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2- The Oakville Beaver, Wednesday April 9, 2008 www.oakvillebeaver.com Open to the public! JONATHAN TAILEFER / SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER Online Auction April 21 - May 8 Bid on hundreds of spectacular items: travel, jewelry, art, spa packages, cuisine, home decor and more! TRAFFIC STOPPER: Road crews raise wires over the train tracks at Fourth Line to make room for this massive cylinder from Hooper Welding Enterprises. Giant cylinders bound for Louisiana By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF www.appleby.on.ca or Two giant grey cylindrical contraptions mounted on flatbed trucks made their way through the streets of Oakville New w Collection! Solid Maple Bedroom by Durham Introductory Special QUEEN BED Made In Canada A At York, we've developed a furnace that modulates, or adjusts itself in 1% increments. So it's quieter, more economical and highly efficient while keeping the temperature in your home on target. After all, your ur comfort is not something you want to play games with. For more information, call your local York Dealer. www.yorkupg.com 217 Lakeshore Road East Downtown Oakville Since 1953 Terry Tripp c 905 580 5972 (sales) Richard Bodsworth c 289 259 3567 (service 24-hour) www.swissinteriors.com PROUDLY SUPPORTING CANADIAN MANUFACTURERS 905.844.3530 on Monday as part of the first stage in their journey to Gismer, Louisiana. The two devices, an absorber process column and a Salt Sump, are destined for an American petrochemical facility where they will improve the plant's processing ability. For the Oakville manufacturer, seeing the devices on their way marks the end of a very long process. "This project has been ongoing for 17-plus months," said Chris Hooper, Manager of Hooper Welding Enterprises Ltd. "We received the order in November of 2006. It has been a long process, there's been a lot of changes throughout, but it has been successful and we're very proud of our accomplishment." And quite the accomplishments they are. The Absorber Process Column is 190,000 pounds in weight and 104 feet in length while the Salt Sump weighs in at 136,000 pounds and is more than 58 feet inches in length. Moving the two behemoths is no easy task and required one year of planning to come up with a route that saw the devices leave Oakville for Hamilton where they will be placed on a barge. And that's just the first day of the giant cylinders' 25day-trip to New Orleans. From New Orleans, the devices will be transported to their final destination in Gismer. It was with restrained glee that Hooper noted his company is not responsible for getting the devices all this way. "The client's responsibility actually starts right now," said Hooper. "Our job was to develop these complex pieces of equipment to be put on their trucks and now they have the burden of getting it to Hamilton and from there to Louisiana." However, before the devices can get anywhere near Gismer, they had to get out of Oakville. Permits Co-ordinator Maria Morrison explained how even this required great planning. "I had to get all the utility companies involved, traffic services for Oakville and Burlington as well as Bell and the cable companies," she said. "Power lines along the way have to be raised." At 9 a.m. the excursion got underway with OPP cruisers and several service vehicles providing the escort. The flatbed trucks had to painstakingly negotiate every turn while the police cruisers blocked off the intersections along the way to ensure the devices reached their destination intact. As the flatbed trucks could only travel a few kilometers per hour, the journey to Hamilton took the bulk of the day.