Trailers, large and small

Special transport and trailer manufacturer TII signed one of its most significant recent deals during Intermat, with transport and heavy lift specialist Fagioli. The Italian firm had not bought new SPMTs from TII for many years. Last year though, it used more than 100 axle lines on a complex shipbuilding job for Marinette Marine Corporation.

The two research vessels involved, the Sikuliaq and the Reuben Lasker, were built utilising modular construction methods inside climate controlled facilities where Fagioli SPMTs were inserted in very tight spaces and used to replace the construction blocks with transfer cradles.

Over 100 axle lines of SPMTs in nine different groups, moving transversally, shifted the vessels to the launching area. On the dock, the vessels were elevated about 3.5m using the SPMTs hydraulic system and jacking material. Subsequently, the high-tech ships, weighing respectively 2,000t and 3,000t, were delivered to the sidelaunching system.

The SPMTs were finally used to remove the transfer cradles to allow the launching of the ships. While this job and deal involved TII's most specialised transporters, the key innovation on its stand was a new range of trailers aimed at construction equipment hirers.

Bernd Schwengsbier, president, TII sales, says, "The strategy of the TII group, over the last 10-15 years, has been to focus on axles with hydraulic suspension. With Nicolas in the group, clients, especially in France, have been requesting axles with air suspension and straight axles. We got a lot of requests to start to compete with existing suppliers. We developed the two-toseven axle Euroflex and two-to-five axle Eurolight products for these customers."

These are lower capacity trailers, but they open the door for TII to sell its high end products. Schwengsbier says, "Some companies have five or ten of the smaller trailers, and then they invest in a big unit, and they want to do full package deals. If you're not a full programme providers, sometimes you're excluded from these deals. So now, we go back to the road programme under 100t, first for Europe, and then for the African market."

The new range brings TII's group expertise to the trailers: new LED lighting systems, a new control system displaying information from the axles on a mobile phone, and a 'very easy' control on the gooseneck.

To build the trailers, and as part of the integration of TII's Nicolas, Scheuerle, and Kamag brands, the company has extended production capacity, and made modifications at its French Nicolas facility. The company has had a complete rebuild of its internal manufacturing process, implementing a new SAP system, which allows TII to build nearly the full TII range at all three factories, while retaining the specialisation of each of its brands.

Like TII, Nooteboom showed a full range of trailers, from its threeand four-axle MCOS programme of semi low-loaders, up to its Multi-PX modular semi low-loaders. Johan van de Water, communications manager, and Stefan Salari, product manager, explained the new products on display.

"We have two products that are new for the French market. The Multi-PX semi low-loader is a product specific for heavy loads worldwide. It's a semi low-loader on pendulum axles, offered in a range of fixed configurations."

Nooteboom's van de Water explains that the company focuses on heavy loads in road transport, of up to 130t at 80mph travelling speeds. Modular semi low-loaders like the Multi-PX more easily maintain their maximum payload across borders, compared to modular trailers, and can be adapted between axle configurations with only a single lever. A triple hydraulic steering system ensures that steering characteristics are always optimal, whether the telescopic load floor is extended or not.

At the other end of the Nooteboom range is the MCOS range. The new range of semi low-loaders with hydraulic steering, launched in 2015, is designed for fast and user friendly transport of medium weight machines up to 47t. Until recently, Nooteboom says, the switch from self-steering axles to hydraulic steering required considerably more investment. The company says MCOS is a much more attractive proposition, and it has seen significantly increased demand in Europe, and especially in France. The new line of three- or fouraxle hydraulically steered semi low-loaders are offered with either a fixed or extendible load floor, in versions to meet the requirements of specific sectors. As well as being offered at a lower initial price, the MCOS's range high quality paint and components reduce maintenance costs and improve residual values.

Faymonville showed two new trailers, the CombiMax and PrefaMax. CombiMax is a modular trailer, with a range of configuration possibilities. For example, an add on beam allows the CombiMax to be turned into an extendible trailer. The trailer is offered with a huge number of accessories and in many axle widths and congfigurations. Faymonville has offered the PrefaMax range of trailers, for prefabricated concrete beams and walls, for more than 20 years. In recent years, these sections have increased in size.

This meant customers had to leave the back of the trailer open, overloading load on the axles. The new extendible PrefaMax, with a standard length of 9.5m, can be extended by 4m to 13.5m, to accommodate larger sections. The City PrefaMax starts at a length of 6.5m, designed for tight urban conditions or mountain roads, but can be extended up to a standard length of 9.5m.

For Goldhofer, star of the show was its new MPA (MacPherson Axle) technology, developed in collaboration with system partners BPW, Neumeister and Heyd.

The result is a heavy-duty vehicle that combines impressive technical specifications with the simplicity of a maintenance-free system. With a 60° steering angle and 350mm suspension stroke with minimum track difference, Goldhofer says its construction plant transporter with MPA offers outstanding maneuverability, not only on the road but also on the construction site, and a minimum loading height of just 780mm in the lowest position.

Goldhofer has extended the MPA range to include the MPA-V and MPA-K. The MPA-V is a drop-deck version with removable gooseneck. With its MPA-K system, Goldhofer now offers customers a modular solution within the MPA family, with a choice of goosenecks and front and rear bogies. That makes it possible to configure both platform and drop-deck combinations with up to 10 axles.