Max didn’t go mad; he just did his job
The route-planning process is the be-all and end-all for any overland heavylift transport. The choice of the right vehicle comes next. The company Samuel Amsler deployed a Faymonville ‘Mega Max’ unit for its recent haulage of a 24 t steel container that was 20 m long. The Schinznach-based Swiss enterprise has several of these units in its fleet. They can also be deployed in combined operations.
This was a transport order fit to crown the recent anniversary of the Swiss company Samuel Amsler, which turned 100 years old in 2020. The enterprise’s team of experts recently planned and executed the transportation of a 21 m long steel container weighing no less than 24 t. In the light of the challenges presented by the oversized consignment’s height and the demanding route’s profile the team decided to deploy a two-axled Faymonville ‘Mega Max’ low-bed trailer.
100 km special overland transport
The semi-circular container was transhipped to the low-loader from an inland barge in the Swiss inland port of Muttenz, on the river Rhine. From there it had to cover 100 km to the delivery point in Emmen, near Lucerne (Switzerland).
Amsler’s expert Jeannette Schmidmeister explained that "the overall length of 32 m made operations a bit complicated when it came to entering and leaving the motorway." The hurdles included the height of the crash barriers – they were up to 1.3 m high on both sides of the road –, passing around the many roundabouts on the route and maintaining axle distances in the turning circles.
Pendulum axles help
Faymonville’s ‘Mega Max’ low-loader was designed for such challenges, however. Schmidmeister listed the unit’s technical equipment that helped Amsler’s team cope with the 21 m long consignment. "The maximal 600 mm hydraulic lifting and lowering of the chassis enabled us to get past the crash barriers and signals with our load, which even hung up to 1.86 m over the side of the trailer. And the 60° steering angle of the pendulum-axle chassis helped us to successfully complete all turning manoeuvres."
Of course teamwork was of the essence. The experts were particularly pleased to have a remote control in place to steer the unit. The auxiliary driver at the end of the convoy supported the driver by manoeuvring the unit around tight corners and other bottlenecks.
Modular low-loader
The red-and-white combination arrived in Emmen after an overnight leg; the steel container was unloaded there. But that didn’t mean the team could afford to take a break now, for Samuel Amsler’s low-loaders are in heavy demand.
"It has a high payload capacity, thanks to its low weight; it offers an ideal cost-benefit ratio; and is very stably constructed," was how Schmidmeister summarised its advantages. As her firm’s fleet encompasses several Faymonville low-loaders, she added, and they can be assembled flexibly, it goes without saying that Amsler can compose convoys in many different ways – depending on the specific requirements.