Ten days in Paris
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• The second International Body Building and Semitrailer Show is just a part of the Paris Motor Show which lasts for ten days at the Port de Versailles Exhibition Centre. In 1988 75,000 visitors from the transport industry attended the first trade show so this year space was increased by 25% to 80,000m2.
At every show we hope to come across a product which is not only unique in design but also provides advantages for the operator. The lightweight articulated tipper body/chassis from S Benne Guillaume of La Val fulfills that requirement on both counts.
The semi-cylindrical body, designed to give stick-free discharge and lower load heights, has matching sheetsteel body and chassis of the same thickness, although made of different strength materials. Both are pressed in a single length, up to 9m, and the body section is welded along a centre join.
The tail gate, linked to the tipping gear, opens and shuts automatically. Twoand three-axle versions offer volumes of 19m3 and 21m3 for all normal tipping operations from rock to sand. Guillaume holds an international patent and is seeking an international partner to help develop markets for the product.
Maisonneuve claims to be the second largest manufacturer of stainless steel road tankers in France. While it had several models on show the ribbed outer skin of its insulated tank brought an aesthetic feature with added strength. The 28,000 litre tanks are used to carry edible products such as wine and oil giving a 26-tonne payload within the French 40 tonne upper weight limit.
Maisonneuve says it builds some 250 tankers a year, all to customer's individual requirements. The show model was based on a stainless steel chassis. The company exports to Belgium and Africa hut as yet not to the UK.
Lamberet has built a reputation for its reefer bodies and now its open-wall design gives maximum access to any part of the load, from either side, with minimum rise in temperature. The 13.35m trailer will accommodate up to 32 Europallets. Each of the side doors are wider than the pallet and normally only one needs to be opened to reach a particular part of the load.
Since Vanhool took over Logbus of Bree, in Belgium, its bus building capacity has become second only to Setra in Europe. But in Paris it was its Pressure-Box Bulk Tipping Container which once again caught the eye. Introduced two years ago, loading and unloading pressures have now been increased up to 2 bar (291b/in2). The square section, aluminium tank container is available in standard 20ft, 30ft, and 40ft versions. The show model, offering a 55m3
volume is a 10m version which is intended for intermodel road/rail operation for the transport of granules or powder products. It has an unladen weight of just 3,4 tonnes.
Freuhauf carried out much of its development work of fatigue strengths for its new curtain sided Speed Slide semi-trailer, incorporating an aluminium cant rail, in England at MIRA. The side curtains are reinforced in areas subject to wear and the tension straps are welded into the material, Extra side support can he added by placing tilt boards between the movable side supports on the inside. The design promotes the trend for top loading with a sliding sheet and removable rear cross member, For the first time a semitrailer has been built with an aluminium frame which can carry 26 tonnes. The Speed Loader, designed to carry steel coils, with a centre well, which can be boarded over to carry other types of loads, offers a 1.5 tonne payload over steel, but costs about £4,500 more says Benalu.
Another first for the French company is the use of GKN's composite spring. It weighs just 6kg. a saving of 29kg over a steel multi-leaf pack or 174kg for a tri-axle bogie. It should become available through Crane Freuhauf from about June 1991.
With the higher weight limit, set at 40 tonnes in France, high-volume trailers are much in demand. Trailor offers nine standard models in addition to standard curtainsiders and tilt bodies. With the introduction of the 13.5m semi-trailer the standard Maxicube model has been enlarged. The Maxicuhe Plus has a volume of 85mi and on air suspension in tri-axle configuration has an unladen weight of 7.5 tonnes.
Blond-Baudouin provides a high payload of 27 tonnes with its top-slide aluminium chassis curtainsider. It is intended to carry granules or wood chippings, and to prevent curtain bulge these are reinforced with horizontal webbing as well as the vertical straps. But it is expensive with a heavier steel version costing about £37,000.
Schmitz Cargobuil reefer box, made in West Germany, has been imported into the UK over the last two years. Its coated and bonded steel/foam sandwich panels are said to be used extensively for reefer body building in North America. The 1.2m wide Ferroplast sections are interlocked to produce the length of panel required.
The structure can be made self supporting to increase internal height to 2.6m as well as to lower unladen weight. The rear door seal has four barriers against a thermic path and is made in a single piece. The 13.2m internal length model weighs just 7.6 tonnes.
Acrymat belongs to a group of companies which leads the rest of France in the use of composite materials. Its range of top sleeper pods will fit vehicles as small as the Renault Trafic and as large as the Volvo F12.
El by Bill Brock