Transport of massive pulper drums from Finland to Germany

In 2023, Ahola Special carried out a major special transport of massive drum pulpers from Finland to Germany. The transport combined road, sea and barge transport, and required careful planning and cooperation between several actors.

The drum pulpers were transported from Li, North Ostrobothnia to Eilenburg, Saxony. We were responsible for the whole process of transporting the drums, from planning to management.

The transport combined road, sea, barge and other additional services. The route design was particularly influenced by the size of the drums. One drum pulper is 32 m long, 5 m high, 5 m wide and weighs 141 t.

We aim to minimise the amount of transport by road to keep transport efficient and reduce the environmental impact. In October 2023, the drums were transported from the manufacturer’s factory in Li to the port of Kemi. The choice of road transport destination was influenced by the accessibility of the port, the lifting capacity and the ship carrying the drums. BB Logistics provided a high quality port operation, and the drums were transferred on schedule from the carriage to the hold of the vessel departing for Hamburg.

In Hamburg, the drums were transferred to two river vessels specialising in similar transport. River vessels transported the drums along the Elbe River to Aken, Saxony-Anhalt. This part of the transport was the most challenging due to the water level. Fortunately, we were able to proceed without any delays.

In Aken, the drums were again lifted onto the carriage. Before continuing the journey, the drums were weighed to ensure that the axle weights of the vehicles were within the permitted limits and that the weight of the load was evenly distributed.

In addition to weight, another critical factor was the height of the load. Once the height of the load exceeds 4.5 metres, finding a suitable route in Germany is much more challenging. We have a good network of partners in Germany and with the help of our partner we did a comprehensive route study and found a suitable route to transport the drum bottlers to their destination in Eilenburg. The loads arrived at their destination in the early hours of the morning on the eighth of November.

The success of a special transport operation of this magnitude depends on clear communication and cooperation between the different actors. It was also crucial that we had enough time to plan the transport and prepare for the risks that would have a positive impact on the outcome.