Trailer Innovation From Schmitz

As we all are all aware the global recession has affected all major sectors of industry and perhaps the automotive sector and its allied industries more than most, but of these, the trailer sector was one of the worse to be hit.

Schmitz Cargobull last year made a huge decision to pull the plug on it‘s 44,000m² Harelaw facility in Durham, effectively ending 19 years of UK production. In fairness to Schmitz, they didn’t have much choice, turnover had dropped in the preceding two years by nearly 70% as a result of the global recession and the company were almost forced to relocate production back to the continent. 

Now though, sales, production and turnover are on the up, and Schmitz are keen to reassure UK operators that although production has ceased, it will continue to “focus on delivering a great quality product and service is as good as ever”.

“At Schmitz, it starts with selling the right product”, explains Andreas Schmitz, “and we constantly work with our customers to offer the most competitive product on the market. Being a global company, we aim to be the best which can range from very basic things such as a full bill of materials, which many of our competitors still don’t comply with, up to very important services like finance, telematics, emergency calls, part workshops, servicing, second-hand vehicle selection and depots.”

“We have found that the second-hand vehicle selection and depots are very important to the customer because it helps significantly with the Total Cost of Ownership (TCO), and we even export 8,000-10,000 trailers each year to Russia, in order to get the best price for our customers.”

"The rental utilisation of trailers remains around 90% and we believe this is partly down to our connection with Russia to help relinquish access stock. Not only does this aid the long term valuation of our trailers, but also generates more demand for new trailers, and we’re currently receiving around 150 reefer orders a day.”

Schmitz were also looking at more practical ways to turn the slump in demand around too. This is meant, the Schmitz Cargobull went back to the drawing board and gave Europe’s largest trailer manufacturer a chance to revise it’s range and bring in the next generation of products.

New S.Ko Reefer - Sixth Generation

The sixth generation of the S.Ko Cool Reefer was one such revision, boasting no more than 18 key improvements such as the HDR (Highly Dent Resistant) internal walls made by Ferroplast, a significantly stronger and impact resistant material, steel profiling of the floor, wall and roof increasing the insulation, temperature reliability and fuel efficiency, as well as a modified partition with a new locking indicator and an optimised spring force for ease of use. On top of this, Schmitz invested €10 million for the new NX17  insulation foam which is to be standard on the new trailer.

“At the moment, Schmitz take up number two spot in the UK’s reefer market, and we’re confident the sixth generation is a product that can take us further”, says Paul Avery, MD of Schmitz Cargobull UK, “it’s a lot lighter, better insulated, fuel efficient, and we’re offering it at a very competitive price.” Of course one of the main consequences of the recession meant that manufacturers such as Schmitz Cargobull pulled back on their production and so delivery times to the UK are between 3 and 4 months.

Time Saving

Of course the old adage “Time is money” is as relevant today as at anytime and with this in mind, the team at Schimitz Cargobull turned their attention to the old stalwart of the transport industry: the curtainsider. They wanted to develop a new design which would help transport operators achieve greater turn around times and therefore increase productivity. As a result, the new Speed Curtain is another trailer on the list, living up to it’s name, the Speed Curtain can be opened and shut in around 60 seconds, compared with just under 10 minutes on that of a conventional trailer. It works by ditching the sliding posts, curtain buckles and rigging board in favour of integrated micro-stanchions which are contained within the curtain, which means all the driver has to do is unlock and slide. Four vertical locking have been introduced to provide rear load securing and to help support the roof , resulting in much faster and easier turn around times at the depot.

Fuel Efficiency

In the run up to the recession, the price of crude oil increased around 40% prompting Schmitz to develop more fuel efficient trailers. Supplementing the Mega and Universal ranges, the new X-Light series was developed and can help operators save up to £950 in fuel costs per trailer a year. But it’s the increase in payload rather than the fuel savings that are the main advantage of the X-Light series; an incredible 1,210kg increase on the Mega X-Light, 300kg on the Universal X-Light, 680kg on the Paper X-Light and 710kg on the Coil X-Light.

But if fuel efficiency is really what you’re after (and let’s face it, it probably is!), then the EcoCargo curtainsider is the prime candidate.

“Fuel consumption and carbon reduction are defining topics of the transport’s future”, says Christopher Bleker, Head of Curtainsider Product Management, “with the EU increasingly scrutinising heavy emissions from heavy commercials and the increasing price of diesel. In an average truck, nearly 30% of the energy from fuel is lost through aerodynamics and roll resistance, and to minimise their effects, we implemented measures like reduced roll resistant tyres, a new lightweight body, a curved bulkhead, aerodynamic side skirts the use of two axles instead of three”.

Of course removing an axle is not always a viable option; indeed, the question that most people will ask when an axle is removed is bound to be, “What about the payload and - perhaps more importantly - what about the loading tolerance?”. Well, compared with the 3-axle Schmitz Universal there is only a difference of one tonne in the payload, and the self-steering BPW axle will save between 2-6% on fuel depending on its operation. Finally, according to Schmitz Cargobull athe average level of capacity utilisation for long-distance transport is less than 80%, the slightly lower payload would not be on issue in most cases.

Keeping with the fuel saving theme, the curvy design of the EcoCargo saves, 2.17% fuel, the addition of side-skirts saves 3.55% and finally an aerodynamic rear deflector saves 3.13% resulting in a very impressive , 7.9% fuel consumption reduction.

The Future - Longer Trailers?

The increase in traffic on European roads and transport costs have led many truck associations, such as the RHA and the FTA, to pressure the DfT and the European Commission to continually look and reviewed all aspects of the curren t construction and use regulations as well as the wider truck and trailer regulations we all operate under.

Although drawbars aren’t as popular in the UK as mainland Europe other than for specialised areas or rather niche markets such as the transport of cereals or mattresses for example, , the possibility of 25.25m version may draw in more support but whilst the infrastructure and . At present, the overall length of a drawbar is limited to 18.75m, but there are plans to extend this 6.5m. Schmitz have the advantage if this legislation goes ahead as they already manufacture EuroCombi’s for their Scandinavian foresting market were it is legalised.

Last month, the DfT announced it will be lifting the trailer length restriction of 13.6m for 1,800 trailers (900 at 14.6 and 900 at 15.65m), over the next 10 years in a Special Vehicle Order trial. Again, Schmitz are well positioned as they are already manufacturing trailers at the 14.6m limit for their Australian market, and has announced it can easily be extended.

Summary

It’s quite clear the world of trailers has been through a very torrid period , but as they say “necessity is the mother of invention” and in the case of Schmitz Cargobull this has resulted in key developments in trailer design and construction that should help the road transport sector achieve greater utilisation and fuel efficiency which is a good thing for everyone.

 

 

This article was supplied courtesy of i-Truck. →