PROJECTS
34 meters long, 8.15
meters loaded
height, Gross weight
746 tons, 264
wheels
BYPASSING ALL OBSTACLES
TO DELIVER ONE OF TURKEY’S HEAVIEST
LIFT CARGOS EVER
By Heidi Stoeckli
14
CONNECT 02| 2013
PROJECTS
Autoclave moving:
34 meters long,
8.15 meters loaded height,
gross weight 746 tons.
Transporting mining equipment of up to 600 tons on Turkish mountain roads might seem like an impossible
task. As the freight forwarder in the demanding Gördes mine project, Panalpina took on the role of prime
contractor – and built the new roads and bridges necessary to fulfill the customer’s request.
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PROJECTS
Eleven bypass bridges had to be constructed
especially for the 600-ton autoclave.
It was a technically challenging mission made possible by 18
months of meticulous planning. When Panalpina was awarded the project logistics contract for the first large nickel mine
investment in the Aegean region of Turkey, this entailed the
complete end-to-end transportation of pieces weighing up to
600 tons. In detail, the freight forwarding included one part
charter shipment containing 1320 cubic meters of cargo from
the Netherlands to Izmir; importing 50 TEUs from various European locations and the USA; numerous cross trade air
freight shipments mainly from China; and conveying six pressure vessels with a maximum weight of 95 tons from Korea.
The heaviest and longest unit, however, was an autoclave of
600 tons from Shanghai.
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For this unit, the last leg of the journey proved the most difficult. “To move the autoclave some 180 kilometers on Turkish
roads was the biggest challenge. It had never been done before and it took many meetings and close collaboration with
the Turkish road, water and electricity authorities as well as the
police,” explains Evren Yalcindag, Panalpina’s Business Unit
Manager of Izmir.
COLLABORATION AND TRUST
The Gördes mine site is located 180 kilometers east of Izmir
and can only be reached by road. Aliaga, 60 kilometers north
of Izmir, was identified as the most suitable port of entry for
oversized and heavy lift cargo. “We examined the Aliaga port
infrastructure to identify whether or not the anticipated gross
CONNECT 02 | 2013
PROJECTS
weight of 750 tons could be accommodated,” says Willi Tobler, Panprojects Head of Transport Engineering. “The same
work had to be done for all the bridges en route between
Aliaga and Gördes as well as the last 40 kilometers of mountain road to the site.”
The bridges were found to be in unsatisfactory condition,
which meant that eleven bypass roads had to be designed and
constructed for the autoclave transport to pass. Furthermore,
the first two kilometers of the mountain road required improvement. Here, Panalpina initialized construction works.
Panalpina’s team in Izmir, the Panprojects specialists and local
chartered partners worked closely together throughout the
planning and execution phase. “These huge industrial projects
rely on close collaboration and mutual trust,” adds Willi Tobler.
Panalpina ensured that all on-the-ground handling was entrusted to suitably equipped specialists. Thus, the Turkish
heavy haulage partner purchased the latest generation of selfpropelled hydraulic platform trailers for the task. The testing
and design processes for the civil work – i.e. port, bypasses,
and road works – were also contracted to a local partner.
TRAVELING ACROSS LAND
The autoclave traveled from Aliaga port to the Gördes mine
site in 64 days. With the reconfiguration of the transport
equipment and actual installation work on-site taking an additional three days, the transport totaled 67 days from under
hook port of arrival to foundation. Eleven bypass bridges had
to be constructed – and dismantled again after the transport
operations. Approximately 280 electricity and telephone cables had to be hoisted and 22 traffic lights and signs removed
for the moment when the autoclave passed through.
Panalpina’s transport to the Gördes mine will go down in history as one of the heaviest and longest single-unit moves ever
to utilize the Turkish public road system. And as a mission impossible that became reality.
Turkey
Soma
Bergama
Gördes
Akhisar
Aliaga
Above: The autoclave was 64 days on the way ...
Middle: … on 264 wheels.
Below: Streets had to be cooled down with water
to avoid deformations.
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