Are we missing European boat?
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by Bryan Jarvis • According to Board of Trade President Michael Heseltine, not enough UK firms are taking advantage of the benefits of single market trading. Judging by the turnout at the recent Brussels Show he may have a point.
Marsden Vanplan and Hendrickson were the only UK manufacturers making their continental debuts; other Britishexhibitors which are already established on the Continent with local agents included GRP Massey, Henderson Doors (with its new full-length nylon hinges), Hydraroll and Hatcher.
There were new products aplenty, like Van Hool's 13.5m sub6.0-tonne tri-axled Euro Light tilt trailer—but there was also evidence that the Continent is far from immune to the recession.
Plasti-Baeten NV, a 30-year-old manufacturer of reefer trailers and body kits went into receivership just before Christmas, while bus and trailer giant Kassbohrer recently sold off a large chunk of its production facility to Kogel.
Better news came from Aluvan, which used the show to launch its Telmokit curtainsider body system for semi-trailers.
It comprises five elements: sliding side curtains with aluminium/wood or plain sides; six or eight stanchions; front bulkhead; two-door rear closure; and a sliding roof. Typical weight for a 13.5m, 2.9m-high kit minus side supports is 1,377kg.
Among the high-spec reefers on show, Van Dijck's full-length Volumax used a shallow semitrailer frame with 265/70R 19.5in tyres on BPW tri-wded running gear to achieve 2.85m of headroom and 95m3 of load volume. Variable air suspension enables the trailer to couple to standardheight fifth wheels.
The bolt-down body has an integral rubbing plate and is cooled by the narrow Thermo King SMX unit.
Germain Deconinck of Waregem showed a version of its neat Unitrans slideback body for car or plant recovery, based on a cutaway Citroen C25 chassis-cab.
Using twin Bramber axles at the rear with Flexiride hydraulic suspension and underfloor rams, the body pivots down to the rear for ground-level loading.
Wheelbases range from 22 to 5.0m and suitable bodywork can be added. The show model wasrated at 4.6 tonnes GVW and weighs 2.7 tonnes unladen.
GDW also showed its electrohydraulic auxiliary drive system that allows market trailers to be positioned without the use of a prime mover.
Growing interest in intermodal traffic has led Kassbohrer to develop trailers capable of mounting on to P45-height French and Italian rail wagons.
With the TransAlpine version on display the brackets ahead of the axles fit on to the rear rail bogie with a fifth-wheel-type mounting on the front bogie. As the air system is exhausted large coil springs under the chassis counter the downward swing of the axles. Kassbohrer's Novo system for French traffic uses swingdown front corner brackets with the wheels positioned securely on the rear bogie. Both systems require the side and rear guards to be folded away.
Kaiser, which is now building Guillaume's semi-circular tipper body (it bought the patent last year) also showed its Euro King Kube 13.4m tilt trailer, based on tri-SAF axles with 19.5in tyres.
Its new design of air suspension is derived from parent company Lohr's car tranporter system. It allows the trailer to couple to low-height tractors at 950 and 1,150mm without being more than 10 from the horizontal.
The 8,200kg Libner body has a 2.96m ceiling and gives 100m3 of load volume.
Alongside an 11.43m-long, 62m3 version of its Ultralight cereal trailer, STAS of Waregem showed a high-volume waste trailer with walking-floor deck and variable-height suspension for coupling to standard or lowheight tractors The 13.45m semitrailer's BPW air suspension can be adjusted and the body height increased to give a choice of 86 or 102m3 load volumes, yet still remain within the 4.0m continental height limit.
Body side members are cliptogether aluminium extrusions covered by a wind-over tarp; the Jost landing legs are also extendible.