Sarens, leader in material handling, heavy equipment lifting and transportation, has carried out an essential job in Shintech’s expansion, a company focused on PVC and responsible for 32% of PVC production in the United States. Sarens was contacted by APTIM, the company supplier, to transport 24 pipe modules which measured 30.7m x 13.4m x 13.7m, from its Lake Charles plant to Plaquemine, traveling 11 miles to their destination at the new Shintech plant.
Sarens encountered a variety of challenges on this job. The main one being the high level of coordination required to perform this transportation; the Belgian-based company had to work out a plan that could include the restrictions of the electric company, the city of Plaquemine, the state of Louisiana, the railroad company, Shintech, and the owners of the sugarcane fields. To transport the cargo, it was necessary to cross the railroad tracks, which the company only allowed before 8am. Following up, the electric company could not provide service to lift the power lines on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, so the span of time schedule for the transportation was very limited. In addition, Sarens had to build a temporary bridge of 24.3 m length to cross the sugarcane plantations, for which 2500 mats were stacked to improve road conditions and ensure a safe transportation of the modules, avoiding potholes and poor plantation conditions. Thanks to Sarens’ deployment, the project was a complete success.
The cargo was loaded and secured on trucks and 100 lines of SPMTs to cross to the river shore, where the modules were packed onto two 76 x 16.5m barges for their transportation across the Lake Charles. Once at their final destination, the pipes were unloaded and transported across sugarcane fields and roads, a two-day journey to Shintech’s VCM 3 factory in Plaquemine. Once the pipe modules were at the factory, they were unloaded and placed on anchor bolts.
Shintech is the world’s leading PVC producer and the supplier of 35% of domestic PVC demand in the United States. This company has the advantage of centralizing the production of chlorine and ethylene, which are necessary for PVC production.
APTIM, on the other hand, is a company specialized in engineering, project management, environmental services, construction services and complex infrastructure maintenance, which has worked frequently with the government and in the industrial, chemical, energy and commercial sectors.
About Sarens
Sarens is the global leader and reference in crane rental services, heavy lifting and engineered transport. With state-of-the-art equipment, value engineering, one of the world’s largest inventories of cranes, transporters, and specialty rigging equipment, Sarens offers creative and intelligent solutions to today’s heavy lifting and engineered transport challenges.
With more than 100 entities in 65 countries operating without borders, Sarens is an ideal partner for small-scale to mega scale projects. Sarens currently employs 4,543 highly skilled professionals who are prepared to support any client’s requirements around the globe and across every market sector. (www.sarens.com)
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