Steam boiler replaced for food industry
August 3, 2026 | Moritz Glück
To enable production at the food manufacturer's Szeged site to be even more efficient in the future, a steam boiler from 1992 was replaced by a new one. The old boiler was eight meters long, just under four meters wide and weighed around 50 tons. At around nine meters, the new boiler was slightly longer, but weighed significantly less at 29 tons. For the Bau-Trans team, the contract required several months of preparation, a week of work on site and two particularly intensive days for the actual removal and installation of the two boilers. “Preparation is crucial for projects of this type. In advance, we had to clarify exactly how to install and remove the plant components, which supporting structure is necessary for this and how work could be coordinated with ongoing operations,” explains László Tarsoly, Head of Lifting Technology at Felbermayr Bau-Trans Hungary.
“Viable” solutions
Replacing the boiler on the first floor of the boiler house was a particular challenge. The space available on site was extremely limited, and in some cases only a few millimeters of leeway was available when removing and bringing in. At the same time, production at the site runs around the clock. In order to still be able to safely replace the boiler, the heavy assembly specialists developed a specially designed supporting structure. In combination with a lifting platform, this created a temporary “terrace” via which the boilers could be brought in and removed in a controlled manner.
“The design had to handle the loads safely and at the same time make it possible to move the boilers precisely. Especially when space is so tight, every millimetre counts,” explains Levente Lovas, project planner at Felbermayr Bau-Trans Hungary and continues: “The experience of our assembly team was also decisive. This is where every step of the way is right, and that is exactly what is needed to carry out such a boiler exchange safely and on time. ”
Heavy transport and heavy assembly from a single source
In addition to removal and removal on site, Bau-Trans also transported the large-sized components over a distance of around 200 kilometers. The team used a 250-ton mobile crane for loading, unloading and lifting work at the production site.
“In this project, we were able to ideally combine our expertise in heavy transport and heavy assembly. The combination of careful planning, an experienced team and the appropriate equipment was decisive,” says Lovas, summarizing the combined expertise of Bau-Trans.
