Airbus relies on the MDEL from NICOLAS for the transport of aircraft components

Prefabricated aircraft components are highly sensitive. For the transportation of wing components between Nantes and St. Nazaire, Airbus therefore uses a MDEL from NICOLAS which was equipped with a specially-designed retainer for the sensitive cargo. A roll-on/roll-off procedure was used for the section of the route where the load has to be transported on the river.

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Such a transport of prefabricated components takes place around five times a week at Airbus from the Nantes production plant to St. Nazaire on vehicles from NICOLAS. In the process, wing parts for the A 330/340, A 350 and A380 are transported  to the assembly facility. With a weight of approx. 12 t and basic dimensions in the region of 8 x 8 metres, the A 380 components are very impressive. For the MDEL from NICOLAS, however, these loads are a long way off from reaching the transporter´s limits: with a 20 t axle load, the vehicle remains well within its "comfort zone". In this case, the challenge is not the weight but ensuring perfect pick up and load distribution in order to prevent damage to the components being transported. No problem for the special vehicle manufacturer NICOLAS from Auxerre in Burgundy which solved this problem by means of an adaptable vehicle body and, in so doing, once again justified its reputation as an expert for special constructions. 680 mm axle compensation and a steering angle of 60° provide the required stability and handling when manoeuvring the bulky load. The MDEL has already proven itself at Airbus for  the processing of production procedures as four vehicles of this type are now operating successfully at the company.

The loading area of the NICOLAS MDEL can be perfectly adjusted as required to accommodate sensitive loads - as in this case for the wing segments of various Airbus models.

Disembarking in St. Nazaire: the 680 mm axle compensation of the NICOLAS MDEL ensures that the cargo remains perfectly horizontal when crossing the loading ramp.

"The fact that the fourth MDEL is now in service at Airbus, speaks volumes for the excellent product quality," said Sebastien Porteu, Managing Director at NICOLAS. "We have accomplished a great deal in recent years and a lot of production processes, quality management and customer service have been completely restructured". In so doing, integrating NICOLAS into the global leader TII Group helped. Simultaneous engineering - the parallel development of individual assemblies, now ensures that the functions of the respective individual modules interact perfectly as well as guaranteeing short development times. Increased demands on all suppliers, rigid process and quality controls according to TII Group standards, along with a conversion to the so-called paint assembly, ensure reliable quality standards ranging from steel assemblies, hydraulics and electronics through to corrosion protection.