Since the Mexican government abolished the state energy monopoly in 2013, an increasing number of international investors have become active on the country’s energy market. The Aquiles project handled by the Finnish Wärtsilä Corporation in the Mexican state of Chihuahua comprises the construction of a modern gas-fired power plant with an installed capacity of 110 megawatts and is due to be fully commissioned in 2019. The contract for shipping a total of twelve gensets, i.e. combined gas engines and generators, was awarded to the well known Martin Bencher Group of Aarhus, Denmark. The shipping and freight forwarding company, which has English roots dating back to 1881, has developed into a global player in the field of heavy and oversized cargo logistics since it was founded in 1997 and now has offices in Asia and North and South America in addition to Europe.
The SG 20V34 gensets were shipped by freighter to the port of Altamira, Mexico, and from there taken by road to the site of the new power plant. On July 1st, 2018 work began on unloading the cargo, which was assigned to two convoys assembled by the Mexican subcontractor Tradelossa Transportes. The vehicle configuration chosen by the road haulage team comprised six Goldhofer THP/SL12 heavy-duty combinations with a flat bed or vessel deck so as to comply with the load height limits. For more than 20 years now, Tradelossa has placed its trust in transport equipment supplied by the Memmingen-based world market leader for heavy-duty and special haulage solutions and now has more than 150 Goldhofer axle lines and a comprehensive range of accessories in its fleet. In a short space of time, the huge gensets, measuring 12.9 x 3.34 x 4.49 m and weighing 140 tonnes each, were loaded onto the vehicles and transported to their destination some 1600 kilometres away without a hitch. On average, it took just six days to transport the gensets to the power plant site and to do so without any incidents. Among other things, the route included several tight roundabouts, which were mastered in no time at all with the help of an additional tractor. A last challenge was waiting on the grounds of the gas works: The convoy had to be manoeuvred precisely through two tight curves in order to deliver the gensets safely to the new generating hall. In a final step, they were unloaded and carefully positioned on their foundations with the help of a rail system. Thanks to the efficient project management provided by Martin Bencher, the experienced team of transport professionals from Tradelossa and the use of proven Goldhofer transport technology, the entire project was completed to schedule in exactly one month on August 1, 2018.
