trailer world Issue One 2012

Issue One 2012 17 A289-tonne gas turbine for a 775-mega- watt power plant makes its way slowly on an 18-axle low-loader through the city centre of Antalya on the Turkish Mediter- ranean coast. The police and technicians of the municipal electricity works accompany the transport, keeping the way clear, mov- ing aside traffic lights and lifting power lines because this type of heavy goods transport cannot just move simply from A to B. “These were the largest individual piec- es of equipment that were ever transported over a distance of more than 300 km in Tur- key”, said Emre Eldener, General Manager of Kita Logistics. The order consisted of 39 individual components, including gas tur- bines, generators and transformers. Five weighed more than 300 tonnes, the rest at least 150 tonnes. The route led from Ger- many via Rotterdam and the ports of Izmir and Antalya to the town of Denizli in south- western Turkey. Kita Logistics specialises in the transport of oversize, bulky and heavy goods. The lo- gistics specialists, a small team of three, of- ten come up against their limits. They have to plan routes accurately and deal with the Turkish bureaucracy. They are guided in this by the slogan of Kita Logistics “moving ideas”. “The greatest problems with heavy goods transport are the roads and the strug- gle with the authorities”, said Eldener. So far however, they have always managed to find a solution. Feyza Ercengiz, Project Cargo Supervi- sor, has much to tell about the transport from Antalya to Denizli. “First we had to produce a study on the exact route”, she said. She drove the complete route with a colleague, taking a close look at every possible obstacle. Some traffic lights and over- head power lines in Antalya were hanging too low. At an- other point, a metal bar was rammed into the ground in the middle of the road. This would have to be removed before the transportation. Fi- nally she checked 15 bridges which might possibly not be able to with- stand the weight. “For another project on the Black Sea, we once had to rebuild a bridge to carry out the transportation”, said Ercengiz. Engineers, structural engineers and ar- chitects were all involved in the study. The Middle East Technical University in Anka- ra had to check it before submission to the Transport Ministry. After a further check, Kita Logistics was given the green light for the transport. “The journey took a total of 3 days, because we were only able to drive through Antalya between four and half past six in the morning”, recounted Feyza Ergengiz. To make matters worse, the tur- bine had to be transported in the summer. “The temperature during the daytime was up to 40°. The asphalt became soft in the heat, so we could only travel between eight in the evening and four in the morning”, said Ercengiz. Kita Logistics used a special hydraulic low-loader with 18 axles for the transport. This could be raised or lowered by 50 centimetres, depending on the road situation or height of the overhead lines. “Turkey is our most important mar- ket”, said General Manager Emre Eldener. His company had made a name for itself here. The best advertising was through word of mouth. Eldener is sure that the best sales- men are those colleagues who know all about their projects. Kita Logistics had Photos:KitaLogistics »Syria was the best option for overland transport to the Mid- dle East, but now the way is blocked.« Emre Eldener, General Manager Kita Logistics The logistics specialists first check every part of the route carefully »Bureaucracy and bad roads pose the greatest problems for us in our projects.« Feyza Ercengiz, Project Cargo Supervisor Kita Logistics

trailer world Issue One 2012

Pages