Collett & Sons Ltd

The Collett Team transport two 160Te shunt reactors over 5000 miles, to the onshore substation for the Neart na Gaoithe offshore wind farm project, jointly owned by EDF Renewables and ESB in Scotland.

The Collett Team were contracted with the full scope of work providing a door-to-door service, including the project management, engineering and the transport of two 160Te shunt reactors.

A year before deliveries commenced, Collett’s Consulting Department were contracted to undertake multiple surveys to find the most feasible route. This included all route surveys, swept path analysis reports, topographical surveys, bridge height surveys and wire cable height surveys. This resulted in our Team employing tree surgeons to remove obstructing foliage, and local authorities to take out various street furniture.

The shunt reactors were transported in three stages before arriving at the substation site. First, the Collett Team worked in partnership with a trusted European partner to transport the shunt reactors ahead of their arrival in the UK. Our Projects Department were then responsible for all port operations including the loading of the vessel, also chartered by Collett, for the 4800 miles to the Port of Leith in Scotland.

Working closely with the port, our Teams carefully planned the cargo’s discharge, including providing crane lifting plans and an agreed programme of works for all loading and discharge operations.

Once at the port, utilising an 800Te crane, the shunt reactors were discharged onto a dedicated 14-axle line modular flat top trailer. Both shunt reactors were offloaded at the port onto stools for temporary storage. The Collett Team also transported and stored multiple ancillary components at our port side depot in Grangemouth.

Utilising our 550Te capacity girder bridge with 20-axle lines, we transported the shunt reactors from Leith Docks to Innerwick. Due to narrow access along the remainder of the route, each of the two shunt reactors were transhipped from our 20-axle girder bridge on to a 14-axle flat top modular trailer in a dedicated road closure area, complete with all traffic management, in order to complete delivery. All movements were facilitated under police escort, as well as our in-house fleet of pilot vehicles.

At the NnG onshire substation site, located in the Lammermuir HIlls, Collett’s Heavy Lift Team offloaded and positioned the shunt reactors into their final position using a hydraulic jacking and skidding system.

Part two of the project is expected to take place in the coming weeks, when two 180Te supergrid transformers are due to be delivered to the wind farm site.

100 Tonne Gantry from Goole to Gatwick

Busy weekend in Goole as our Mercedes-Benz 8x4 Arocs SLT heads out with a 100 Tonne gantry destined for the M23 Smart Motorway Upgrade Programme.

This 54.8m long gantry is the second, and the largest, of the four to head out of our Goole Heavy Lift Depot.  Accompanied by our Code of Practice Escort Vehicles, the double bogie trailers set off on the 250 mile trip to the development site.


Scheduled for evening delivery, and with motorway closures in place, the 100 Tonne gantry will be lifted by 500 Tonne mobile crane for installation over the carriageway.


The M23 is a crucial part of the UK strategic road network connecting Crawley and Gatwick Airport to the M25 motorway, routes into London and the rest of the UK. This stage of the project sees the upgrade of an 11 mile stretch of the M23 near Gatwick Airport, between junction 8 and 10, to an all-lane running smart motorway

New state of the Art 8x8 Crane Vehicle

Check out our latest addition to the fleet; a new MAN TGS 41.480 8x8 Tractor Unit fitted with a Fassi F1150RA.2.26 115 Tonne/Meter Crane.

Once again, Collett Transport is providing industry leading equipment with an impressive 115 Tonne/Meter crane mounted on an 8x8 tractor unit. The crane features 6 boom extensions, with a lift capacity of 22 Tonnes at 4.15 Meters and 5.62 Tonnes at 15.45 Meters. The lorry loader has a gross vehicle weight of 90 Tonnes and is capable of self-loading and off-loading, eliminating the need for a mobile crane.

As previously mentioned, the tractor unit has an 8x8 chassis which allows all eight wheels to work as driven axles. This provides the lorry loader with added traction making it a perfect piece of equipment for heavy duty site work. The vehicle has the ability to be used as a heavy haulage tractor unit to pull trailers however, it has the additional option to be used as a ballast tractor to push or pull heavy payloads. Crane vehicles have become are a prominent feature across our diverse fleet and with the addition of this 115 Tonne/Meter crane, we continue to provide heavy lift and transport solutions.