TransCube fuel tanks find place on World Trade Center Memorial project

A US company is having success renting and selling Western's Transcube fuel containers to many of the contractors working on the World Trade Center (WTC) Memorial project in New York.

Berco Tank, a Connecticut-based company specialising in fuel storage tank rentals and sales, has supplied 16 fuel storage tanks to 10 contractors working on the project, with eight out on rental and eight more purchased.

Hank Berberat, owner of Berco Tank, took on the Western range of fuel tanks in late 2008 shortly after founding the company. The timing turned out to be perfect, because just months before there had been a fuel spillage incident on the WTC site when a tank modified for crane lifting was unable to contain a fuel surge as it was moved.

"Nine out of ten times a modified tank might do the job just fine," said Mr Berberat. "But it can be problematic because generally there's no real engineering involved. It's usually just a guy in a shop making adjustments to where it appears to be a structurally sound unit."

Contractors on the site sought an alternative solution for fuel storage and transport on the site. "They needed a tank that was legally certified to be lifted with fuel inside," said Mr Berberat. "And they need fuel there every day, so they had to come up with an answer quickly. I got a phone call and told them about a product that would fit the bill."

Among the 16 Transcube tanks on site there are three different sizes offering capacities of 600 l (132 gallons), 1200 l (264 gallons) and 2400 l (528 gallons).

"Our focus is on tanks that offer secondary containment," said Mr Berberat, "Sometimes customers need tanks for hazardous materials, but primarily they're using them for fuel supply for their machines."

The tanks are being used to fuel excavators, bulldozers and other construction vehicles at the WTC Memorial site. Many are performing excavation and foundation work in a hole 26 m (85 ft) deep, with fuel tanks lowered to the bottom of the tank by crane.

"Being able to transport a container while it still has fuel in it is a significant advantage," said Mr Berberat, whose fleet has now grown to include 13 Transcube tanks. "Standard tanks have to be emptied, but sometimes even with good planning there's fuel left over.

"In one instance a local fuel company was delivering one of my rental Transcubes full of diesel to a jobsite every day. Because of site constraints and safety concerns, the contractors didn't want the tank sitting there while they worked, so the fuel company immediately took it off site after it had fueled the equipment. The Transcube made that arrangement possible.

"Some companies decided to use Transcube even though they aren't moving their fuel," said Mr Berberat. "They're taking a proactive approach to make sure they don't have any issues with inspectors down the road. All told, there are 10 different companies using our tanks at the site."

Most of Berco's Transcube units are expected to remain on duty for the duration of the WTC Memorial project, which is scheduled for completion by 2013.