Deep in the Alps
When conditions get steep, narrow and technically demanding in the Austrian Alps, one thing is called for: the right equipment. That is precisely what Steiner Transport & Technik GmbH from Niedernsill possesses – and for years has relied on low loader solutions from the Faymonville Group.
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„We are a medium-sized, family-run business and specialise in crane work, assembly jobs as well as special and heavy duty transport. In addition, we run a vehicle construction workshop for building and converting crane superstructures,“ explains Theresa Steiner, who works on operations throughout Austria and beyond at the familyowned business. „The majority of our trucks are all-wheel drive and come equipped with a loading crane – the matching semi-trailers must be flexible, robust and fit for all kinds of terrain.“
Trust-based co-operation with foresight
And this is exactly where the Faymonville Group vehicles come into play. After initial experiences with used vehicles – including a MAX510 low loader from MAX Trailer, which was the first hydraulically steered and suspended lowbed in the whole region, as Theresa Steiner is keen to point out – the collaboration began to pick up speed. „Following very expert advice from our Faymonville sales contact, Nicola Luxen, and the team from Luxembourg, we put our first new 2-axle MultiMAX semi low loader with hydraulic suspension into operation. The Twin Axle II independent wheel suspension is a huge benefit here. One year later there followed a special 4-axle trailer with ramps and low PA-X pendle-axle.“ Eight semi-trailers have already been acquired by the company for its own use or its own clients – a sign of trust-based co-operation. Steiner often actively puts clients in touch with Faymonville when they are looking for a new semi-trailer. Complete packages are also often put together consisting of a Steiner crane structure and a low loader supplied by the Faymonville Group.
Operations on the mountain – daily routine for Steiner
The Steiner semi low loaders are in particular demand for a major project in Kaprun, where a new pumpedstorage power plant is being built by Verbund Hydro Power GmbH. „There we transport construction machinery and heavy machine parts through an access tunnel with an average gradient of 16 percent,“ says Theresa Steiner. „Thanks to the compact design and hydraulic bogie of our semi-trailers, we are able to get anywhere – even on the narrowest mountain roads. We were also very impressed by the high payload, which makes us very flexible. Furthermore, the liftable and lowerable hydraulic gooseneck is worth mentioning for optimal load distribution.“
In the meantime, the lowbed in the Steiner fleet is being used for international special transport operations, for instance for wood facades with excess height for a house being delivered to Leipzig or a 14.4-metre-long drying chamber from Germany. A success story that will continue to be developed in future too – as an order to deliver a new 3-axle MegaMAX lowbed trailer from Faymonville was recently placed.
