Report No. 72: Goldhofer
Report No. 72: Goldhofer
Report No. 72: Goldhofer
Report No. 72
Length. 39 m
Width: 4 m
Height: 4,75 m
M/11.06
The heavy haulier Titschkus, Bremen got the order to transport a 160-ton basic part of a
deforming machine from the manufacturer to the Airbus works. The machine concerned is a
so-called drawing and stretching unit to form aluminium bulkhead frames.
This high-tech machine was developed and built by Hydro Control in the dozy village
Jaderberg, which is only approximately 20 km away from Nordenham. Due to the high
transport weight of 235 tons and the fact that some bridges could not be used on the straight
way to Airbus because of limited capacity, the project manager Gerd Mennen had to puzzle out
a driving route which was three times longer.
Job-Report No. 72 page 4
Already the day before, the forming machine was loaded onto the 16-axle Goldhofer heavy
duty combination type THP/ST, as already provided. And the next day, early in the morning,
the driver Frank Schröder started its 600 HP MAN truck and the convoy set off on its 60 km
way, escorted by police and other service vehicles.
A truck with loading crane drove ahead to remove road signs and to consolidate the ground
in narrow curves by means of steel plates. Ever again, streets had to be completely blocked
to enable the 4 m wide and 39 m long trailer combination to manoeuvre and to enter narrow
road crossings and curves. Due to the good preparatory work, the transport already reached
the gate of the Airbus works in Nordenham after less than 3 hours.
Here, the transport team had to cope with a new problem. The 39 m long trailer
combination was too big to enter the hall and to enable manoeuvring. So, the trailer had
to be modified into a 10 axle unit. But even this problem was already recognized by Gerd
Mennen in advance. On the area between the production halls, the Dutch mounting
specialist “van Harten” mounted a 200-ton lifting system. The forming machine was held
by the lifting system while the Titschkus-Crew shortened the Goldhofer trailer by six axle
lines and a straight deck. The Goldhofer heavy duty axles being technically capable of
carrying 36 tons per axle line, the new weight of 16 tons did not pose any problem.
Job-Report No. 72 page 5
Driving through a small gate to come into the production hall and to manoeuvre beside
the mounting position of the machine, required again best driving skill of Frank
Schröder. After performing acrobatic movements on the steering wheel, the lowloader
was into its position for unloading after only 30 minutes. Owing to the multi-way
steering of the Goldhofer lowloader with its 60 degrees steering angle, manoeuvring
was made much easier.