New method for handling house modules in port

November will see some 150 housing modules arriving at the Port of Södertälje. The modules have been constructed in Malaysia and will be handled using a new method as yet untried at the Port of Södertälje.

The modules will be unloaded from the cargo vessel with the aid of a container crane. In and of itself, this is a quite normal procedure; however, on this occasion it will be possible to handle the modules in the same way as containers, although with a new lifting system that allows container cranes to efficiently load and unload house modules of various sizes.

– This is a method developed by the construction company itself and that so far we have not tested at the Port of Södertälje, explains Per Fredman, VP for sales and marketing at the Port of Södertälje.

New lifting system

Housing modules vary in size, with 90 percent being approximately 4 metres wide and 8-12 metres long, weighing in at between 20 and 30 tonnes. Frontlog will be arranging shipping from Penang in Malaysia and, once on site, the modules will be installed by turnkey contractor Moby on behalf of developers Sveaviken Bostad. All three companies are members of the SIBS Group, which specialises in modular buildings.

– We have developed a lifting system that enables the handling of non-standard housing modules at around the same pace as standard containers. Our semiautomatic adapter yoke can be used by both container cranes and container lorries with proven good results; so, we are extremely pleased, says David Österström, managing director of Frontlog, who continues:

– In combination with a specially designed steel frame for housing modules, the adapter yoke makes handling in port that much simpler and cost-effective. Quite simply, it is a more sustainable working method.

Ready next year

The house modules are destined for Brandbergen in Haninge, where they will form 71 two and three-room apartments in a building due for completion and occupation in Q2 of 2020.

– The assembly of the housing modules will take barely a month. We expect that around 10 modules will be installed in Brandbergen each day, explains Viktor Ryd, managing director of Moby.