Do you have a container that you need moved but don't know how to move it? Well, the solution is just down the road. Extreeeme Transport of Lampman has added a new machine to their line of equipment. In fact, they are the only business in Saskatchewan that owns and operates this machine.
The company purchased a side lifter in June which will be used to move sea cans, otherwise known as containers, throughout the province.
Ken Sebastian and his partner Connie Byers own and operate Extreeeme Transport Corporation. Ever since Sebastian saw an episode of Prairie Farm Report which featured a similar machine, he has been looking for a side lifter that could be added to the transportation equipment the owners currently operate.
Sebastian expects the machine to be put to good use in the area. "I first saw it on TV years ago and decided it would be a good business venture for the area here. You know, there are lots of sea cans in the area. They are using them in oil field for storing tools and building supplies and things like that in them. If they [tools and supplies] are in the container, they are able to be locked up and out of the weather, so the oil field companies tend to use them for that purpose. The pulse crop guys use them quite a bit too for their supplies."
"The machine is made in Australia and is the only one of its kind in Saskatchewan. It can move 20 and 40 foot sea cans - one 20, two 20s or one 40 - and it's made to lift loaded ones. So it can lift cans up to 80,000 pounds in weight. It will lift them easily and then they can be loaded on trucks or on trains or one on top of the other to be moved."
While a sea can be moved by large picker trucks, the side lifter makes the process easy and is not restricted by weight. Sebastian said "The machine is all remote control. You stand beside it and operate it, walk around it, whatever. Once the truck is in position, it takes about 10 to 15 minutes to load it or unload it."
"Essentially, I drive up beside the sea can. The trailer, which is a semi-trailer, has a crane on each end. There are two large operators that swing out on each end of the can and then there are two arms that are like a high-up crane. They reach out and then there are chains on each of those. The chains hook onto the bottom of the container. And then you simultaneously move the cranes and lift the container up onto the trailer. The trailer has four lock-down pins to lock down the container. You fold up the cranes and essentially, away you go."
