Logistec is now working with GE Energy to ship wind towers from the St. Lawrence River port to markets in the U.S. Midwest.
“The first sailings have proven successful for all parties and we expect to have many more during the year,” said Frank Vannelli, Logistec’s senior vice-president – commercial and business development.
GE Energy purchases the wind towers from Marmen. The Trois-Rivières-based company is the largest wind tower manufacturer in North America and has been producing the equipment for the U.S. wind energy market for several years.
GE Energy had been moving the wind towers to the U.S. Midwest by alternative means until Logistec approached the company to ship through the Port of Trois-Rivières.
The towers arrive at the port in three 26-metre-long sections that vary in weight, from 29 tonnes for a top section to 55 tonnes for a base section. The towers are transported to the port by Bellemare Transport Int’l trucks and then prepared onsite for export by ship. Each shipment comprises 42 sections totalling about 18,000 cubic metres.
From Trois-Rivières, BBC Chartering ships the wind towers through the Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Seaway system to the Port of Menominee (MI), where they are unloaded for delivery to their final destinations.
“PHASE I OF THE STRATEGIC MODERNIZATION PLAN ‘ON COURSE FOR 2020’ OF THE TROIS-RIVIÈRES PORT AUTHORITY, COMBINED WITH THE CLIENT SOLUTION ORIENTED APPROACH OF LOGISTEC, MADE THIS OPERATION POSSIBLE,” SAID MICHEL MIRON, LOGISTEC’S REGIONAL VICE-PRESIDENT. THE INCREASE IN STORAGE CAPACITY AND FACILITY UPGRADES HAVE HELPED TROIS-RIVIÈRES CONSOLIDATE ITS POSITION IN THE GENERAL CARGO SECTOR AND IS PROVIDING LOGISTEC WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO PURSUE NEW PROJECTS AND SEEK OUT NEW TYPES OF CARGOES FOR THE PORT.
