APM Terminals (APM), a company that helps businesses send and receive products, got some help this week receiving a special delivery for itself.

APM moved two 90-foot-tall gantry cranes Wednesday from its shipyard in Mobile to its rail facility about a mile away. What makes the move unusual is that utilities, such as Alabama Power, had to temporarily remove infrastructure along the path of the delivery.

“We contacted Alabama Power about taking down the power lines and getting it so that we could roll these things down the road,” said Frank Tobey, head of Maintenance and Repair for APM Mobile. “They’ve done a fantastic job for us.”

APM Terminals Mobile moves two tall cranes through Mobile from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.

Tobey says planning for delivery began about six months ago.

“There was a tremendous amount of planning that went into this,” he said. “It’s consumed my last two months.”

Patrick Murphy, vice president of Alabama Power’s Mobile Division, says several departments within Alabama Power worked together to coordinate the move, which interrupted service for a few hours Wednesday morning to about 30 customers.

“This is a major move for transmission, primary and secondary lines for Alabama Power,” Murphy said. “We have not been able to find, in the history of the company, where we’ve done a major relocation, temporarily, for something so large like this.”

Murphy adds that Alabama Power is always looking for opportunities to help customers grow and succeed.

“We want to support our customers’ growth in any way we possibly can,” he said. “We look at all aspects of opportunity to help them grow.”

Tobey says APM appreciates everyone’s help in arranging for delivery of the cranes, which will be used in APM’s intermodal rail facility in Mobile to take shipping containers on and off trains.

“Without Alabama Power, we never could have gotten this project done,” he said. “We really appreciate Alabama Power and the help they have given us.”

(Courtesy of Alabama NewsCenter)