)TojNiga73---0-7 lop)) 0 , =COI by Graham Montgomerie
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Terberg is known, if known at all, as a specialist concentrating on 8x8, 6x6 and 4x4 chassis, using mainly Volvo components. Yet it has a great range of additional interests
VE HAVE NEVER lost an order I delivery time and we have Iver said 'no' to an order." That 3s the proud boast of George irberg, managing director of :rberg, when I visited Bensop in Holland to talk about the ffnpany's products for the ecia list market.
Terberg vehicles for the UK e handled by ex-lveco boss ank Tinsdale; Swedish Autootive Products is responsible r re-export outside Western irope and North America.
Terberg Benschop 8V is still ntrolled by the Terberg family th George Terberg as managg director. The company was iginally involved in general etal work, branching out into e commercial vehicle scene at
e end of World War Two by ,nverting ex-US Army vehicles civilian use.
From here it was a gradual ocess of evolution towards the rrent Terberg range, which is ised in the main on Volvo comments although some models ve their origins to Daimlermz.
Although Terberg is best iown for its range of specialist avy-duty truck chassis, the itch company has a remarka ble diversification of interests. Apart from the trucks which range from "conventional" 4x2 chassis to the massive 8x8 models, Terberg also produces terminal tractors and ro-ro tugs for container transport as well as various vehicles for the carriage of cereals, fertilizer and other bulk agricultural loads.
One of the most interesting items in the Terberg range is the pipe carrier designed to transport pipes (for oil installations and so on) up to 24m (78ft 8in) in length. Based around Volvo components it is adjustable in length and can carry up to 45 tonnes — equivalent to six tubes with a diameter of 1,050mm (3ft 5i n).
The massive 8x8 F2000 is based around Volvo F12 components including the TD120G engine and R62 range-change gearbox. The accent is very much on heavy duty for the components which is reflected in its 50 tonnes gross capability. Terberg also builds a "baby" version which looks like an F7 as much as it looks like anything. This uses the TD100 engine and the F7 cab and has a gross weight of 44 tonnes.
The Mercedes-based chassis use the old bonnetted Merc cab and are available in 6x4 and 6x6 for gross weights of 29 and 31 tons respectively. Production capacity at Benschop depends on the type of individual model. Terberg prides itself on its flexibility with the current unemployment situation in Holland (15 per cent) making it possible to hire people for, say, four months only to fulfil a particular contract. Difficulties with the unions prevented this in the past but it has changed with the recession.
When asked by the customer to build a particular chassis the Terberg design team has to sit down and evaluate what is possible and what is not, both technically and economically. As I mentioned earlier, George Terberg is proud of his boast that his company has never lost an order on delivery time nor said no to an order.
The latter point does not however mean that Terberg will build everything. The end product has to be commercially viable for both Terberg and the operator. The "standard" product line is always used as a base, wherever possible, which is then adapted to suit the local circumstances. This could mean, for example, a heavy duty chassis and suspension as well as a tropical cooling system (larger radiator and fixed rather than thermal, fan) and extra air filters.
The delivery time is agreed upon by discussion with the customer, the end result being very much in the hands of the component suppliers. George Terberg is very conscious of this. "Building is not a problem. Getting the parts is." If the vehicle is part of the standard Terberg line-up, then four weeks is a typical delivery date from receipt of firm order.
To give an idea of the size of the operation, Terberg will hold up to 70 Volvo and 30 Mercedes engines at any one time.
The gearboxes are mainly Volvo or ZF with the Allison specified if the customer wants a fully automated transmission. The terminal/ro-ro tractors are nearly all fully automatic (in this case Clark) as are the 2.0m wide municipal vehicles (Allison) but with the bigger chassis it depends on the country and the local practice.
The suspension on Terberg chassis is almost always what could be described as heavy duty. For some countries this means just adding extra leaves. As George Terberg explained:" In the Middle East and Africa they always overload so we can predict very easily what will happen. We work on a utilisation based on twice the typical European useage."
Terberg fits air suspension on the front axles of the eightwheelers in conjuction with parabolic leaf springs. On the narrow municipal vehicles, air suspension is featured at the rear where it is useful for controlling load height as well as saving space over a conventional leaf spring arrangement. This allows the refuse hopper to be mounted about 40cum (16in) further forward so that the full capacity of the front axle can be used.
While on the subject of municipal vehicles, one of the other companies within the Terberg group is the Dutch importer for the Hestair Eagle Phoenix body.
The narrow refuse vehicle can be supplied with a variety of engines including the ubiquitous Volvo. Switzerland, Austria, and Germany take the Merc engine while Holland favours Daf.
Terberg model numbers tend
to be somewhat erratic. The letters are straightforward enough — F means forward control and SF means semi-forward or bonnetted — but the numbers are less so. The 1350 used to be operated at a 131/2 tonnes payload, but the F2000 8x8 ...? According to George Terberg its high quality means that it will still be operating in the year 2000.
For such specialist builders as Terberg, service has always been the main difficulty. The company has agents in a number of Middle East countries, for example, but more often than not service is obtained via the local Volvo or Mercedes agent. The same applies to the warranty.
In the case of some of the fixed term construction contracts for example a two-year dam building project in Algeria — Terberg often negotiates with the customer to supply not only the vehicle complete with bodywork but also any necessary parts, with a Terberg field service engineer included for the length of the contract.
This has worked well for the operator who deals with one company for the complete package and well for Terberg which gets a good feed-back of the vehicle performance in service. The details of the contract will, obviously depend upon the nature of the job.
One big headache for Terberg is the vast array of part numbers Volvo numbers, Mercedes numbers Daf numbers and so on. Separate part numbers are used for Terberg's unique components and also for parts which have been converted. As George Terberg explained: "We try to standardize as much as possible but it isn't easy." Although Terberg relies on Volvo and Mercedes in the main, it is often easier to work with other manufacturers because of existing networks. For instance, there are parts of Africa where Terberg offers an 8x8 using a drive line from Renault Vehicules lndustriels which is more familiar owing to the old French colonies. This particular vehicle also uses the Berliet cab from Renault.
A big chunk of Terberg's business is with the terminal/ro-ro tugs mentioned earlier. One particularly interesting varient was needed by a Bremen operator who insisted on an external noise level of 75 dB(A) because of the proximity of a housing area to his premises. George Terberg recalled: "We did it but the solution was expensive." The "solution" involved total engine (Deutz) en-capsulation, a special exhaust arrangement and an isolated cooling system.
Since Frank Tinsdale set up the UK operating side of Terberg about 18 months ago, 12 vehicles have been delivered — eight 8x8s and four 6x6s. If that does not sound much in motor industry volume terms, reflect on the fact that an 8x8 is priced the wrong side of £60,000.
George Terberg thinks that it is quite feasible for the UK market to increase to around 50 chassis a year in the near future, again concentrating on specialist heavy duty off-r sector.
One interesting point ra by the Terberg md was tha sees an increasing markeefo vehicles as tractive units for heavy haulage industry, par larly 8x4s because of the loading.
As well as being in the vet building business, Terber also active in the conver field. Lengthening or shortei existing chassis accounts f, high proportion of throughput while Terberg acts as a conversion speci for the major manufactul The Benschop company Ix the air suspension models the Volvo (Holland), example, and has a contra( build step-frame chassis Coca-Cola from the standard
In this way Benscl performs a very similar fun( to Volvo at Irvine by produ the low volume varients vid do not make economic sens Gothenburg.
Terberg is finding that conversion market is on th crease, particularly changir 6x4 Volvo into a 6x6, bi George Terberg ruefully ac ted: "It's often cheaper> dc than buy a Terberg)IP
The Terberg company is conscious of the constrain its particular type of open and intends for the future to centrate on more variatio existing products rather tha any further diversification. mearf that it has to contint perfoim the balancing act o speciNlist builder — to retail flexibility to satisfy the partil requirements of the custc but, at the same time, keei inventory down.