A very special project was the transport of an assembly line for a rear axle gearbox from Graz to Marysville/USA. Normally delivered by sea freight in several containers, Spedition “Thomas“ was involved in the planning of the transport at a very early stage. Together with the customer, different variants were calculated in order to transport the system to the target destination with the optimal means of transport at the desired time. At the customer's request, not only the transport costs themselves were taken into account, but also the packaging and the production costs in terms of overtime and shift work.

After a few meetings, the decision was made to transport the majority of the components by air freight. This saved a few weeks in production compared to sea freight.

Spedition “Thomas“ organised the packing, which was already carried out on site during the dismantling of the plant. Train by train, the finished crates were driven to Liège in Belgium, where they were loaded together into a specially chartered Boeing 747. Additional crates that could no longer fit inside were delivered on two scheduled flights. Other crates, which were needed at a later stage of the assembly or which would not have fitted into any aircraft, were sent to the USA by sea at the same time.

We supervised both the packing work on site and the loading of the crates in Liège until the departure of the chartered Boeing 747. We also prepared all the necessary documents for the client to make the transport as smooth as possible.

Arriving at various airports or seaports in the USA, the equipment was then transported by truck to the customer by our partner.

• Place of departure: Graz, Austria
• Place of arrival: Marysville, MI, USA
• Means of transport: Boeing 747-400F, 2 scheduled flights, container ship, truck
• Scope of delivery:
  • 1200 m³ in 69 boxes by air freight
  • 6×40 ft HC
  • 2×40 ft FR