Vacuworx RC Lifter Used in Baltic Pipe Project

The Baltic Pipe project is multi-segmented and includes the approximately 110 km, 800 mm OD North Sea offshore pipeline. The project is considered a major piece of gas infrastructure for Central and Eastern Europe, creating a new supply corridor in the European energy arena.

The build-out of major pipeline systems demand collaboration and attention to detail pipe secure, and damage-free during the transportation, storage, staging and installation processes. Operators considered a turn away from hooks, slings, and cables that could harm the integrity of coated steel pipe and were on the lookout for safer, faster, and more contemporary solutions. When properly attuned and supported, vacuum lifting units have stood out as formidable, manual-labour saving attachments in terms of versatility and stamina in the global oil and gas pipe-handling fields. For the Baltic Pipe job, MAX STREICHER GmbH & Co. acquired an RC Series lifter and pad assembly directly from equipment dealer and Vacuworx distributor, Maats Pipeline Professionals, based in the Netherlands. The lifter, coupled with a high-capacity CAT 352 hydraulic excavator, was deployed on the Baltic Pipe project in Denmark for several months to unload the pipes from trucks and lay them out with fast and precise placement.

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