Seminar
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AT a Norde Suspension Ltd seminar, transport men from the aggregate cement and ready mixed concrete industdes expressed concern over increasing suspension maintenance costs, the problem of bodywork damage, and tyre wear associated with unladen running.
Gordon Reed of Transadvice said that the cart spring had survived, basically unchanged, since the earliest road vehicles. Operators would need to consider solid rubber and air suspensions, not as expensive gimmicks, but as essential equipment to cut downtime, and in the long term, operating costs.
Bill Johnson of Fodens Ltd emphasised the effects of inflation and how many businesses were not generating sufficient profit to continue vehicle replacement at existing levels.
Consequently, equipment will need to have a longer life — a fact which some manufacturers had already appreciated.
Capital costs and their relation to operating expenses must be studied if transport charges are to remain economic.
John Harford, Norde's director of engineering, claimed that many more operators were converting vehicles to solid rubber suspension