If preservation is not planned and checked, you risk corroded bearings, seized valves, damp windings and contaminated lube systems that only show up at commissioning. That means rework, warranty disputes, delayed first fire and spares that fail when you need them, turning a logistics gap into lost revenue and downtime.
USP&E as Your Guide to Equipment That Arrives Ready to Run
We understand that equipment can be damaged without ever being dropped. Since 2002 USP&E has delivered 150+ power projects and 25,000 MW contracted, and our 400+ engineers and project managers move, store and commission turbines, gensets and spares for remote and frontier sites. We work under ISO 9001:2015 and ISO 45001:2018 systems with FCPA and OFAC controls. USP&E is a full-service EPC and O&M contractor, not a broker.
Start From the Factory Preservation Record
Your preservation plan begins before the crate leaves the factory. Ask the manufacturer for a record of what was applied to each package: openings sealed, preservative oils or fogging used, desiccant bags fitted, vapour corrosion inhibitors added, humidity indicators installed and any instructions for periodic shaft rotation. Without that record your site team cannot tell what to check, what to replace or what must be removed before start-up.
Turn that record into a preservation register. List every crate and loose item, its storage class, its inspection interval and the actions due at each inspection. Large packages, control panels, generator rotors, electronic spares and consumables all need different treatment, and one register keeps your port agent, staging yard and site stores working to the same standard.
Give the register one named custodian on your team and a single version, so updates from the port and the site never conflict.
Store Each Item in the Right Conditions
Match storage to the item. Control panels, excitation cubicles, electronic cards and instruments usually need covered, dry and often climate-controlled storage. Turbine and generator packages may be stored outdoors only if they are raised on dunnage, sealed, covered and ventilated so condensation cannot collect, and only where the manufacturer allows it. Lube oil, filters, gaskets and elastomers have shelf lives that your stores system must track.
Coastal ports and tropical sites are hard on equipment. Salt-laden air and daily temperature swings drive condensation inside crates that look sealed, so check humidity indicators and desiccant more often in those conditions. Where your manufacturer requires it, rotate shafts at set intervals to protect bearings and record each rotation, because skipped turning is one of the first questions a warranty assessor will ask.
Plan security and access as well. A storage area that floods in the rainy season or cannot be reached by a forklift will defeat even the best register.
Inspect, Record and Hand Over
Inspect on schedule and log what you find with photos: desiccant condition, indicator colours, cover damage, standing water, corrosion and seal integrity. Raise a non-conformance the moment something is wrong, and fix it while it is still a small job. At installation, remove preservation exactly as the procedure requires, since preservative left in a lube system or inlet can damage equipment at first start.
The same register works across your whole fleet, whether you store used/new gas turbines, a remanufactured GE Frame 6B awaiting installation, gas turbine generators for a campus or spares for natural gas engines/stations. Plan staging space for modular gas turbine blocks, for 50 Hz and 60 Hz with capacity slots from 2028, and treat AI gas turbines, hyperscale generators and gas turbines for compute with the same discipline under one hyperscale EPC/O&M team.
Where USP&E Supports Your Power Logistics Project
For your GT spares and logistics programme, your engineering lead sits at USP&E’s Executive HQ in Johannesburg (22 Kildoon Rd, Bryanston), with Cape Town (31 Brickfield Road, Woodstock) adding design, commissioning and project depth. Southern Africa is where USP&E plans, controls and supports frontier power work across the continent.
London (162-168 Regent Street) structures finance and contracts for rotating spares, hot-section kits and containerised equipment, Colorado Springs (1755 Telstar Dr, Suite 300) and Knoxville (800 S Gay St, Suite 700) connect you to US equipment supply and US-based engineering, and Wuxi, China (No. 1, Ningzhou Road, Wuxi) follows up China manufacturing and supply chain.
For your GT preservation and storage pack, Johannesburg and Cape Town teams can audit staging yards and site stores against the register, while Wuxi checks factory preservation on China-made switchgear before it ships. Regions served: USA | AFRICA | UK | UAE | CHINA. Reach matters more than pins on a map: 150+ power projects in 45+ countries and 25,000 MW contracted since 2002, and ISO 9001 and ISO 45001 certified.
USP&E Track Record for Power Logistics
You want proof that USP&E can move and protect power equipment across long supply chains. These projects show that capability.
- USP&E supplied 28 Cummins KTA50 containerised diesel gensets, 1,275 kVA each, for Perseus Mining’s Nyanzaga Gold Project in Tanzania.
- MAN redeployment, Iraq: USP&E moved a stranded 32 MW MAN plant, plus two surplus MAN generators, across four countries to an industrial buyer facing 12 to 18 month lead times for new engines. Read the case study.
- NEOM, Saudi Arabia: USP&E supplied three zero-hour Siemens SGT-400 gas turbines as the single technical and commercial interface, and the client reported savings of over $10 million. Read the case study.
HowTo: Preserve a gas turbine package from factory to site
Your 3-step plan: 1. Share your equipment list, shipping route and storage locations under NDA. 2. Receive a preservation register with storage classes and inspection intervals. 3. Store, inspect, install and operate with accountable O&M.
- Record the factory preservation applied to each package, including openings sealed, desiccant fitted and indicators installed.
- Write a preservation register that lists every crate, its storage class and its inspection interval.
- Choose storage for each item: covered, ventilated, climate-controlled or outdoor on dunnage with covers.
- Inspect on schedule, replace desiccant, check humidity indicators and carry out any rotation the manufacturer requires.
- Log every inspection with photos and raise non-conformances before small problems become damage.
- Remove preservation to procedure at installation and hand the register to the commissioning and O&M teams.
FAQ: Smart Power GT Preservation and Storage
Why do gas turbine packages need a preservation plan in storage?
USP&E plans preservation because humidity, salt air, dust and standing still can damage equipment that was never dropped. Corroded bearings, damp windings and seized valves often appear only at commissioning, causing rework, warranty disputes and delayed first fire that a simple inspection routine would have prevented.
What is a preservation register?
USP&E uses a preservation register to list every crate and loose item with its storage class, inspection interval and the actions due at each inspection. It keeps port agents, staging yards and site stores working to one standard and becomes evidence if a warranty question arises.
Where are USP&E’s offices that support power equipment logistics?
USP&E’s Executive HQ in Johannesburg leads power equipment logistics, with Cape Town supporting site stores, inspections and commissioning. London supports structuring and finance, Colorado Springs and Knoxville connect you to US equipment supply, and Wuxi follows up China manufacturing and factory preservation before shipment.
Has USP&E delivered equipment across long supply chains?
USP&E supplied 28 Cummins KTA50 containerised diesel gensets, 1,275 kVA each, for Perseus Mining’s Nyanzaga Gold Project in Tanzania. Public case studies also include a stranded 32 MW MAN plant moved across four countries and three zero-hour Siemens SGT-400 turbines supplied to NEOM.
Is USP&E a broker for gas turbine logistics?
USP&E is not a broker. USP&E is a full-service EPC and O&M contractor that supplies, ships, stores, installs and operates power plants, so the team that preserves your equipment in transit also answers for how it performs at commissioning and beyond.
How fast can USP&E respond to a preservation and storage review?
USP&E can review your equipment list, shipping route and storage locations as soon as you share them under NDA. Engineers check factory preservation records and storage risks first, then build the register, with timing depending on manufacturer data and access to staging sites.
Can gas turbine packages be stored outdoors?
USP&E stores packages outdoors only when they are raised on dunnage, sealed, covered and ventilated so condensation cannot collect, and only where the manufacturer allows it. Control panels, electronics, instruments and excitation cubicles almost always need covered, dry and often climate-controlled storage.
Why does shaft rotation matter during long storage?
USP&E follows manufacturer instructions on periodic shaft rotation because standing bearings can suffer corrosion and marking over long storage. Each rotation is recorded in the register, since a warranty assessor will usually ask whether turning was done at the required intervals before accepting a bearing claim.
Deliver Equipment That Is Ready to Run
Get preservation right and your turbine, gensets and spares arrive at commissioning in the condition they left the factory. Get it wrong and corrosion, rework and warranty disputes cost you weeks. USP&E will help you build and run a preservation register that protects every crate from factory to first fire.
Request a fast quote for your GT spares and logistics programme on the USP&E contact page, call +27 10 822 2324 or email info@uspeglobal.com. Want to see what is available today? Search the USP&E inventory.
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