SCHEUERLE STB1000 – New record set in Wilhelmshaven

In December 2009, the Multilift Group commissioned special vehicle manufacturer SCHEUERLE with the development of a side girder deck of unrivalled dimensions. For the transportation of increasingly larger generators and transformers, the world´s biggest side girder deck offering a payload of up to 620 t was designed and built within a very short period. In November / December 2010 the Multilift Group performed its first big transportation with the STB 1000: The transport of the biggest transformer ever built by Siemens from Nuremberg to Wilhelmshaven. With 870 tons weight of the entire combination, this was the largest major heavy transportation ever performed in Wilhelmshaven.

12th November 2010: First assignment of the STB 1000 – Transportation began at Siemens transformer plant in Nuremberg.

Next morning, 13th November at Nuremberg port....

The transport team navigated through two very complicated intersections.

06th December 2010 in Wilhelmshaven.

The Multilift Group carried out the first assignment with the STB 1000 on 12th and 13th November 2010. The transportation began at the Siemens transformer plant in Nuremberg. The 495 tons Siemens machine transformer weighing– type TRPM9056 for the Tractebel engineering company, a subsidiary of the GDF SUEZ Group – was carried on  2 x 14-axles InterCombi trailer. Due to limited space, the transportation out of the Siemens production hall was only made possible by using the additional coupled InterCombi PowerBooster units. By using the PowerBooster technology, there was no need to use a pushing vehicle. As planned, at 10 pm, the over 100 m long combination drove along the heavy load route to the Nuremberg port. In the presence of countless viewers and accompanied by numerous police cars, the transport team navigated through two very complicated intersections. 4,5 hours and 8 km later, the convoy reached the Nuremberg heavy load quay.

The next morning, the 13 m long, 4,30 m wide and 5,10 m high load “rolled on” to the waiting pontoon. As we all know patience is a virtue, as when 24 tons per axle affect on the pontoon, ballast water must be discharged over and over again. The next step of the undertaking was the journey along the Rhein-Main-Donau canal to the Netherlands via Dordrecht and Delfzijl. Then, after some storm-caused delays, the transportation continued over the North Sea to the town of Wilhelmshaven.

An encounter of a special kind in Wilhelmshaven
Monday, December 6, 2010: On the Lüneberg quay in Wilhelmshaven, the transformer was again lifted with the side girders of the STB 1000. This time, however, the load was distributed over 2 x 20-axle InterCombis. A 4-axle InterCombi PowerBooster equipped with additional drive axles was also connected and, with 147 kW available power, would provide sufficient thrust if the tractors should prove to be no longer sufficient.  2 MAN TGX41.680, each with 500 kW, were used as the towing and pushing vehicles. The dimensions of the whole combination speak for themselves: The 102 meter long, 5.5 meter high and 4.4 meter wide transport was ready for its journey through downtown Wilhelmshaven.

Accompanied by numerous police forces, and despite heavy fog, the journey began via the Friesendamm, the Ölhafendamm, the Mühlenweg, the Gökerstrasse, and the Freiligrathstrasse up to the Preussenstrasse. On reaching the freeway bridge, which the transport could not go underneath due to its size, the heavy transport had to be diverted via the freeway. With the help of ramps and plates, the transport crossed the central reservation of the Preussenstrasse, made its way onto the freeway, and, once the central crash barrier had been dismantled, traveled along the freeway in the “wrong” direction  - like a so-called “ghost rider”, before running down the exit slip road down to the Preussenstrasse again. Both sides of the No. 29 freeway had to be closed off for this action until the early hours of the morning. The journey then continued to the Kniprodestrasse, from there to the Flutstrasse, up to the Posener Strasse, and then over the railway bridge to the Infocenter of the Jade-Weser Port to its destination, the coal-fired power plant in Wilhelmshaven. This spectacular heavy transport, which covered a distance of 13 kilometers in one night, had a total weight of 870 t, and thereby goes into the city history of Wilhelmshaven as the largest transport job ever carried out. A masterly performance both for man and machine!

Technical details of STB 1000
The STB 1000 side girder deck offers several options for accommodating generators and transformers. In connection with the main beam, the load is placed on the top boom by means of brackets. Alternatively, the load can be taken on board via additional lifting gear with cross beams. The load can also be coupled directly with the supporting tip without the main beams. Furthermore, it is capable of picking up the load without the help of a crane due to the additional support bogies. A flexible range of applications provides the deck with a span of 38,220 mm and a length of up to 47,220 mm - this is adapted to suit the required number of axles lines of the platform vehicle combination as well as the size of the load. The load width of the side girder deck is continually adjustable from 2,000 mm through to 5,200 mm, and can therefore be adjusted to match individual loads. The vertical lift of the deck for accommodating the load is 1,600 mm. Flexible, but this is not only concerning the size: the SCHEUERLE STB 1000 can carry generators, transformers as well as other loads up to weights of 620 t and is unrivalled anywhere in the world.

The SCHEUERLE STB 1000 is compatible with the SCHEUERLE InterCombi series as well as the self-propelled modular vehicles (SPMT). Depending on requirements, these can be coupled together for up to 2 x 20 axle lines and in 2, 3, and 4-file line ups respectively. In addition, the deployed platform vehicle combinations can be equipped with 2 x 4-axle InterCombi power boosters in order to be able to reduce the number of towing and pushing vehicles required for uphill gradients - both in-plant and on public roads. Optionally, the drive for the total combination can also be achieved via the InterCombi power booster units so that the overall weight of the combination is reduced which is an advantage, for example, when crossing bridges.

In order to guarantee a safe transport process, the operating personnel have two heated high tech driver´s cabs at their disposal - each designed to accommodate a crew of two. Positioned in the generously-sized cabs are screens which are used to permanently monitor the status of the load during transportation by means of camera mounted on the two main beams. The widest position of the total combination is thus constantly in the direct field of vision.

SCHEUERLE Fahrzeugfabrik GmbH
Transporters from SCHEUERLE are recognised across the world for their advanced technology and special product quality. Reliability in daily use, high  load capacity and a long working life make the vehicles a very important component of modern logistical operations. The history of vehicle technology for heavy transport vehicles is closely connected with the names of SCHEUERLE . The company combines tradition and innovation and together with  KAMAG Transporttechnik in Ulm und NICOLAS Industries in Champs-sur-Yonne in France, belongs to the company group of Heilbronn entrepreneur Otto Rettenmaier. The TII Group - Transporter Industry International is world market leader in developing and producing heavy duty transport vehicles.

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