Since our earliest days, Sarens has been helping clients transport extremely heavy and complex loads in ingenious ways. Often, our innovative solutions are driven by the flexibility and power of our fleet of self-propelled modular transport vehicles (SPMTs).

Think of SPMTs as self-elevating platform trailers that can do almost anything. They can cross challenging and oftentimes fluctuating terrain, moving up or down hydraulically to smoothly transport loads of varying weights and dimensions. While they may look unassuming, SPMTs can actually handle extremely heavy cargo—in fact, just a few years ago, Sarens set a world record for transporting 14.000 tonnes via SPMT!

We use SPMTs for transport as well as for vital infrastructure work, like installing bridges. We’ve even helped to construct the largest railway bridge in the world using Sarens SPMTs! Today more than ever, the growing trend towards accelerated bridge construction (ABC) is creating new opportunities for our SPMTs to show off what’s possible, giving clients the opportunity to move bridge construction away from traffic and perform installations faster and with less interference than ever before.

At Sarens, we rely on SPMTs because of the flexibility they bring to almost any type of project, allowing us to innovate and come up with unexpected options for our clients. Their benefits are wide-ranging, and include:

• Complete flexibility and control. SPMTs can move and rotate in all directions, and any part of their platform can be lifted up or down hydraulically to correct for fluctuating terrain. This was an important factor on a recent project that involved Sarens SPMTs working in unison to relocate 1.700-tonne STS cranes in the USA. The 132 axle lines of SPMTs could move in every direction and rotate in place with complete control, placing loads perfectly onto the dock’s rail tracks with no room for error.
• Countless configurations. Because of the way they are built, individual SPMT units can be connected to create any configuration needed. Controlled by a central computer, they can then work in unison to move just about any structure, no matter its size or dimensions. For example, when newly-constructed lock doors for the Panama Canal needed to be loaded out onto a barge, Sarens SPMTs easily handled their unique dimensions and weight.
• The ability to pair with other technical solutions. Sarens recently used SPMTs, mounted with our in-house designed TP Handler, to load in and load out 480-tonne wind turbine transition pieces at the Port of Rotterdam. This unique technological combination could maneuver around the site faster than a crawler crane, transporting pieces to a lay-down area and gently placing them on concrete foundation blocks. SPMTs pair exceptionally well with other equipment, making them infinitely flexible.

Sarens has been using SPMTs since the 1980s, and there is no limit to the creative solutions we have been able to provide to clients over the years. Some of the highlights have included:

• Lifting a bridge into place in just hours. Sarens SPMTs smoothly installed the 3.000-tonne Darlington Bridge in Adelaide, Australia—all within 22 hours, from start to finish. The 132 axle lines Kamag SPMTs, together with CS250 jacking towers, transported the bridge 800 metres along an uphill and downhill road, adjusting to the terrain so the load bore no deformations or stresses along the way, before lifting it into position.
• Relocating a 100-year-old building in China. Sarens SPMTs carefully moved an entire convent, completely intact, from one location to another. The 2.600-tonne building was relocated to a site 76 metres away in the span of just 82 minutes!
• Transporting a space shuttle to its final destination. Sarens SPMTs had the honor of escorting the Space Shuttle Endeavour 12 miles to its final destination at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, drawing huge crowds who showed up to see the pairing of inspiring space technology and visionary transport solutions!

Sarens is proud of its long history of innovation, from the heavy lifting equipment we have designed and built over the years to the creative technical solutions we’ve developed for clients. SPMTs have been the key to making many of those ideas possible, and are a valuable part of a global fleet renowned for its dependability, flexibility, and innovation.

Watch the video here!