With 30 branches worldwide and three dedicated branch locations in Australia, ALE is a global leader in heavy transportation and lifting; delivering a highly tailored service and providing innovative equipment and engineering solutions. Greg Keane finds out more.
ALE works across a range of sectors, including civil, oil and gas, petrochemical, power generation, nuclear, renewables and offshore.
As a full solutions provider, ALE is a one-stop-shop offering strategic and integrated services covering every aspect of the handling, transportation and installation of heavy, indivisible loads; including lifting, transporting, installing, ballasting, jacking and weighing.
ALE houses an extensive equipment fleet. For the Australia-specific market, ALE has on- and off-road transportation, specialist cranes and innovative lifting solutions for the oil and gas, mining, civil and power generation industries. Furthermore, ALE can draw upon a wider range of resources from its global network.
More notably, the award-winning Innovation Series is the label given to some of the most advanced and cutting-edge technologies that have revolutionised the heavy lifting sector. Innovations include the AL.SK cranes – the world’s largest capacity land-based cranes, the Mega Jack and Mega Jack 800 jacking systems, and the Hydro Deck – the unique mobile port solution that was used for the first time in Darwin for the Ichthys Onshore LNG Facilities Complex Project to load out 149 modules. By pushing the boundaries with its innovations, ALE can solve client challenges and ultimately drive project efficiency by saving clients time and money.
Case study: installation of girder bridge structure, Toowoomba Second Range Crossing
ALE has successfully installed the first of 24 bridge structures as part of the Toowoomba Second Range Crossing (TSRC) project in Queensland, where it is a subcontractor to Nexus Delivery.
The bridge girders, weighing up to 90t each, were transported to their installation position using hydraulic trailers with bolsters. Once in position, installation was carried out using a Liebherr LR1280 crawler crane.
This girder (right) is part of one of the bridge structures for the 41km-long toll road, which will provide an alternative crossing of the Toowoomba Range for all classes of heavy vehicles to improve freight efficiency and driver safety, relieve pressure on Toowoomba and Lockyer Valley roads, and enhance liveability for the city’s residents.
Case study: jacking, transportation and load-out of two autoclaves, New Caledonia – Port Pirie
ALE has successfully performed the jacking and transportation of two autoclaves, weighing 605t each.
ALE first loaded the autoclaves onto the SPMTs at the New Caledonia storage site, using the SPMTs’ hydraulics to jack them up ready for onward transportation.
The autoclaves were then transported from New Caledonia to the Port of Prony jetty using 72 axle lines of SPMT. The 3.8km route was particularly challenging as it involved travelling over 2km on a 10% gradient descent.
These autoclaves were then loaded out onto a heavy lift vessel, along with the SPMTs, and shipped to Port Pirie (SA).
Once they arrived at the port, ALE loaded in the autoclaves using the same SPMT configuration and transported them into storage.
It took approximately one month to complete.