ACE Winches Exports Scotland’s Heaviest Air Cargo
02 April 2012
ACE Winches staff recently celebrated the completion of their largest manufacturing contract, worth £4.2M for Superior Energy Services, based in Houston, which was delivered on the world’s largest plane, the Antonov 225.
ACE Winches, a leading deck machinery specialist, has designed and manufactured an electrically driven 8-point mooring spread at its global headquarters based near Turriff, Aberdeenshire. The complete winch package has been designed to be capable of operating in temperatures as low as -45 degrees C. The ABS certified winches are tailored to meet the mooring requirements of the barge, which will be working in extreme water climates in the Arctic.
The ACE winch package began its voyage from Auchterless, near Turriff, Aberdeenshire, the first shipment of winches weighing 125 tonnes was delivered on three lorries to Southampton; it was then shipped across the Atlantic Ocean on the vessel Integrity, reaching Baltimore on the East Coast of America. The journey is not complete yet, as it is being driven across America, through hurricane zones, to be safely delivered to its final destination.
The second shipment was required by the client to be delivered ahead of planned schedule. The winch package also weighing 125 tonnes was exported by air freight from Glasgow Prestwick Airport on the world’s largest plane, the Antonov 225. This is the heaviest load ever to be exported by air from Scotland. Due to the combined weight of the load and aircraft which was an incredible 550 tonnes in total, various stops had to be made to refuel including; Goose Bay, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and St. Paul, Minneapolis, USA. The Antonov 225 made its final landing in Moses Lake Airport in Washington, USA before being transported by truck to reach its final destination.
Chief Executive Officer of
ACE Winches, Alfie Cheyne, said "I am delighted with the commitment and
dedication shown by the ACE employees from initial stages of design through to
manufacture, accomplishing the completion of this project in
just six months. Everyone at ACE Winches
has been involved in this project in one way or another, the manufacturing team
has been working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, giving up some of their
festive celebrations to complete this order on time.”
ACE Winches recently celebrated being awarded with the Export Achievement Award for a second time, at the Offshore Achievement Awards 2012. The award recognises business growth resulting from successful development of export activity in the oil and gas sector.
