Even in international air transport, Kobelco Logistics leverages its unique know-how and experience. In one case, we transported a reactor head 340 centimeters wide from France to Kobe Steel’s Takasago Works. To accomplish the delivery, inland transport in Japan and overseas was done late at night, and we used cranes to load the cargo directly onto the aircraft. As for special air transport, we chartered a heavy lift helicopter otherwise known as an aerial crane for the European leg of the journey from a company outside the Kobelco Group and, working closely with the airline, successfully transported the cargo.

We transported via sea a 1,070-ton pressure reactor (31.5 × 8.1 × 7.5 meters) to Kaohsiung, Taiwan. The reactor left Takasago Works on a barge and was then loaded onto a self-propelled deck barge at the Port of Higashi-Harima using a floating crane capable of lifting 4,000 tons. Once it arrived at the customer’s dock, the reactor was transported to a specified location. There were many obstacles along this transport route, including pipe racks at the final destination with a clearance that only just allowed the load to pass through. The situation necessitated constant communication with the client and the reactor’s designer at Kobe Steel but in the end we were able to use our ingenuity to provide optimal transport services.

Pressure reactors are used in the desulfurization and cracking of petroleum. Kobelco Logistics received an order to transport one of the world’s largest reactors, weighing in at 1,860 tons. We oversaw the entire process: procuring the materials from Europe and loading them at port, transporting the semi-finished products by sea for assembly at the factory, and loading the products shipped from the factory onto an ocean-going ship. This order demanded an extremely sophisticated response. With the gross weight reaching 20,000 freight tons, we of course worked hard to ensure safety during loading and to eliminate any losses in handling. The reactor, which measured around 66.5 meters in length with a 6-meter diameter, needed to be secured in position with an accuracy of 20 centimeters or less. After accomplishing this feat, the shipper was quick to praise the Company, saying only Kobelco Logistics could pull off this job.