Fagioli Inc: Getting a lift out of life

Source: Exec Digital USA

Date :8/13/2008 11:16:03 AM

World record weightlifters Fagioli have seen an increasing demand for their services – and increasing complexity.

Written by Ruari McCallion and Produced by Rich Gentile

There are times when it gets very hard to keep a secret – and others when you wonder how on earth a secret stayed that way. Fagioli Inc won the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association’s 2008 award for the Job of the Year. It was the third time that the company had been honored, but this particular job was a bit unusual.

“This contract began in 1998,” said Edoardo Ascione, president and managing director of Fagioli, which is based in Houston, Texas. “Every two years, we have been moving 800-ton, 25-meter long and six-meter wide steam generators from their manufacturing site in Milan, Italy, to Phoenix, Arizona.

“It was very challenging; we transported them to Milan by land, loaded them onto a special ocean-going barge, carried them across the Atlantic Ocean and ran them onto a beach in Mexico. Then we transported them 200 miles, at four kmh, using self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs),” he says.

SPMTs are multi-axle carrying platforms whose modular design enables them to be linked alongside each other or nose-to-tail, in multiple configurations according to project needs. “Because of our confidentiality agreement with our client, we weren’t allowed to disclose any information until the job was completed, which was last year,” Ascione says.

Hidden in plain sight

So, every two years, Fagioli transported two 800-ton steam generators, each with a 150-square meter footprint, from Italy to Arizona, using the high seas and public highways – and it kept it secret? That probably deserves some kind of an award in itself. But lifting of heavy, often complex and invariably bulky objects is something of which the company has a great deal of experience. It holds the world record, involving a 32,000-ton topside of an offshore oil platform in Korea.

“We had to raise the platform 60 meters in the air and then slide floating structures underneath,” Ascione explained. “Then we pulled it offshore, on a specialized boat.” Once it got to site, it then had to be installed, which Fagioli also carried out. In the Gulf of Mexico, it has completed a number of projects to move and deliver rigs, jackets, living quarters and specialized modules.

“We have been contracted by Exxon-Mobil to transport heavy components to various facilities. We have moved cracking towers and other components, weighing up to 1,500 tons. Something tall has to be transported horizontally and we have the equipment and expertise to restore them to vertical,” he said.

Expanding its scope

Fagioli is increasingly working in the nuclear power industry, which is undergoing a new lease of life; six new plants have received permits to build in the US from 2010 and several expansion projects are in the pipeline. The component manufacturers aren’t always located where their products are needed.

“There are 104 nuclear power plants in the US and no manufacturers, so they have to be moved from Europe or Asia. We take full responsibility for bringing the components from France, Spain, Japan – wherever they’re made,” Ascione says. “With offices and services all over the world, we can provide full, door-to-door service. We can go to Mitsubishi in Japan, use our SPMTs, our special cranes, tugboats, railcars with 32 axles and a cab at the front and rear, put the load in between them, and ship heavy equipment even on railroads.”

No project too difficult

The company doesn’t have railcars in the US but it has the expertise to coordinate, project manage and deliver any heavy load. It has its own barges and ships and can engineer any kind and route of transportation. Even if it subcontracts any element of the project, it manages the entire interface – the client doesn’t need to get involved. It began in Italy in the 1950s and remains a family-owned company. It got into heavy lifting when it encountered a system in the UK used for pre-stressing concrete.

“We acquired a company named PSC (Pre-Stressed Concrete), which had pioneered a technique using hydraulic jacks and someone in our organization came up with the idea of using jacks to lift and move very heavy loads,” Ascione said. “When we took over PSC, we moved ourselves up a league and became able to enter the transportation and lifting market.”

The SPMTs are an example of the way Fagioli has invested to become a leader. “We don’t make them ourselves – they’re made to our specifications by Cometto in Italy and another company in Germany. We participate in the development and we now own 800 axle lines, which is one of the largest fleet of SPMTs in the world.” The US operation directly employs 20 people and has revenues of around US$20 million. The payroll may seem small but it’s the resources the company can call on that make the difference.

“We are being called every week for feasibility studies. Clients want to work out the most effective way to build their large-scale plants, and where to source their components,” he said. “Our advantage is we have representation all over the world. We can bring in nuclear plant engineers from the UK and France; project managers from the Far East; installation experts from the Middle East, North Sea and Africa. Not many companies have the ability to locate equipment, set up the infrastructure, pick up, ship, deliver and install, door to door. Our global presence and expertise are what set us apart.”