Getting the electricity generated from photovoltaic or wind turbines to where it’s needed requires long cables With a team of over 100 specialists, Energieanlagen Ramonat GmbH realizes cable routes all over the world: from planning to installation and maintenance to dismantling and disposal. Depending on the cable design and length, which can be up to two kilometers, the weights of the cable drums range from 55 t at present to around 100 t in the future. In addition to the high load weight, the voluminous drum dimensions also need to be taken into account – both during transport to the construction site and during subsequent maneuvering on different construction site topographies, during uncoiling for example. “If the width of the cable reels is still moving between 4 m and 5 m today, soon it will be between 8 m and 12 m,” says Managing Director Stefan Ramonat.
To transport these kinds of loads quickly and safely, the cable expert mainly relies on Goldhofer THP/SL-L heavy-duty modules with vessel bridges. According to the manufacturer they not only offer an optimal dead weight-to-payload ratio and numerous combinations, they also promise high torsional stiffness and exeptional off-road capability. In addition, the use of self-propelled units (»ADDRIVE«) is possible, increasing operational flexibility at lower investment costs. To cope with the increasingly high-volume cable loads of the future, Goldhofer experts are currently working to develop an optimized vessel bridge to accommodate an unwinding device for drums weighing up to 100 t. Parallel to this, concepts are being developed for motors with synchronized drive for jerk-free cable unwinding at the installation site.
