Holleman Bulgaria, a member of The Heavy Lift Group, together with its French partner joined forces for a unique transport from Bulgaria to France.
The goods carried were a 788 / 406 / 388 cm, 15 MT separator and the challenging 3051 / 466 / 460 cm, 155 MT weight evaporator. The long journey from the plant to the recipient’s site included transportation to the Port of Ruse-Iztok and transshipment with a floating 100-ton and mobile 400-ton crane.
The cargo was then transported by ship to Antwerp and by a second ship to the port of Rouvignies. There, the goods were reloaded with the help of two mobile cranes with a capacity of 350 and 750 MT on two compositions, one of which with 18 axles and two tractors with total dimensions of 52.60 / 4.66 / 5.70 m and 282 MT.The next three days were needed to cover the 90 km distance from Rouvignies to Mesnil Saint Nicaise.
The transport was accompanied by many obstacles and difficulties, especially in France, a country known for its difficult system of transporting heavy goods. Initially, the authorities refused to pass through 7 bridges on the route, which led to more than two months of additional engineering studies to obtain the necessary permission. Separately, repeated surveys were carried out for the passage of the city of Cambrai, as well as the unloading point. Of course, in both countries, numerous cables were raised, and good coordination with the police was an essential factor.
According to the French authorities, this was the largest transport in the area for the last 20 years, and in the challenging times of COVID-19, which led to major delays due to the lack of sufficient staff in the administrations issuing the permit. In the end, the product was delivered a few days before the deadline with no damage to it.
