12/12/2007 Hanover, November 2007. Can a solidly-built stone church be moved to a new location without having to be pulled down? Yes, it can - with the help of Continental industrial tyres. This event - the only one of its kind in either church or transport history - actually took place in late October 2007. The Emmaus Church in Heuersdorf, Saxony was moved twelve kilometres (over 7.5 miles) to the nearby town of Borna. The village of Heuersdorf is due to disappear because of mining, but the inhabitants wanted to save the church. That meant moving a weight of just under 700 t. The operation was carefully planned, with the church being slowly and yet most spectacularly transported out of Heuersdorf past the village sign. A tearful farewell. Many people made a special outing to see the church on its journey as it was rolled over the River Pleiße, then the level crossing, another river and into the centre of Borna.

A sensitive touch - remote-controlled precision steering of the heavy vehicle by one man alone. Photo: Günther Hunger

Scheuerle, a South German company based in Pfedelbach, built the transport vehicle, which is guided and braked by remote control; in addition, each axle, with its 40 t maximum weight, can be individually steered, making the vehicle astonishingly manoeuvrable. Christian Scheuerle's company was founded back in 1869 as a forge. In 1949, the vehicle factory designed and sold the first modern low loader, with a mechanically steered undercarriage and mechanical axle compensation. For Scheuerle, technical innovations and advances in heavy-duty transport technology are top priority. The company welcomes the challenge of setting new benchmarks in the heavy duty transport sector, with a team of specialists assigned to working in all development areas using the latest computer-assisted software.

Based in Rotterdam in the Netherlands, Mammoet specialises in tricky transportation tasks, particularly in the petrochemical industry, in building power stations, in offshore projects and other commercial assignments. Mammoet has extensive experience in transporting objects weighing over 2,000 tons and measuring more than 100 metres in length. The company's advanced technical equipment is complemented by its many years of experience and expertise in this field.

Precision work - it's a fairly tight fit. Photo: Günther Hunger

Mammoet Deutschland was given the task of carrying out the specatcular relocation. The success of the project, which involved high-precision manoeuvring in the centre of Borna, was also due to the 160 Continental IC 40 Extra Deep industrial pneumatic tyres fitted to the vehicle, in a size that is highly suitable for such tasks - 355/65-15. It is not just the weight, but also the movement of the individual wheels, that places high demands on the tyres, because each axle can be individual steered - whilst stationary and through a radius of 360°. This means that the tyres are subjected to enormous forces. The IC40 Extra Deep in the special size 355/65-15 is however designed specifically for such arduous tasks. The sophisticated technology of the transport vehicle is impressive and the performance of the tyres equally so.

Physical effort and meticulous adjustment of the individually steered wheels is needed. Photo: Günther Hunger

"This pneumatic tyre is extremely rugged, very stiff and suitable for heavy loads" explained Hartmut Weinhold, Automotive Engineer, PDC Industrial Tyres. The transporter has a high centre of gravity and it is very important that it doesn't start swaying - so deflection and lateral flexing on the tyre have to be kept to a minimum to ensure the vehicle remains stable. The tyres also have to stand up to the steering movements within extremely tight spaces. So along with their prayers, undoubtedly the know-how provided by the Hanover-based tyre specialist Continental helped to give the churchgoers a safe new location for their place of worship.

Church on wheels - 1,700 tons running on a whole battery of Continental IC 40 Extra Deep tires. Photo: Günther Hunger

Continental is the only tyre manufacturer to supply a comprehensive range of industrial tyres, making it the No. 1 in Germany and Europe, and one of the top three worldwide.

The Continental Corporation is a leading automotive supplier of tyres, brake systems, chassis components, vehicle electronics and technical elastomers. In 2006 the corporation realised sales of EUR14.9 billion. At present it has a worldwide workforce of approximately 89,000.

The tyre divisions are an Official Sponsor of UEFA EURO 2008^TM, which will be held in Austria and Switzerland in June 2008. For further details, visit the websites www.ContiSoccerWorld.de, www.ContiFanWorld.com and www.conti-online.com.