Haiti

The destination is Haiti! A state that covers the western portion of the Caribbean island Hispaniola. In the east, Haiti borders the Dominican Republic . Haiti's present-day population of about 8.5 million are predominantly of African origins. In the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince, GROSS is supplying the "Brasserie Nationale d'Haïti" brewery with two cylindro-conical fermentation and storage tanks.

The problems encountered in this project are rather special in nature: Haiti is located in the path of tropical hurricanes. Most recently, Hurricane Jeanne in September 2004 caused substantial damage in the region round the town of Gonaïves, leaving around 3,000 peopel dead.This constitutes important information for GROSS, playing a vital role right from the beginning in tank design and computing the statics involved.

But that's not all: since at the scheduled delivery date there is social unrest on the island, no ships are available that are suitable for under-deck delivery, since no one is prepared to dock in Haitian ports. After a lengthy search, a shipping line is nonetheless found, but it can only transport the tanks on deck . This, however, is problematic , since the stainless steel tanks are there not protected against salt water, and are accordingly exposed to severe corrosion. Consequently,  the tanks have to be provided at short notice with a protective coating, and the non-coated parts covered with protective film. This ensures that the consignment from Steisslingen reaches its destination in the Caribbeean undamaged.