Twinstar innovates in chassis

CARRY THE CAN

CHASSIS • TWINSTAR LEASING IS SHOWING THAT THERE IS ROOM FOR INNOVATION IN CHASSIS DESIGN WITH A NEW SLIDER CONCEPT TO HELP OPTIMISE TANK CONTAINER MOVEMENT

A TANK CONTAINER will not go far by road on its own – it has to be carried on a chassis. In North America in particular, the leasing of specialised chassis for ISO tanks is an established business but also one that is unlikely to generate a great deal of innovation.

That is about to change, though, with the introduction this month of a new hi/lo slider chassis by leading chassis leasing firm Twinstar Leasing. The new chassis, designed in collaboration with Kwik Equipment of Pearland, Texas, can carry two empty ISO tanks at the same time and is, says Larry Lofland, director of operations and sales at Twinstar, the first such chassis to be able to do so while being low enough to pass under road bridges safely.

Additionally, the new chassis slides from 30 to 40 feet, allowing it to back fully up to a dock so workers do not have to walk up on the deck, thus creating a safer working environment.

“I wanted a chassis that can do everything,” Lofland says, happy to see to fruition a project he championed after joining Twinstar last year. The only disappointment is that Twinstar has been unable to launch the new chassis as planned at this year’s National Tank Truck Carriers (NTTC) Tank Truck Week, as it has had to be moved to a virtual event along with most other gatherings due to the Covid-19 outbreak.

Lofland has, therefore, had to go back to the old-school way of doing things: picking up the phone and talking to his customers, and he reports a lot of interest in the new concept. One particular benefit is that the ability to carry two empty tanks at once provides more options for deploying the chassis, opening up possibilities in triangulation and higher asset utilisation.

LEASING THROUGH THE CRISIS The current health crisis has indeed had an undeniable impact on Twinstar’s operations, with industrial activity slowing and its customers becoming more attentive to pricing. While Twinstar itself has been able to transfer its personnel to home working, the same has not been the case at the depots and service centres that it uses around the US to keep its chassis in top condition.

While Twinstar has been able to do get the necessary repairs and maintenance carried out, Lofland says, it has been something of a struggle. Fortunately, all of Twinstar’s chassis are fitted with GPS tracking, so it is possible to plan maintenance and repair activities ahead of time.

Also, more fundamentally, the leasing option is designed to minimise costs for chassis users. Twinstar’s customers are not all high-volume tank container users and so it offers short-term – even month-by-month – leases on its equipment for companies just starting to use intermodal transport. The price of a new chassis can be as much as $40,000 so, especially for occasional users, the leasing option is usually much more favourable, allowing them to invest in their own operations rather than in buying their own chassis fleet.

Twinstar Leasing is based in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina and works with partners in locations across the US to provide its chassis to customers. Twinstar Leasing was established in 1984 by Arthur Schmidt Jr and remains in family ownership; his daughter Margie Schmidt joined the firm in 1993 and continues to manage it. She says: “Our goal is to provide you with the most personalised, knowledgeable tank chassis leasing service in the world!” www.twinstarleasing.com

TWINSTAR’S FOCUS ON CHASSIS LEASING MAKES