The objective of a freight forwarding company serving an expanding power station in Central Point, OR? Successfully deliver one 255,000-pound transformer from overseas to its pad as efficiently as possible before the expansion’s completion. Getting the transformer and its accessories to the Port of Tacoma was straightforward enough, except that the port had no rail or barge facilities to finish the journey. Therefore, the company knew it needed specialized transportation from a reliable, safety-first team—like Omega Morgan’s Portland crew.

HEAVY HAUL LOGISTICS

Our specialized transportation team began the pre-transport process by applying for the necessary permits, which take at least 30 days to receive, through the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) and the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT). The next steps involved building a transport configuration to handle the transformer and completing a route survey. 

Planning went smoothly until two weeks before the ship’s arrival, when the transformer’s weight details increased by 13,000 pounds. While we immediately reapplied for permits, the limited time meant we needed a flexible strategy for transportation.

MULTI-SERVICE TRANSPORT SOLUTION

As soon as the ship arrived at the Port of Tacoma, our specialized transportation and machinery moving crews and equipment mobilized to meet it. Yet, as the permits had not arrived, the specialized transport team moved the transformer to a designated space at the port to wait.

The five accessory containers, however, could be moved, so Omega Morgan’s machinery moving team transported them to our Fife yard via step deck trailers. Then, our logistics services crew organized for a partner carrier to receive the crates from our yard and transport them to the Central Point station.

As the permits came through for the transformer, our specialized transportation team adapted the plan to accommodate where and when we could move the component to efficiently proceed with the project. Finally, the crew took the three-night journey to the pad and confronted a new challenge upon arrival. 

Over the course of a week, the crew not only jack and slid the massive transformer onto the pad, but we had to first alter the pad’s surface to do so. Finally, once the component had been set on the pad, we offloaded the previously delivered accessory crates.

Our crews exhibited the safety, flexibility, and efficiency Omega Morgan is known for. The power station had its spare transformer onsite ahead of the expansion’s end date, and our client and the owner couldn’t be more pleased with the result.

Read more details about this multi-step, multi-service solution in our new case study.