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Haul anytHing anywHere

Planning, experienced drivers, Cat® Power meet heavy hauling challenges

Every construction project is the sum of its parts. This is as true of the rebuilt I-80 bridge spanning the Missouri River between Omaha, Neb., and

Council Bluffs, Iowa, as any other project.The nearly 2,500-foot long span is supported by 22

new steel girders, each weighing more than 100,000 pounds.

One of the challenges renovating the bridge was transporting the girders the 450 miles from Eau Claire, Wis., to the jobsite. Argee Transport Co., Des Moines, Iowa, hauled the beams, two at a time. Loads were 270,000 pounds, 28-feet wide, and 200-feet long.

A great deal of planning enabled Argee Transport to negotiate the labyrinth of highways, side streets and bridges—and government permits—to reach the site.

“We had to have lots of permits, police escorts, route surveys, and figuring out where to park,” said Brad Kohlwes, vice president of heavy haul, who handles logistics for the company that specializes in hauling heavy and oversized items. “Between the cities, the counties, and the states, they had 16 permits in their hands.”

Kohlwes had initially planned to travel through Minnesota, but the state denied his applications for the necessary permits. Because Kohlwes knew Iowa had to OK permits since it was an Iowa DOT bridge, he configured a new path through Wisconsin and Iowa.

But logistical complications weren’t over yet. “Wisconsin wanted us to travel at night, and Iowa wanted us to travel during the day. So we had to find a spot to lay it up. We ended up finding a coop in Iowa that would let us lay up for a day,” Kohlwes said.

The legwork paid off—11 trips hauling girders from Eau Claire to Council Bluffs were completed without a hitch. “Once we got going, it went like clockwork. We delivered them all on time, and didn’t have any accidents. There were no problems to speak of,” Kohlwes said.

The job is typical of the work done by Argee Transport Co. and Kohlwes.

The firm is part of the Rasmussen Group, an Iowa-based company that specializes in heavy construction, marine contracting and related fields including concrete and asphalt supply, paving, heavy hauling, demolition and manufacturing of concrete products.

Haul anytHing – anywHere

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“We haul a lot of bridge girders for our company, and that has opened the door for other companies to hire us to haul materials. The bulk of our work is steel and concrete bridge girders,” said Kohlwes. “A lot of companies build things, and don’t have any idea how to ship them. It’s like building a boat in the basement—what happens now? They depend on us to figure out how to haul the materials.”

Planned Overhauls Extend LifeTo transport the materials, Argee owns a fleet of 17

Kenworth T800 tractors. All trucks are double-framed, and feature large-capacity steel axles.

The company runs five three-axle trucks and 12 four-axle trucks (each four-axle vehicle features an Eaton AT-1202 two-speed auxiliary drop box for applications requiring high reduction). Argee had operated four-axle trucks exclusively, but added three-axle trucks during the recession to efficiently handle smaller projects.

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Value of exPerienCeHeavy hauling requires not only great equipment and planning, but also excellent drivers.

“We have the best group of drivers,” said Brad Kohlwes, vice president of heavy haul. “I’d put them up against anybody in the country.”

Drivers are mainly in their 40s and 50s. That experience pays off when transporting large loads on specialty trailers. “Some of these trailers steer at the front and the back, and the driver steers both ends,” said Kohlwes. “It’s tough work that requires a lot of skill.”

Sometimes, it can take as long as 12 hours to load and secure materi-

als. “For some of the tougher jobs, we’ll send drivers in pairs. It saves on climbing and carrying, and they can cover more miles team driving. It’s nice to have an extra set of hands,” Kohlwes said.

Brad Kohlwes, vice president of

heavy haul,Argee Transport Co.

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The company’s fleet also includes 84 trailers, including a number of nine-axle trailers. “Most of our tractor-trailer combinations vary between five and 13 axles,” said Kohlwes.

Twelve of the trailers weigh more than 90,000 pounds. “We have to permit them when they’re empty, which can be a challenge,” Kohlwes said.

The company hauls across the Continental United States and six Canadian provinces. Each truck runs approximately 90,000 to 100,000 miles per year.

All of the tractors are powered by Cat® 550 hp C15 engines with ACERT™ technology.

Platinum Precious Metals In-frame Overhauls to 11 of the engines help keep the fleet operating at peak performance. Overhauls at Ziegler Cat are generally completed when engines reach 600,000 to 700,000-plus miles.

Kohlwes plans to run the rebuilt engines for at least another 400,000 miles. “After the rebuilds, I figure I have another four years on the Cat engines before I have to do anything,” Kohlwes said. “I’m going to overhaul each of these engines at least once. What really drives that is the warranty, which is honored at any Cat servicing dealer in the U.S. and Canada.”

Peace-of-Mind WarrantyEach of the overhauls is backed by a four-year, unlim-

ited mileage warranty. The warranties give Kohlwes peace of mind that the fleet will continue to run reli-ably, while eliminating the risk of large, out-of-pocket costs in the event of a catastrophic breakdown.

“When we break down, we’re late. I can’t rent a truck to deliver my load. I can’t call somebody to handle it for me. It’s a major ordeal when our trucks break down. It usually involves cranes,” said Kohlwes. “I buy as much warranty as they’ll sell me.”

Engine longevity, power, and excellent mileage keep Kohlwes coming back to Cat Power.

Because he wants to stretch the lives of the Cat engines, each Argee Transport truck is outfitted with an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) to reduce engine wear and tear.

“We chose to put APUs on the sides of the trucks to help with the longevity of the engines,” Kohlwes said. “In winter, there are times that we travel six hours, and the truck idles the rest of the time. Letting an engine idle wears them out faster than pulling heavy loads.”

To learn more about Argee’s haul anything, go anywhere approach to customer service, visit www.argeetrans.com.

a life in TruCKingBrad Kohlwes was born to make trucking his life’s work. Not only does his dad, Bob, own a trucking company, his brothers Brian and Brandon, are transportation logistics professionals. Trucking is in the family’s bloodlines.

After a boyhood spent polishing chrome and handling a variety of other jobs in the yard of his dad’s firm, Brad Kohlwes was ready to move behind the wheel.

“I put myself though college driving a truck in the summers,” Kohlwes said. “The day I turned eighteen, I took my CDL in a long-hood Peterbilt and a 53-foot flat bed. I passed with flying colors, and away I went.”

After graduating from Iowa State with a degree in transporta-tion logistics in 1998, Kohlwes joined Argee Transports Co. “I love heavy hauling. I love the challenge, and I love the rewards,” he said.

Another constant in Kohlwes’ life has been Cat® Power.

“I was born and raised on Cat engines. I didn’t know they made any other kind of engines,” said Kohlwes. “Cat engines have always been a great product.”

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