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“The Nation’s Best Read Construction Newspaper… Founded in 1957.” Your Carolina States Connection • Richard McKeon, Charlotte, NC 1-800-288-4234
Massive Press Journeys From Germany to North Carolina By Mary Reed CEG CORRESPONDENT
When ATI-Allvac purchased a new open-die forging press from SMS-Meer GmbH it requested the assistance of AME Inc. to assemble the press and to assist with transportation efforts. After a long journey and an extraordinarily difficult operation, ATI-Allvac’s open-die stamping press arrived from Germany at its destination in North Carolina having traveled by sea, rail and multi-line super-trailers. AME Inc., headquartered in Fort Mill, S.C., was responsible for the transfer of the press from its U.S. port of arrival to its destination, as well as the subsequent assembly of both the press and associated material handling equipment. The sheer size of the major components of the press, which will be used for hot forging military grade and aerospace metals, are noteworthy and give an indication of the difficulties faced in transporting such pieces. The approximate weights of the major parts of the press were:
Due to the size and weights of the crossheads, they could not be transported out of Charleston on super-load trucks, but instead had to be rolled 90 degrees onto their sides and loaded onto suitable rail cars.
In Monroe, the pieces were set atop multi-line super-trailers for the trip from the rail unloading site to the installation facility.
• Lower Crosshead — 400,000 lbs. (181,436 kg) • Middle Crosshead — 480,000 lbs. (217,724 kg) • Upper Crosshead — 565,000 lbs. (256,279 kg) • 4 Column Assemblies — 150,000 lbs. (68,038 kg) each • 3 Main Cylinders — 130,000 lbs. (58,967 kg) each • 2 Return Cylinders — 60,000 lbs. (27,215 kg) each Due to the massive sizes of the castings and the delivery schedule, press manufacturer SMS Meer GmbH utilized the services of First Alpine in Austria and Sheffield Forgemasters in England, to forge the crossheads, as they were the only two companies capable of single-casting such large pieces. The logistics for the American part of the operation were staggering. AME Inc. spent more than a year pre-planning the installation, including trips to Germany to consult with SMS Meer on changing the installation sequence and plans. see PRESS page 2