Ace Doran Successfully Hauls Super-Sized Steel Tanks to Brewery in Winter Weather

“Any time you’re transporting something of this size, you must have a good relationship with the people responsible for that job,” says Joyce, director of plan operations for Enerfab, a Cincinnati-based provider of construction management, capital equipment, maintenance services and technology solutions.

Joyce manages a shop fabrication facility where tanks, pressure vehicles and steel fabrications are constructed. Part of his job includes coordinating the transportation of these products to customers or sometimes to field divisions that assemble larger fabrications. He takes great pride in being able to deliver the products safely, seamlessly and without incident to Enerfab’s customers.

“Our transportation vendors are, in effect, representing our company to our customers, and that’s why we need to have complete trust in their ability to manage every aspect of the job and provide a positive customer experience,” he says. “That kind of trust comes with strong relationships.”

Joyce speaks highly of his decade-long relationships with Ace Doran President Jim Collins and heavy haul manager Bob Thomas, who always come through, he says, no matter what the challenge. “A lot of people will tell you they’ll deliver, but there’s a big difference between telling you and actually delivering,” Joyce says.

In this case, Joyce had two super-size storage tanks that needed to be hauled about 40 miles to a large brewery in Trenton, Ohio. The first tank to be delivered was 9-foot-six-inches tall and 26-feet wide and the second tank was 14-feet high and 26-feet wide. Enerfab’s customer had requested the steel tanks be delivered in two months, and Joyce needed a team with the capacity to manage an extensive pre-planning process in that time period.

This process included surveying and selecting a route, submitting the route to the state of Ohio for permits and approvals and physically surveying the route to determine plans for the tricky turns and clearances along the way. Ace Doran’s Thomas took the extra step and drove the route with the two drivers ahead of time to review every turn and trouble spot.

“We felt the need to make that extra effort because this wasn’t the type of job where you load two containers on a flatbed and drive up the highway,” recalls Thomas. “This type of haul takes a lot of planning and staging ahead of time.”

Not only did Ace Doran successfully deliver the two storage tanks without any problems, but they overcame a major challenge, says Joyce. The customer had to postpone the delivery date close to the delivery date, pushing the transportation job into January, when winter weather makes the roads more treacherous and difficult to navigate.

Still, Ace Doran pulled the job off without a hitch, Joyce says, adding that it’s never easy to reschedule deliveries at the last minute.

“I have freight carriers that call me every day trying to get my business,” says Joyce. “However, I continue to deal with a small group of carriers, Ace Doran being one of them, because of the relationship and trust I have with them.”

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