About flying heaters and precision work

Today is the long-awaited day. 3 large heaters are picked up for one of our customers at NESS. The journey begins in Remshalden near Stuttgart and will end at California in the United States.

At 11 o’clock the time has come. The big hall gates open and the first of the huge 8000 kW heaters is moving outside for the first time. Earlyier this morning, the large mobile heave lift crane of the logistics partner arrived to help us loading the truck. Normally the heaters can be loaded onto the truck directly from the hall, but how life goes, a few hours earlier one of the overhead crane engines in our production hall broke down. Therefore, an excited but not tense mood prevails, because the “old hands” of NESS have everything under control, even for this unusual case.

When the first of the heaters moves in front of the hall, the great moment of the Wiesbauer GHK has come with its large telescopic boom. The NESS workers attach the heater to the safety hooks and the show begins. Slowly, one side of the heater rises into the air. The crane operator carefully lifts the heater until the other side also loses contact with the ground. The heater is flying! Tense silence prevails while you only perceive the sound of the cable engine. Passers-by, employees and truck drivers intently watch this scenario and somehow you can feel a sense of admiration for the appearance of the hovering heater in the air.

Once the heater has reached its position above the truck, the heater starts to sink towards the earth. Eveybody below is already waiting for the incoming heater. The silence changes into a lively bustle and loud shouts. Now it’s all about the placement of the heater on the truck. One of the drivers has announced that his hydraulics have quit service yesterday. And as Murphey’s law says, far away from his home in the north a quick repair was not possible. But even that is no big deal for our production manager Thomas and his team. In coorporation with the crane driver they have everything under control and this obstacle is solved with absolutele sovereignty. Finally, heaters and trailers get married. In the end it was about 5 cm space which made the difference between success and failure.

Later in the evening the registered Konvoy made its way – escorted by the police – on the B29 to Bremen. We thank all involved persons for their excellent work!