ST. LOUIS, Nov. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — VALYNT announced it had recently completed a successful and significantly complicated equipment move for longtime client, Alton Steel, Inc. Beginning in East Chicago, VALYNT coordinated a major effort to transport a massive 13-piece Electric Arc Furnace and Transformer System through the city, to a Chicago dock, barged down two rivers, through a major SCF terminal, and then transported via state highways – all in a flawless series of logistics that many state officials are calling the biggest relocation campaign in Southern Illinois history.
“We’ve been in the business of complex logistics for some time, but this recent feat tested all of our networking skills,” said Charles Smith, President and CEO of VALYNT. “The genesis of the project began with the forward-thinking innovation of Alton Steel CEO, Jim Hrusovsky, and the hard work of Terry Laird and Mike Cook, General Manager of Operations and Director of Production Planning at Alton, respectively.”
“Alton wanted to transport an existing melt furnace operation from an East Chicago steel mill so they could become more efficient in their operations. This saved the company time and money from ordering a new furnace, if you can even get one in this market, while also allowing Alton to further their stance toward eco-responsible melting technologies. The major problem, however, was that this furnace first needed to be moved from East Chicago to the planned operating location in Alton.”
“And this furnace is huge – we’re talking 13 pieces, all of them as big as buildings weighing hundreds of tons. That’s not a simple load-on, load-off trucking job. Just getting the pieces disassembled and onto the barges was a Herculean task. We had to engage the services of nearly 100 workers, including crane operators, engineers, truck drivers, dock and barge workers, telephone and electric service employees, and even the state police – from two different states.”
“When you’re moving equipment like this, you have to shut down highways during the process to keep citizens safe,” explained Smith. “While also uprooting and replacing telephone and electric poles to accommodate the wide loads. And finally, you need a series of State Highway Patrol escorts. All of that takes a mountain of permits and finely detailed planning that most smaller companies just cannot handle. But we pulled it all together.”
“We are extremely proud of this achievement and we absolutely want to mention some of the many important players, across multiple states, who worked hard to make this possible. Because without them, the project never could have happened. People like the good folks at Alton Steel Inc, Barnhart Crane & Rigging, the SCF Terminal, Ceres Barge LLC, Middle River Marine, Ashton Marine, and Buchanan Hauling & Rigging – just to name a few. We offer all of them our heartfelt thanks.”
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One of the fastest-growing supply chain companies, VALYNT provides high-efficiency oilfield chemistry products in bulk quantities at less cost. And VALYNT’s bulk materials division services a wide variety of aggregate and raw materials users globally, including iron and steel production, oil refineries, and zinc and copper smelters. VALYNT’s logistics department manages shipping and receiving of all VALYNT movements including carbon, scrap metals and petrochemicals, improving the supply chain from the source to the destination – saving companies time and money. Learn more at: www.VALYNT.com.
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