Reading time: approx. 6 minutes
Text: Juliane Gringer
Photos: Universal Transport
The forwarding company Universal Transport specialises in transporting heavy loads such as aircraft or wind turbine rotor blades. For more than 60 years, Universal Transport has been planning such elaborate projects with a lot of perseverance, concentration, patience as well as good material – and always under the charming company motto “… don’t worry, be heavy!”.
“We’ve never had a gramme stand still,” says Holger Dechant, Managing Director of the Universal Transport Group. “Everything we can get tied down on our vehicles, we transport.” And these are usually not just a few grammes for the Paderborn-based haulage company: it tends to move weights of several tonnes – whether aircraft, transformers, prefabricated concrete parts, combine harvesters, rotor blades of wind power plants or entire trams. The company specialises in heavy transports in the construction industry, wind power, rail, industry and large vehicles. Universal Transport has adopted the relaxed motto “… don’t worry, be heavy!”, based on the song of almost the same name by Bobby McFerrin. If you already have the well-known melody in your ears: Go ahead, hum or whistle away – the song puts you in a good mood! Dechant uses it as a ringtone on his smartphone. And he listens to it quite often.
No shyness about investments
International transport to Mexico

»We need the people who can properly handle the technology and who have good ideas for implementing transport.«
Frank Rakowski, Fleet Manager at Universal Transport
Optimal use for drum brakes
“The vehicles we use have to be absolutely reliable,” says Rakowski. Around 2,000 axles from the chassis specialist BPW Bergische Achsen KG are installed in the fleet alone. “We love driving with drum brakes because they are technically optimal for our conditions. We have found that we only have to replace them once over the life cycle of a trailer. In addition, they are very reliable and meet all our high requirements.” The axle is particularly important in a heavy transport because it has to withstand the heaviest load, explains Rakowski. BPW’s Customised Solutions business unit ensures that even the most specialised customer projects can be reliably implemented. “BPW’s quality convinces us, among other things, because we hardly ever have any damage. And if it does happen, it’s because we’ve touched down somewhere or driven over it. But we can rule out the possibility of having problems with the axle on the way.
A breakdown would mean several days off

»If there is no more tension among the people involved in a transport, it can quickly become dangerous. I always say: If we are transporting 25 wind turbines, the first and the last are the most challenging.«
Holger Dechant, Managing Director of the Universal Transport Group
Classic “grey gold”
Bureaucracy brakes
Open for alternative transport carriers


»One day I’ll drive past the wind turbine whose transport I helped plan and supervise – and see what we’ve achieved together. That’s a great moment.«
Dennis Gisella, Sales Representative at Universal Transport