California here we come

How do you move three baking ovens from Ilkley in West Yorkshire to Southampton overnight in order to catch a boat to California? Easy, you may think – pop them in the back of a white van and away you go… Ah, but these bread-making ovens are 10.5metres long, 5.5metres wide and 2.9metres high. They also weigh over 20 tonnes apiece and that’s a logistics challenge that needs plenty of lifting and transportation experience. The three fully-built 3 zone ovens were designed and built by Spooner Industries’ facility in Ilkley and bound for Port Hueneme in California for onward transit to a major bakery company in the State Spooner is a long-established supplier to a wide variety of industries including the food manufacturing and baking industries. Established in 1932, Spooner remains a world leader in both technical innovation and customer satisfaction, and for this time-critical delivery Spooner turned to Watkinson Lifting and Transportation – itself established 100 years ago and acknowledged experts in heavy lifting and transport solutions. The ovens, fully boxed and lifted carefully onto three transporters, were accompanied by an escort vehicle and two experienced traffic police officers to guide the convoy through Ilkley’s intricate road network – staying ahead of the group to hold traffic lights while it moved out to the motorways. Watkinson Chairman, Keith Watkinson, said unusual loads were meat and drink to the company’s logistics teams: - “Obviously, you can’t just look at a map and set off with loads like these,” says Keith, “Every metre of the journey-assisted by computerised routing systems-is planned in partnership with local authorities and traffic authorities to determine the most effective route.” Drivers are kept constantly abreast of schedule or route changes through state of the art in-cab communication technology. The ovens were delivered spot on schedule and as Keith remarked, “Watkinson has never ‘missed the boat’ yet, and this was no exception!” Spooner director Steve Newell said Watkinson were regularly considered when larger deliveries were called for: - “We value their undoubted expertise and ‘no problem’ attitude” he says.

For more information on California here we come talk to Spooner Industries Ltd