If you were out on Hwy 9 between Oxbow and Carlyle in the afternoon on Wednesday, Dec. 11, you may have witnessed a large truck and trailer pulling an immense load, which a local company was extremely proud to produce.
The Oxbow based company, Saskarc Industries, is extremely proud of their module as it is the largest metal fabrication project they have created to date and is a testament to their business' growth from its modest beginnings in a garden shed in 1991.
"This was the longest and heaviest module that Saskarc has ever shipped," Danielle LaRochelle, Marketing Coordinator, explained.
Destined for the K+S Potash Mine in Bethune, SK, the first of two pipe modules was sent on Dec. 11th, with the second travelling on Dec. 14th.
The truck and trailer at 178 ft long consisted of 14 axels to support the sheer size and weight of the module. With such a large load manoeuvring around corners was made easy through the use of independently controlled rear axles able to swivel or rotate by remote control.
"Saskarc assembled and painted all the components in house," LaRochelle stated. "...our ability to modularize, assemble in house, and transport these large components is important to our customers and part of the reason why they come to us. Our value added services such as blasting, painting, insulation and cladding to name a few, also allows us to save our clients' money and risk which is something we pride ourselves on."
Construction of both modules began on June 19th and five months later (Nov. 16th) they were completed. Each one impressively measures 100ft by 30ft by 12ft and weighs 297,000lbs.
The load departed Oxbow at 2 p.m. on Wednesday and would reach its destination Thursday morning after travelling along 16 routes and stopping overnight before arriving at its home in Bethune.
The modules, LaRochelle explained, will be housed inside of a building which will be built around the piping structures once placed at K+S Potash Mine. The piping of the module is colour coated and each one will be used to carry different fluids used during mining to separate minerals.
Though these modules are the largest construct Saskarc Industries has completed, they are not new to the business. Saskarc has grown immensely since 1991 and has become a premier metal fabricator in southeast Saskatchewan.
They have also most recently added an additional 16,000 sq. ft facility equipping it with cranes, hoists, and lifts in order to sustain growth within the business and maximize their ability to continue satisfying the needs of their clients when it comes to quality modularization. This in total brings the company to nearly 70,000 sq. ft of work space with 14 acres of lay down area.
Excited to work for a company that continues to expand and has a vision for the future LaRochelle explained that the future of Saskarc is bright: "Saskarc is optimistic that they will continue to press the limits and produce industry leading components [into the future]."
