Trailers shining through Belgian slump
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Belgium's fifth annual trailer fair had plenty to attract international hauliers, despite the Continental recession.
by Bryan Jarvis • Last week's Trailer '93 show took place in Kortrijkt near Brussels amid a Belgian general strike. Truck and trailer sales have fallen by 37% and 30% respectively.
Belgian's problems are far from unique: even the neighbouring mighty German economy is having its problems— major trailer manufacturer Blutnhardt, which is half-owned by Northern ireland-based Ballyvesey Holdings, went into receivership in October.
Potential
The Newtownabbey group has now bought the other 50% and, with Craven Tasker and Montracon, has the potential to benefit from Blumbardt's development work in East European markets.
As well as showcasing new products, Trailer '93 gave an insight into the way that main
land EC trailer and equipment makers are targeting the UK in a bid to take up production slack, Transamerica Leasing and Van Hool both worked extremely hard to win the lucrative Ford "super cube" trailer order against formidable UK, French and German opposition.
Eighteen months of tough negotiations left Van Hool with an order for 367 lifting-roof 100m3 'mega' trailers from Transamerica, which snatched a five-year deal from under the noses of major leasing firms.
The curtainsiders have a 2.96m internal height within the 4.0m continental overall limit; with SAF dual-height air-suspended running gear they can couple to units with 0.95m or 1.25m fifth-wheel heights.
Not to be outshone, Tip reminded visitors of its 1993 order for 1,300 trailers and new additions to its pan-European fleet. These include 108m3 raising-roof Tautliners on Krone chassis capable of taking 34 Euro-pallets; Norfrig hanging meat reefers; Talson garment vans; Broshuis extendibles; Krone curtainsiders and skeletals; and Pacton sliding-roof tilts.
Talson also showed its new 100m3 multi-use box van with lifting/sliding roof for fork-lift loading. Tare weight is 8.0 tonnes.
The 13.68m frameless trailer runs on tri-RO-R axles and 19.5in twins; it has slotted strips at 60cm for adding extra decking or simply to secure loads.
Versatility
Van Hool demonstrated the versatility of its new Super Universal tilt trailer which combines standard bodywork with a slide-back roof and recessed floor for carrying coiled steel as well as conventional goods. The floor has square slots to hold the retaining frames required by some companies. Sturdier drop sides are added to comply with Belgian requirements when carrying chemicals.
Canadian company Fabrex builds aluminium heavy-duty waste carriers which it is now importing into Europe via a French agent. The company is also eyeing the UK market.
Its automated line in Quebec is turning out two units a day and there is extra capacity. They can be equipped with Walking or Running floors to give unloading times of 15 and seven minutes respectively. The 85m3 example on show weighs 8.0 tonnes and costs between £43-45,000 in Belgium.
LAG exhibited an 85.5ri3 aluminium tanker for the mainly. Metalair Nexus fleet: it's one of four ordered prior to TDG's acquisition of the Youngs fleet. LAG is also building its first composite tanker which is due for completion early next year.
It will be built to maximum capacity and, with special lining coatings introduced into the composite mix, it will be able to handle hazardous liquids or granules.
Steering system
Dutch steering system manufacturer Tridec showed a neat hydraulic fifth-wheel steering system for single or multi-axle trailers. Key features of the HS design include its shallow (130mm) front section and in• line cylinders. These avoid the unequal pressures that it claims brings instability in had weather.
German coupling maker Hunger of Rodenbacher also displayed a tidy hydraulic coupling for drawbars and a maintenance-free fifth wheel with Teflon top surface.
It locks hydraulically and releases using a hand pump mechanism on the side.
Among the drawbars on show, Format of Mane had one which highlighted the benefits of fitting the latest 60-aspect tyres. Based on a Mercedes 2534 rigid with 285/60R 22.5s and front-to-rear air suspension, the low-floored outfit gives maximum carrying capacity as well as a drive-out facility for its 8.2m and 7.15m drop bodies. The trailer's folding front doors and drop flap allows the rig to be through-loaded by fork lift.
Format has begun a joint body/trailer-building venture in Thailand, which it hopes will supply the Malaysian, Cambodian and Taiwanese markets.
Nooteboom exhibited its latest hydraulic-steer multi-axled step-frame trailers that extend to 22.6m.
Wabco demonstrated its ECAS air suspension which has an automatic raise/lower, even with the unit disconnected. It responds faster than conventional systems, and because the system isolates the trailer from the unit it uses less air too. An integral memory is included and the whole system can be checked from a single electrical socket.
Feldbinder is adding bitumen tankers to its UK offerings and is cutting the spec quality of its powder tankers to compete with UK manufacturers. Tank top stiffening and extra storage bins are being dropped while the inner machining will be to the minimum requirement.