LEMAN - Handling Entire Projects in the USA Since 1971
30th March 2015
We are pleased to approve LEMAN as new PCN representatives in the USA. The company employ over 100 staff with offices located in Houston, Texas; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Chicago, Illinois; Atlanta, Georgia; Los Angeles, California; and New York City. LEMAN have heavily invested in their project services and they are joining PCN in order to find new and reliable worldwide partners.
Vlad Fruman (Project Manager) states; "Our company's heritage reaches back to the year 1900 when Paul Lehmann founded our parent organization. In support of our parent company's activities in the United States, LEMAN USA Inc. was established in 1971.
We are capable of managing entire projects from the initial consultations & budgeting to the final on-site assembly operation. Whatever the nature, scale or location of your project, we are always on-hand to take care of the logistics process. Our project expertise include: Aircraft and Vessel Charters; Airfreight and Courier Services; Oil, Gas and Energy Transport; Bulk Cartage of Raw Materials; Dangerous Goods; BreakBulk, Ro/Ro and Containerised Freight; Heavy-Lift & Over-Dimension Transport; Military & Government Shipments; Boat Transportation; Port Operations Supervision; Heavy-Lift Planning & Execution; Documentation; Credit Letters & Banking Services; Specialist Staff & On-site Representation. At LEMAN, we don’t sweat the big stuff!"
LEMAN have recently handled the export of a 'stator frame' (part of an electric generator) weighing 81,200kgs and measuring 7.5 x 4.42 x 4.11m for their client, Andritz. The cargo was trucked from Ohio to the Port of Newark, NJ where is was shipped to its final destination in Antwerp (Belgium) via Ro-Ro vessel. Due to its weight, the frame required a 19-axel trailer plus numerous road permits.
Project Director at LEMAN, Anders Pedersen explains; "Project transport is all about problem-solving. Clients come to us because they know that unexpected problems will appear when trying to move unusual or large cargo and at Leman, we find solutions. The stator frame project is a perfect example of the challenges that can arise when moving project freight. We understand that even when you have planned every last detail, received confirmations from the ocean liner, truckers, ports, and every other party related to the move, you always have to be able to change plans and resolve challenges quickly.
The first challenge was the inland freight. Originally, we wanted to move the frame via rail from the shipper’s facility in Ohio to the Port of Baltimore. However, the Port of Baltimore is unable to handle this size of cargo arriving to the port via rail. This change of plan meant the hunt was now on to find a trucking company who had the equipment to handle the 81,200kgs. After many, many phone calls, LEMAN narrowed the possibilities down to just two trucking companies who could potentially move the frame as scheduled.
The second challenge was the cargo handling at the origin port of Newark. Our client, Andritz had purchased the stator frame without the appropriate lifting trunnions. This caused major problems at the port, as the only way to lift this particular frame is by utilizing the lifting trunnions. If chains and spreaders had been used, it would have broken the seal in the stator frame. Through our contacts we learnt the lifting trunnions would cost approximately US $16,000 which Andritz approved for us to manage and proceed. With both issues resolved, we made the booking with Wallenius Wilhelmsen Line and hoped everything would be smooth sailing from here, which wasn't the case!
The third challenge was the capacity of the vessels’ ramp. Once their loading planner began looking into the loading operations, it was realised that for their next two sailings the vessels’ ramps would not be able to handle the weight of the frame. So now the cargo truck is on-route to the port and we do not have a sailing. We managed to find an alternative sailing with ACL RoRo into Antwerp out of the Port of Newark and as luck would have it, the two RoRo carriers were using the same handling terminal and so another crisis was avoided!
The final challenge was overcome by our experience and attention to detail. The very next day we received a call from ACL who stated that due to the weight of the stator frame plus the weight of the mafi-trailer and the steep angle of the ramp at Antwerp,the cargo must be loaded on a mafi-trailer with breaks. ACL did not have a 100mt mafi-trailer with breaks on hand in Newark and therefore offered to take the stator frame to Hamburg instead. However, that would create a delay in applying for the proper permits as well as increased receiving and delivery costs. Our experience & knowledge led us to re-check the details and through discussions with ACL, we realised their load planner had made a miscalculation and the cargo would in fact be able to load on a mafi-trailer with no breaks, as scheduled for arrival into Antwerp on time and within our customer’s budget".
