000 — Direktlink
19.05.2010, 07:47 Uhr
GuyM
|
Gents,
Sorry for posting in English, my German being very basic.
The French company Titan Vehicules Speciaux - nothing in common with the German Titan GmbH company assembling heavy haulage trucks as well - have produced late 2009 a very special 8x8/4 truck to be used for towing the European Space Agency Ariane 5 rocket support structure from its assembly shed to the launching pad on a dedicated railway (approx. 2050 tonnes overall weight in some magazines, around 2500 for others).
This tow truck, now in operation in Kourou (French Guyana), should be followed by a second unit soon; both shall replace ageeing MAN 8x8/4 tow trucks, providing in the past years a similar service.
Difficult to find any picture of the "beast" on the web as Titan website is not operationnal yet.
Below a picture found on a local French newspaper site:
http://www.leprogres.fr/fr/region/la-loire/loire/article/2219775,182/Vehicules-speciaux-Titan-sur-la-piste-aux-etoiles.html
For info, Titan VS - part since 2008 of the Gimaex Group producing airport and fire-fighting trucks - was founded by B. Bouverans in 1975 as a division of Titan Trailers. They moved on their own when this trailer company was sold to become part of BTK (Behm, Titan & Kaiser). They have sinced gone through various owners or made specific contractual arrangements to survive in the heavy haulage very narrow market. They always produced special trucks such as dumpers, tank transporters, tow trucks, wreckers, cross-country electrical poles carriers, low-lung transformers carriers...
LeMarechal-Celestin 8x8s, used in nuclear wastes transport, are probably their most famous products: these tractors carry nuclear products in heavy protection shells on Nicolas modular semi-trailers around La Hague nuclear teatment plant in Brittany and are fitted with Renault Premium or Magnum cabs.
See some pictures of these units on the link below:
http://www.convoi-exceptionnel.fr/?page=convoi&type=convoi&societe_id=43.
All the best.
Guy |
