Last week, 300 house modules arrived from Malaysia at Victoria Harbour in Luleå. House modules are an unusual type of goods in the port, which usually handles bulk industrial inputs, such as coal, lime and bentonite. Over the course of three days, all modules were unloaded and are now waiting in the port for further transport to the Kronan area in Luleå, where they will be assembled into 157 apartments.
-Our customer, Sveaviken Bostad, requires that the house be assembled before winter in order to offer new homes in Luleå with occupancy during the first part of 2021. Together with our partners in the port and with local haulage companies who have taken the assignment very seriously, we feel confident that the deliveries will be made on time, says David Österström, CEO and owner of Frontlog, and continues.
-It is the first time that Sveaviken Bostad has built houses so far north in Sweden and also the first time we have transported modules so far. We are now located from Lund in the south to Luleå in the north.
In addition to the house module cargo, there was a full activity in Victoria Harbour as ShoreLink also unloaded coal and dolomite and loaded cabin blocks. The house modules also require more people than handling bulk goods, as the cargo needs to be secured before each lift, for example.
"To get enough employees on site, we were helped by ten employees from the unit in Piteå," says Christer Garberg, business area manager for ShoreLink Terminal Nord. In Piteå, we also handle house modules more often, which was especially good on a occasion like this."
To complete the task, two reachstackers with special yokes were also required. One was transported by ShoreLink from the operations in Piteå and one was rented by SSAB. The one from Piteå had a specially built yoke to lift the heavy modules, which weigh up to 20 tons each.
At the same time as the modules were unloaded in Luleå, ShoreLink unloaded wind power at Haraholmen in Piteå. They were in turn reinforced by employees from ShoreLink in Skelleftehamn, where they also often handle wind power.
"Collaborating with partners and using both machines and our expertise in the best way is important to complete a challenging project," says Susanne Jangdal, CEO ShoreLink. As the amount and variety of goods increases, we continue to utilize our strength in being flexible and using resources between ports," concludes Susanne.