The ThyssenKrupp industrial group is currently constructing a state-of-the-art plant in Tobolsk, Russia, to manufacture polypropylene plastic. VTG Rail Logistics’ Project Logistics department managed the multimodal transportation of the plant components, which were produced in Asia, Europe and the USA, on behalf of the customer. Commencing in October 2016, VTG organized approximately 700 standard trucks, multiple seagoing vessel part-charters from Asia and the USA and four waterway vessels for heavy cargo from Italy, Germany and Greece. The company transported a total of 35,000 freight tons to Western Siberia as part of this operation. Speaking of the most complex order the department has had to date, Klaus Lutze, Head of VTG Project Solutions, said, “A project of this magnitude can only be executed through customized logistics solutions. Many months of planning and preparation were necessary to effectively organize the multimodal transportation, loading procedures and customs clearances, in addition to obtaining regulatory approvals. This operation involved collaboration with around 30 service providers.
Extensive Transport Preparation
Given that individual components originated from different continents, they arrived at their destination in Tobolsk via various routes. “The greatest challenge we faced in this logistics project were the sheer dimensions and weights of the individual parts” emphasized Klaus Lutze. For instance, eight loop reactor legs had to be transported from the port of Ravenna in Italy to Tolyatti in Russia by sea-river coaster and then carried more than 2,500 kilometers to Tobolsk by truck. Each of these legs was 56 meters long, 3.3 meters high and weighed 53 tons! The 80-ton gas-phase reactor took the same route. It took just seven days for the central plant component, the high-pressure blow vessel, measuring 20 x 6 x 6 meters and weighing 175 tons, to complete the 550-kilometer truck journey within Russia from Yekaterinburg to Tobolsk.
Due to specific transport requirements, the VTG Rail Logistics experts already began planning a year in advance. They performed corresponding transport simulations and conducted comprehensive route studies, including static tests on more than 120 bridges. In addition, four electrified level crossings and various power lines had to be switched off temporarily and several pipe bridges were removed to transport the high-pressure blow vessel. Transport logistics specialists also assisted ThyssenKrupp employees in receiving the components on-site in Tobolsk.