A church on the move
A monument on the move: the over 100-year old church in the Swedish city of Kiruna leaves its familiar location. Mammoet’s expertise in transporting heavy loads as well as SPMT technology provided by Cometto ensured that a piece of Swedish cultural history arrived safely and precisely at its new location – with the whole world looking on.
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On a total of 56 self-propelled modular axle lines and a special steel construction, the 40-metre wide church weighing 672 tonnes rolled along a specially widened road at walking pace. A unique spectacle at the centre of Sweden’s most northerly city, which captivated thousands of people – on site and worldwide via an online stream. „That was not your usual heavy duty transport, but a piece of cultural history, which had to be safeguarded with the ultimate precision,“ explains Justin Vreugdenhil, Global Head of Marketing and Communications at Mammoet. „Our Cometto SPMTs showed what they can do: maximum manoeuvrability, absolute reliability and the ability to work precisely even under extreme conditions.“
Hightech for a once-in-a-century structure
The city of Kiruna lies on one of the biggest iron ore deposits in the world. The state-owned mining company, LKAB, has been extracting iron ore there for over 100 years. Expanding the mine makes the subsoil shift, however. This creates subsidence and instabilities that put the city centre at risk. To ensure safety, large parts of Kiruna are having to be relocated to a new site to the east. This includes around 6,000 apartments, public buildings – and the famous wooden church that dates back to 1912.
The relocation of the church, the landmark of Kiruna, is seen as particularly symbolic. It is one of the most important wooden structures in Sweden. Transporting the church, which was voted Sweden’s most beautiful building in 2001, was a logistical feat. Over 1,000 hours of planning went into the project at Mammoet alone. After all, not only the structure of the building had to be preserved, but also valuable cultural assets inside it, including an organ dating back to 1957 and an altarpiece depicting Prince Eugen of Sweden.
„The electronic steering with ultimate precision and reliability, the ability to control each axle individually, as well as the hydraulic stroke of 700 millimetres, are the key benefits of the self-propelled modular transport vehicles produced by Cometto,“ emphasises Alexander Fickers, CEO of the Faymonville Group. „Thanks to this combination, the church was able to be optimally navigated and kept stable at all times, despite its size.“
Cometto SPMT – Strength meets precision
During the two-day transportation process, the church covered a distance of five kilometres. Step by step, safely and majestically. Even King Carl XVI Gustaf of Sweden followed part of the spectacular event in person. The church reached its destination and will fit in harmoniously with its new surroundings in future.
Mammoet also draws a positive conclusion: „The relocation of the church was a unique moment. Not only for the city, but for us, too, as a team. Thanks to the teams from Mammoet and Cometto working excellently together, we were able to move the building with the ultimate precision and carry out the transportation in a controlled manner from start to finish,“ says Justin Vreugdenhil.
„We are proud of the fact that our client Mammoet was able to implement this project so impressively with our self-propelled vehicles,“ adds Alexander Fickers. „Relocating the church is a symbol of how tradition and innovation go hand in hand – and that is precisely what our technology enables.“
Unique at Cometto: SPMT also available with TPMS
Focus on safety and efficiency: Cometto is the first manufacturer to equip its self-propelled vehicles with TPMS (tyre pressure monitoring system). Wireless sensors in the wheel rims delivery precise values, even without a connected powerpack. The system saves time and money, enables predictive maintenance and increases safety by significantly reducing tyre wear and the risk of blowouts. Cometto thereby sets a new standard for reliability and performance when using SPMTs.
