Performing Under “Press”ure
What weighs several thousand pounds, is a couple of kilometers long, and lives in a small, tight space? A newspaper printing press, that’s what. So when the Pacific Newspaper Group, publisher of the Vancouver Sun and The Province, shut down its printing press plant on January 30th, 2015, it turned to 360 Industrial Movers to help with the decommissioning of their plant.
What a move!
With a target of June 30th, 2015, to have all the equipment out of the building, we got to work right away, developing a detailed plan for this complex industrial move. Here’s what we were up against:
- A 4-storey high, 500-foot-long printing press weighing over 2,500 tons – located on the second floor of the building
- Approximately 1.1 km of conveyor belts
- 27 newspaper roll feeders, each weighing 20,000 lbs
- Limited access to a concrete beam and slab building that needed to remain intact, and no way to drive trucks into the building
Moves don’t come much more complex than this, but the 360 Industrial Movers team was up to the challenge. Here’s how we tackled it:
- We removed a set of windows to create a 7-foot by 11-foot opening, giving us just enough space to get the largest pieces out (with just a quarter inch clearance!)
- We constructed a ramp to allow for each 77,000 pound piece to be rigged and loaded
- We moved 107 semi-trailer loads to complete the move, ranging from hi-boy to double drop trailers
- The 360 Industrial Movers crew dismantled and rigged each piece without any time-loss injuries
The 360 Industrial Movers crew gets it done
So how did we do? Rather than describe it ourselves, here’s what Ken Hamilton, Pacific Newspaper Group’s Operations Manager, had to say:
I am still not sure how you managed it all, but manage it and manage it well you did. This was a five-month project – one that had unique details, incredible tonnage, tight spaces, and specific deadlines. Throughout this project, I had the opportunity to follow firsthand the problems encountered and how you found unique solutions, some unbelievably brilliant, to keep a very challenging time schedule. I was also witness to many discussions that challenged the time line of the project, but each and every detail was overcome and ultimately the removal of our equipment was completed for the scheduled date of closure.
It was a mixture of solid hard work, impeccable timing and some pretty strategic thinking that made our time together a success.
Again, thank you, it was a great project to witness.
Ken Hamilton