1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168 
Since the merger between SAF and the Holland Group in
Page 48
Page 49
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
2006 the unified business has been making steps towards offering the 'complete axle package'.
Words: Dylan Gray Arriving at the SAF-Holland factory in Bessenbach, near Frankfurt, Germany, one could be forgiven for thinking that the recent axle shortage was merely down to the axle manufacturers deciding not to ship them from the production plant rather than a lack of raw materials and overflowing order books.
Brand new axles were lined up as far as the eye could see — yet they certainly weren't being kept there for fun.
SAF-Holland chief executive Rudi Ludwig informed us immediately that the finished axles were simply piling up because of the German Bank Holiday and the ban on trucks running on those days.
The production plant had, in fact, worked through the
SAF-Hottand worked Bank Holiday weekend, which, no doubt, trailer and through the Bank Holiday truck-makers alike will be pleased to hear.
weekend. The reason for holding a press conference was not to show how many axles could be stored at its site, but to talk about the merger between SAF and the Holland Group back in 2006, to highlight some recent products and to show how the axles are manufactured and tested.
Ambitious target
SAF-Holland aims to offer the complete package for a truck and trailer in both the US and Europe. Its current situation sets up a good base from where to start such a venture. Since the merger, the firm boasts 40 branch offices, 20 sales centres, 3,838 service points and production locations in Europe, North America, Brazil, Australia and China, As Klaus-JUrgen Stegman, vice-president of sales and marketing, says: "The merger gives us new products and a global approach."
The two major components being pushed at the conference were the integrated suspension systems for trailers, which come from the SAF side, and the fifth wheels, which come via Holland. Other products include rear-axle suspension systems for trucks, landing gear, kingpins and more.
The European trend in disc-brake trailer axles is not being followed in the US, where drum brakes are still the preferred choice. While forecasts predict that by 2011,80% of all new European trailers will be equipped with disc brakes, the forecast for the American market is that a mere 10% will use them. However, one SAF-Holland executive believes this will change as new legislation is expected.
Despite these predictions, the firm will soon be opening a drum-brake axle manufacturing plant in the US and will start selling its own axles there. Ludwig is confident that the axles will make an instant breakthrough. At the moment, a competitor's axles are sold through the previously just Holland network — and Ludwig believes it will be a simple swap from its example to the in-house ones. Only time will tell...
He remains positive over the issue of the axle shortage, saying that with a 30% increase in production capacity last year and a 25-30% increase this year the firm should be able to fill demand a lot better.
The timing of the press conference could not have been better, as SAF-Holland had just agreed a strategic aftermarket co-operation with Daf. It must he noted that Paccar is not included on the other side of the Atlantic. Daf will integrate SAF-Holland parts in its truck and trailer parts programme, as well as supplying its service dealers across Europe with SAFHolland parts. This means original SAF-Holland parts will be available at 1,100 Daf service dealers across Europe.
State of the art
Considering the size of an axle, one wouldn't expect a testing facility to resemble something that looks more suited to Cape Canaveral. The main test rig for the axles. a servo-hydraulic road simulator for development and trials. has a warehouse all to itself, complete with a separate control room. When programmed correctly, it can simulate situations from vehicles going over cobbled roads to having to make an emergency stop.
One of the engineers explained that even though the investment in such a machine is large, it saves tremendous time and effort not having to be out on the road for weeks on end collecting performance data.
The rig is so powerful that the ware house had to have a floating foundation (on air springs) installed to eliminate any surrounding vibration. The whole rig, including the floor, has a mass of approximately 1,500 tonnes. While the engineers would not release any specifics on upcoming technology, Ludwig commented on the basics of designing an axle. saying that building an axle strong enough is not a problem — it's getting the weight down so there's a hint.
The factory tour was equally impressive, seeing how an axle is produced from just a piece of metal tubing that is put through various different welding processes, machined, and then its external parts added etc.
SAF-Holland has made some bold statements about wanting to be a global player with a complete product range. It will certainly be a company to look out for. •