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enough selecting five category winners from this broad field of entries, bearing in mind the strong flavour of problem-solving, knowhow, operator experience and sheer engineering excellence they displayed. Choosing an overall victor called for even closer scrutiny.
Wilson Double-Deck Trailers has spent the past decade convincing operators that carrying fresh air in the top of their trailers instead of parcels is wasteful of energy and load space.
Now more express carriers are making more of otherwise unused roof space, relying on multi-decked trailers to service their business hubs.
The Belfast-based manufacturer has progressed to a range of fixed and movingdeck trailers as well as an innovative deck tanker with curtained or fixed side upper bodywork with a large capacity tank beneath the floor.
Yet another bright star is its Parcels trailer which will soon be under assessment by almost every national Post Office in Europe.
However, it was the latest twin-deck European that caught the eyes of the judges. So far 100 are in use.
With Wilson's own swing-arm suspension, plain exterior GRP panelling and a new aluminium floor, the cavernous double decker made a great impression, fighting off some tough opposition to come out tops in its own Dry Freight category and emerging as best in its class.
Nene Trailers came up with the answer to field produce hauliers' difficulties when discharging root crops. It has clearly resulted from extensive head scratching and some highly innovative design work too and took the top marks in its group.
Equally, Schmitz Cargobull UK's big reefer is typical of the high grade temperaturecontrolled trailers presently cruising the highways and byways delivering food to shops and supermarkets. It just edged ahead of a classy looking group that attracted high marks from the judges.
Despite a lack of bulky superstructure above the waistline, Andover Trailers' Superlow step frame low loader exuded engineering quality Well designed from both the owner's and drivers viewpoint, the Carmichael entry was highly regarded by judges and came the closest to causing an upset. Both the judges and the competing manufacturers regarded it as a fine product against which other low loaders might be compared.
Little wonder
Little wonder that Goldhofer chose Andover as a trading partner to bolster the lower end of its ultra heavy-haul product line-up and help penetrate the UK market.
Cadzow runs 28 Special Type trailers with 20 to 120 tonne payloads and half are built by Andover Trailers. Director Jim Macauley, who helped with the development of the Superlow, paid it a glowing complement: "We bought our first one for £13,000 in 1985," he said. "It covered 400,000 miles in five years then we sold it almost as new for £10,000. That's brilliant".
Yet despite these considerations,there was total unanimity among our judges that the
ultimate accolade of CM'S Trailer of the Year should go to Thompson Carmichael's spirit tanker.
All agreed that the 5000-Series is a good looking, high-quality lightweight monocoque tanker. Built at its Bilston, West Midlands factory, this is the product of extensive CAD and finite-element stress analysis (FEA) work that has produced three distinctive features: new compartment dividers, revised suspension mountings and a recessed fifthwheel plate.
The net result has been reduced unladen weight and a lower overall profile that makes no sacrifice on operational safety.
It's a 41,000-litre bottom loader designed for working at 44 tonnes gross which, at UK limits, provides a 37,000-litre/27-tonne capacity. Payload is king with the bulk carriers, which is why Thompson's 5000Series has attracted so much interest from the major bulk fuel distributors. Its first user,Tankfreight, gained maximum payload by marrying it to light tractor.
Although design work started over two years ago, the first examples only entered service in June and so far there are around 20 in use with major fuel companies.
Road transport is coming under increasingly closer scrutiny but it's doubtful whether anti-truck lobbying groups will appreciate the standards set by trailer manufacturers like Thompson. However, its state-of the-art 5000-Series spirit tanker will certainly see the millenium in, and deservedly so. In our judges' opinion, it is the best of an excellent bunch.