Global logistics contractor China Shipping Vastwin Project Logistics has achieved what many people would think impossible: the company has moved five complete buildings!
Strange but true
No, we’re not kidding. Moving buildings is “a thing” in China. They do it regularly. Buildings need to be moved for all sorts of reasons – from environmental considerations to urbanisation.
According to CNN, China started moving buildings on a noticeable scale at the turn of the millennium. Recent examples include the Jinlun Guild Assembly Hall, in the southern megacity of Guangzhou, which was moved 80 metres to allow for the construction of a road in 2001.
Then there is the Shanghai Concert Hall, which was moved 66 metres – also to allow for the construction of a road – in 2003. Fast forward to 2013 and the Zhengguanghe Building, a six-story warehouse in Shanghai, was shifted 38 metres to accommodate local redevelopment. In 2011, the Hankou Yiyong Fire Association, a building erected by local firefighting volunteers some 100 years ago in the infamous city of Wuhan, also found a new home – some 90 metres away from its original location.
History is made
So, moving an entire building is all part of a day’s work in China. However, the move undertaken by China Shipping Vastwin Project Logistics is noteworthy because it set three records: namely, transporting the heaviest and tallest building, moving it over the longest distance and overcoming the largest difference in height.
This time around, a complex of five historical buildings from the Ningxia Saishang Jiangnan Museum located in the north of the country needed to be moved 600 metres “to make way for a floodplain”, we are told. The heaviest building weighed an incredible 10,000 tonnes!
In order to achieve this, China Shipping Vastwin Project Logistics turned to a German company called TII Scheuerle – and utilised its SPMT.
What is a SPMT?
Now, we know exactly what you’re thinking: what on earth is a SPMT? Well, SPMT stands for “self-propelled modular transporter” or “self-propelled modular trailer”. These vehicles – which, basically, look like a platform with lots of wheels underneath – are used to move equipment or objects that are too massive or heavy for trucks to transport. Buildings, for instance.
These vehicles can be found in any industry where large loads need to be moved – so, power, oil, construction and civil projects, for instance. These versatile vehicles boast the ability to move not only forwards and backwards but also sideways, diagonally, and they can even execute a full 360-degree turn. This adaptability makes SPMTs indispensable tools in situations where space is limited.
When it comes to their self-propelled functionality, SPMTs rely on a hydraulic power pack to facilitate movement. This power pack controls steering, suspension, and drive functions. Operators can manoeuvre the SPMT either through a hand-held remote control panel or from within a driver cabin, providing flexibility and ease of control during operations.
SPMTs have been around for some time; TII Scheuerle launched its back in 1983. They are modular – so, you can add axles (or lines) to the length and width of the trailer. Oh, and they’re super slow. They make tortoises look energetic. But they’re also super useful... as China Shipping Vastwin Project Logistics, a subsidiary of the state-owned shipping company China Ocean Shipping Group, discovered…
The task at hand
China Shipping Vastwin Project Logistics had to move five buildings, one at a time, over a distance of 600 metres. They also had to overcome a height difference of three metres.
The historic complex comprises the main building, which weighs 10,000 tonnes as well as two outbuildings (each weighing 2,000 tonnes), along with an archway and one partition wall, each weighing 1,000 tonnes. So, quite some task.
In order to move the main building – which is 43 metres high, 36.9 metres long and 31.5 metres wide – a total of 300 Scheuerle SPMT axle lines and ten PowerPack Units (PPUs), also from TII Scheuerle, were required.
The project was completed successfully and, in so doing, China Shipping Vastwin Project Logistics set three records. The main building was the heaviest and tallest load that had ever been moved in China – and probably worldwide too. In addition, it travelled the longest distance ever covered in China (for a building weighing more than 1,000 tonnes). Furthermore, it was the steepest incline ever mastered along such a transport route.
Scheuerle SPMT axle lines were also used successfully in China a year ago when Sinotrans Heavy-Lift Co. moved a 7,500-tonne hotel using 254 SPMT axle lines. The uneven weight distribution of the asymmetrical, 90-metre-long and 20-metre-high building posed a major challenge on the 500-metre-long route – but the hotel was rehomed successfully.
