33
DECEMBER 2013
ACT
A
long the Gulf Coast region of
the United States, industrial
work is vibrant with
constant activity supporting marine and
offshore fabrication, refineries and the
petrochemical industry.
Based in New Iberia, LA, Berard
Transportation is in the thick of this
business, providing super heavy transport
services including barge load-outs/
offloads, waterway transport, over-the-
road super loads, strand jacking and
turnkey project management.
Berard Transportation specializes
in moving the biggest things one can
imagine, ranging from huge modular
structures to giant vessels to ships and
barges. Among the most useful tools
in the company’s fleet are its SPMTs,
according to Brett Berard, vice president
of operations/engineering.
With a 144-axle fleet of SPMTs and 14
power packs, Berard has a “day-to-day”
market for the equipment.
“We keep them very busy,” he said. “We
have some jobs that will require all 144
axles. But a typical job requires 20 to 24
axles. We are very fortunate to have a day-
to-day market along the Gulf Coast and in
Louisiana.”
Among the most popular usage for
Berard’s SPMTs is rolling equipment on
SPMTs offer rigging
flexibility and cost
efficiency. And the
market is hot.
“We’ve found their service and design
to be great and we are extremely satisfied
with this brand,” he said. “We have three
models in our fleet: the 10-foot-wide (40-
tons per axle); the 8-foot-wide (55-tons
per axle); and the traditional mechanical
steer 10-foot-wide model. All three types
can be combined under one load all with
the use of a single operator.”
Technically, SPMT has become a
generic term for self-propelled modular
transporter, although there are actually
two types, the self-propelled mechanical
steer and the self-propelled electronic
steer. The difference is the range of turning
and the ability to change the steering
configuration, meaning mechanical versus
hydraulic. The range of steering, high load
capacity and ease of assembly give users a
wide range of rigging methods.
Jim Taylor, president of Taylor Crane &
Rigging (TCR), recently took delivery of
32 lines of Scheuerle/Kamag K-25 trailers.
The company also just received a new
Kamag K-25 Power Booster unit, which
the manufacturer bills as a “five in one”
rigging solution.
Introduced and demonstrated to U.S.
customers and the media at the facilities
of Precision Enterprises in Cocoa, FL on
September 16-17, the K-25 Power Booster
offers users the ability to transform their
conventional fleets into SPMTs.
“These new Scheuerle Kamag trailers
will expand TCR’s ability to perform heavy
Workhorse
SPMTs
PRODUCT FOCUS
A Berard Transportation project shows
the steering capabilities of a SPMT
system making a tough turn into a
plant near Baton Rouge, LA. This vessel
was about 185-feet-long, 14-feet in
diameter and 480,000 pounds.
Customers take a look at the new Scheuerle
Kamag K-25 Booster that was demonstrated
at Precision Enterprises in Florida in
September. Taylor Crane & Rigging purchased
the first one delivered to the U.S., along with
32 lines of Scheuerle SPMT.
and off barges.
“With so many navigable waterways
in Louisiana, typically over-the-road
moves for this heavy equipment aren’t as
frequent.”
Cost effective tools
Beyond their roll-on and roll-off
capability, Berard says SPMTs are cost
effective, because often their use can
alleviate the cost of a crane or more than
one crane.
“Lots of innovation can be applied to
SPMT usage,” he said. “They really allow
us to do things and minimize using cranes
for load out. We did a project recently that
the customer assumed we would need a
crane. We proposed a plan using SPMTs
rather than need a floating crane, saving
the client substantial cost. SPMTs are the
workhorse of our business.”
Steering capabilities of SPMTs allow
for maneuvering heavy objects into very
congested spaces.
“While our customers don’t always
understand how amazing the equipment
is, they appreciate the results,” Berard said.
“Every day we have greater challenges of
fitting massive pieces of equipment and
vessels into spaces they are not designed
to fit.”
Berard’s fleet of SPMTs are Goldhofers.
