"220 tonne drum" renewed in the paper mill
February 28, 2025 | Susanne Winter
"That's not an everyday occurrence," says Herbert Gruber, Head of Installation at Felbermayr Transport- und Hebetechnik in Linz. The project manager is referring to the tight space conditions in the paper mill and the resultant millimetre-precise work, from pre-assembly to foundation positioning.
The project started back in December 2023 with the transport of the five new drum parts. These came from China and weighed between 33 and 60 tonnes, with diameters of up to five and a half metres and lengths of up to 18 metres. They were transported from the Felbermayr heavy goods port in Linz to Laakirchen by abnormal load transport. Unloading was carried out using two 200-tonne cranes in a tandem lift.
Three of the five new parts pre-assembled
Three of the five drum sections were installed in the hall in October 2024. These had to be rotated by 90 degrees using a lifting frame so that they could then be installed correctly. "The drum parts had to be turned with an accuracy of two millimetres," Gruber reports on the precision work. This centre section of the drum was then pre-assembled by employees of the technology company Andritz.
Removal of the old drum in two parts
In December 2024, the old drum was dismantled and removed in two parts - 140 tonnes and 18.5 metres long and 60 tonnes and 12 metres long - over a period of one and a half weeks. To do so, the parts were shifted onto a PST self-propelled unit using a hydraulic shifting system and unloaded at the company site using a 500-tonne lifting frame.
Due to the enormous weight, Felbermayr-Bau had to support the ceilings in advance in the basement area with around 250 heavy-duty uprights. After removal, the construction experts concreted new foundations, as the new drum was installed in a different position. It is also larger and heavier than the old drum.
Precise assembly with cranes and lifting frames
The installation of the new drum took two weeks in February of this year. "The statics posed a major challenge, as the drum parts were very heavy," explains Gruber. Felbermayr Bau once again secured the ceilings in the basement area and also erected a temporary concrete ramp as well as two 60 metre long strip foundations to support the lifting frame.
First, one of the two components still stored outside the hall was brought into the hall using a PST self-propelled unit. A rail-mounted 500-tonne lifting frame was used at the assembly site. For the time being, it remained suspended eight metres above the foundation.
The pre-assembled centre section of the drum was then transported to the assembly site using a PST self-propelled transporter. A second 500-tonne lifting frame placed this section on the foundations. "The still-hanging component was then positioned next to the centre section and married," says Gruber, explaining the process of assembly by the Andritz employees. Finally, the last component was brought into the hall using a PST self-propelled unit and assembled at the other end of the centre section.
In the end, the new drum had a total weight of around 220 tonnes with a length of 54.5 metres and a diameter of up to 5.5 metres.
Cooperation between several departments
"In addition to the unusual, very tight space conditions, it was challenging to keep to the schedule. We had to complete the order starting with the decommissioning of the old drum at the end of November 2024 all the way through to the commissioning of the new drum in March 2025. However, we were able to carry out all operations faster than planned. This proves that the interaction between several departments in our company works very well," says Gruber, thanking everyone involved for their perfect and professional cooperation.
