Delicate laser technology from Orebro in Sweden has arrived safely in Japan following six months of planning and preparation by the cargo transportation specialists at Volga-Dnepr Airlines.

The high value industrial laser equipment required a non-standard engineering solution and a controlled temperature environment to complete its journey onboard one of Volga-Dnepr’s IL-76TD-90VD freighters. The laser installation will be used by one of the enterprises producing industrial electronics in Japan.

“We first met with representatives of the customer, Scan Global Logistics in Denmark and Sweden, six months prior to the flight to discuss the placing and shoring of the cargo onboard the IL-76TD-90VD. The 21-tonne shipment’s dimensions were 3.2m wide and 2.7m high so it was decided to transport the laser equipment in a special container with several holes that would enable us to moor the cargo in the aircraft,” said Alexey Stepanov, leading engineer at Volga-Dnepr Airlines.

In order to load the container, a special ramp extension was used that had been developed for use by Volga-Dnepr’s An-124-100 freighter to load aerospace equipment. Using the patented ramp extension enables cargoes to be loaded and unloaded within the shortest possible distance of the IL-76’s cargo door, improving speed and safety. The ramp equipment was delivered to Sweden from Leipzig, Germany, for the flight.

 

“This cargo was oversize and delicate and needed to be loaded and carried in a temperature environment below 30° C. To meet these requirements, the loading process in Sweden was performed early in the morning, standing time during the maintenance stop in Krasnoyarsk was reduced to a minimum, and the aircraft remained closed while the maintenance team installed equipment to unload the container in Japan. Additionally, Volga-Dnepr organised a ground air conditioning unit to maintain the correct temperature,” added Alexey Stepanov.