Apr 6 2004
SI Technologies, Inc., which designs, manufactures and markets high-performance industrial sensors, weighing and factory automation equipment and systems, today highlighted a contract with Georgia Power as an example of the moving and positioning capabilities of its AeroGo, Inc. subsidiary.
Georgia Power, a unit of Southern Company, needed to move four 100-ton feed water heaters at its generating facility in Cartersville, Georgia. The electric utility needed to replace two older, corroded feed water heaters with new high-performance equipment.
The water heaters were located on raised mezzanine floors deep inside the generating plant, and tight space restrictions prevented the utilization of cranes in the process.
When the heaters were initially installed over a three-day period in 1982, steel plate was overlaid on the floors and heavy industrial rollers were used, along with a large number of contract personnel," stated Hal Williams, Vice President and General Manager of AeroGo, Inc. "Using the AeroGo Load Module System(TM), a seven-man crew required only four hours to prepare for relocation of the old heaters and the placement of the new equipment. This included jacking the load, fabricating a skid and covering piping holes. The actual move of the four water heaters required approximately one additional hour, with operators inserting the Load Modules under the skid footprint, inflating the load using an existing plant air system, and maneuvering the 100-ton units approximately 150 feet through the plant's structural obstacles." "This represents an example of the challenging tasks that our systems accomplish for customers on a regular basis," noted Williams.