Collaboration by two companies known for innovation in their own particular sectors has facilitated the production and transportation of a revolutionary new design of wind turbine tower. Materials handling provider Combilift and Danish Andresen Towers pooled expertise to address the logistical challenges involved in manufacturing and moving extreme lengths of product which form the basis of Andresen’s new tower construction.
Andresen Towers is part of the IAI Group with more than 25 years of experience in the production of steel towers. The company has recently taken its original concept a stage further with the design of its patented shell towers and has set up two new production and warehouse facilities in Denmark which cover an area of 25,000 m2.
“In order to make wind energy a more competitive alternative to fossil energy sources we have harnessed our technology to build the next generation of much higher towers,” says CEO Tom Andresen. “These exploit better wind conditions to generate a larger output which in turn reduces costs.”
Traditional tubular welded towers are limited to a diameter of 4.3m due to the existing road infrastructure, but Andresen’s larger diameter tower sections are bolted together on site, and can be easily carried on ordinary trucks or in 45’’ containers. This avoids extra costs for special transport, reduces disruption to traffic and enables the shipment of towers to previously inaccessible areas.
Safe and efficient handling and storage of loads up to 14m long, 3.3m wide and weighing up to 30t was also an issue. This is where Combilift came in and consultation with Andresen’s management identified the Combilift Straddle Carrier (SC) as the one machine solution for each of the two sites. The design of each SC was adapted to take into account the slightly differing loads, and one model was built with a larger frame to cope with double stacked containers.
Options such as a combination of mobile cranes and traditional counterbalance forklifts or reach stackers were discounted as Tom Andresen did not want to invest in pieces of equipment that could only carry out one specific job. He was also focused on the total cost of ownership, which is becoming more of an issue for customers than just the initial investment.
A major advantage of the SC compared to other machines capable of handling such heavy loads is its much lower own weight and therefore greatly reduced ground pressure. A reach stacker handling a 35 t load will weigh at least 50t, resulting in a tonnage of 85t when loaded. This puts extreme pressure on the ground surface, which will need special and costly reinforcement to cope. Even when fully loaded, the much lighter overall weight of the SC cuts out the need for expensive foundation work. “Our calculations based on a ten year operating lifetime took in initial capital outlay, fuel consumption, service costs and the reduction in wear and tear on the surfaces and proved that we could achieve major operational savings compared to using any other type of equipment,” says Tom Andresen.
The SC’s dimensions and its 3-wheel manoeuvrability enable it to access the production area to load crates containing up to seven steel shells, weighing from 1.3t. to 3.25t each. It can then load onto HGV’s without the need for a crane. In addition it handles incoming containers of components manufactured elsewhere. A spreader beam attachment with different lift points enables varying sizes of loads to be lifted.
Combilift’s Logistic Services also assisted the company with layout diagrams to rationalise storage of Andresen’s yearly output which was paramount as the window for installing towers on site is limited to the summer months. Tom Andresen sums up: “Both inside and out, the SC is ideal for our needs and an added bonus is that it is much more economical than other options. One of our major goals was to offer a competitive price, and key to this was always going to be better logistics, transportation and storage. By combining our expertise with that of Combilift we have achieved all we set out to, and within an impressively short time frame.”
Combilift Ltd
Tel: 07870 976 758
email: info@combilift.com
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