

TRANSPORT

the size of the equipment required and the proximity of the sites to a port where the enormous machinery would be shipped and landed. Transport to site was the next step in the chain and with ALE’s South Africa branch having been active in the Heavy Transport and Lifting Services market since 2001, the contract was awarded to them for the trans- port of the heavy components for Bokpoort, Ki Solar One and KaXu Solar One. ALE has the necessary project management and technical skills to offer their clients a comprehensive turnkey operation includ- ing shipping, barging, craneage, transport, on-site handling and installation. Their in- vestment in the right equipment to perform every aspect of any operation is enormous. ALE has the philosophy to work closely with their clients, to understand their particular needs and evaluate each job carefully, pro- pose the optimum technical and commer- cial solution and perform each contracted task safely and efficiently. ALE’s involvement in the CSP project was the transport of all the heavy components for both sites. Also the staging of the evap- orator panels and the installation of the 103 ton steam drum on top of the 205 m solar tower of Khi. Additionally, they installed the 19x 259 ton steam accumulators and the 2x 335 ton heat-exchangers.

ALE’s South African branches form part of the global ALE business, yet locally based in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Richards Bay. The ALE branches were established to provide a service for infrastructure projects throughout Sub-Sahara Africa and have so far maintained its reputation in being a highly successful service provider in the following; comprehensive turnkey opera- tion, including shipping, carnage, transport, on-sight handling and installation. Ale has the equipment, personnel and experience to successfully undertake major projects throughout the world. ALE’s South African branches are proud of their Health, Safety and environmental re- cord and are strongly committed to main- taining this. Ale strives to offer a high quality service to all their customers. The company achieved BS EN ISO 9001: 2000 certification in 1994 and is registered on the Norwegian Achil- les system. The scope of the system cov- ers transportation, installation and lifting of heavy, indivisible items worldwide. b

The road from the Port of Luderitz to Upington encompasses a route of over 800 km with a varying terrain and temperatures, which also includes 60 km of dirt roads. Along the route preparations were made to accom- modate the loads to the extent that three bridges and two culverts had to be specially propped up over an eight month period to- gether with several sections of road works. This move was rated as the heaviest cargo ever offloaded at the port of Luderitz and transported on Namibia’s public roads. ALE, with its considerable, specialised fleet of latest generation of Self Propelled and conventional modular trailers was able to provide the necessary logistics to ensure the arrival of the equipment and compo- nents on site. The vehicles used for this project were the FAUN Goliath 8x8 tractors each with an excess of 750 horsepower and used in tandem. At times the requirement was for three tractors depending on the load. Trail- ers were the newly developed trailers with hydraulic width adjustment systems which enables the spread of axle load required to adhere to the different weight/width restric- tions for road transport found in different countries. Specifically designed hydraulic beams fixed to the middle and to each end of the trailer deliver the width change without the use of a crane or lifting equipment.

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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS FEBRUARY 2015