launcH Pad

| News 148 | cover sTorY A new trailer brand is set to make its mark in the irish market with the appointment by Netherland-based d-Tec of setanta vehicles sales as its distributor in the republic of ireland. in Northern ireland, belfast-based setanta subsidiary, diamond Trucks will offer d-Tec products for sale, while in the UK mainland d-Tec will be marketed through setantamajority owned Trailertec UK out of warrington.

d-Tec Trailers launch in ireland with setanta vehicle sales

setanta vehicle sales have sold this flexi Trailer to Murphy Transport in cork

gerrit van vlastuin, ceo of d-Tec

setanta vehicle sales is well known as the distributor in ireland for renault Trucks as well as Knapen, Meiller and dennis eagle. The company is also adding another dutch manufacturer to its portfolio in Moving floor Trailer specialist Kraker Trailers.

“setanta vehicle sales Ltd is excited to add both Kraker Trailers and d-Tec Trailers to our sales portfolio for distribution in ireland,” said Alfred baker, dealer Principal at setanta vehicle sales. “Kraker Trailers and d-Tec are renowned manufacturers in europe, producing trailers of the highest quality made up of the latest technologies and designs to deliver robust trailers that deliver best-in-class performance. with these attributes, the brands fits perfectly with the ethos here at setanta. setanta vehicles sales North will support customers via our trailer aftersales division that operates 12 hours a day Monday to friday and 6 hours of a saturday with a 24/7 breakdown support arm. in addition to this, diamond Trucks in Ni will sell and support customers in the northern region of ireland.”

d-tEc - oVEr sIxtY YEars oF FaMIlY ExPErtIsE

Although it may not be too familiar to irish operators, d-Tec boasts a history going back over 63 years. based in ochten, about an hour to the south-east of Amsterdam, the company was founded in 1959 as a stove-making business by Jan van vlastuin. over time the vladstuin group started supplying parts for the transport sector, producing its first patented combitrailers in the 1990’s under the operating company name d-Tec. separately Jan’s son, gerrit established an engineering office called vlastuin Mest Applications (vMA) which developed a system for the automatic sampling of slurry, solid manure and tamper-proof packaging. in 2006 gerrit took over the vlastuin group.

Today d-Tec’s transport solutions reflect the heritage of both companies. while it is probably best known for its container trailers, the company also produces tipper trailers with steel or aluminium bodies and tank trailers for manure and non-hazardous waste materials. it is a major provider of manure transportation trailers in the Netherlands and benelux markets, with the vMA side of the business the market leader in sampling, data registration and liquid manure weighing transport equipment. having grown continuously since 2008, d-Tec acquired the vogelzang and bulthuis trailer brands from vb Trailerbouw in 2018, with trailers produced at bedum in the north of the country. The company also took over Jiannis, a rental fleet in rotterdam last year and also sells and services agricultural and building machinery. speaking at a pre-iAA press event at the company’s headquarters in ochten, gerrit van vlastuin explained that at the core of the family-run business’s design and manufacturing philosophy is a focus on lightweight products underpinned by high quality welding.

“You will see in our company welding is our speciality. we are very good welders. we have been iso 9001-2015 certified since 1999 and are also welder certified. we undertake engineering in 3d, laser cutting, bending welding, matching in, coating and assembly. we are known for producing a very good chassis.”

Tipper 49m3-2

nEW coMPact scraP tIPPEr

At the media event, d-Tec showcased some of the new products on display at the iAA show. They included a new smaller tipper with a volume of 49 m³ for the recycling sector. it joins an existing 57 m³ model. gerrit explained that a low deadweight from 7,100 kg was an important consideration through the use of high-strength steel, and using highly wear-resistant hArdoX side walls and a hArdoX base plate with a thickness of only three millimetres.

Product Manager dinait Kemp outlined that the tipper has class leading low weight thanks to optimised construction that includes a tapered neck at the front and built-in tipping gear for an optimal weight-strength ratio. other features a stepped neck for a lower centre of gravity and more loading space, while braces between the landing legs and fifth wheel can be eliminated because the body is designed to help the chassis in heavy load cases. Unique push-pull braces ensure the structure is torsionally stiff and straight when tipping gerrit added: “The shape of the body is conical (tapered) and the side walls consist of a single plate with no additional welds for easier and faster unloading of the cargo. one of the rear doors can optionally be equipped with a grain chute for more flexibility during unloading.

20 Ft contaInEr cHassIs

d-Tec also showcased a 20 ft tank container chassis with a deadweight from 2,950 kilograms suitable for 20ft tank containers and swap bodies. “for this design, we also took a critical look at user comfort and at keeping maintenance costs low,” explained gerrit. features include unique staggered ‘steps’ at the rear of the trailer to make it easy to climb up and check the tank, while the open rear allows the driver to easily connect the hoses. ‘we mounted the rear lighting on a separate plate to prevent collision damage. simplicity is paramount at d-Tec, both in terms of structure and operation. for this reason, the container chassis only contains limited service parts, which also reduces maintenance costs,’ he added.

rollEr cranE traIlEr

The acquisition of bulthuis in 2018 has enabled d-Tec to start producing a roller crane trailer for the building sector. Available in three or four

axle versions, it comes with d-Tec’s own steering system that steers the last two axles. A hardwood floor with crane track is used in the main but steel and rubber floors are also possible. Available with several toolboxes, the trailer features a bumper with extended lighting possibilities, while stairs on both sides at the rear make it easy to climb onto the trailer.

roller crane Trailer

InnoVatIon aWard

Text & Photos: cathal doyle – cathal@fleet.ie

Mbs oMegA air suspension system

At the iAA in hannover, d-Tec was awarded 2nd prize in the ‘chassis’ category at the international Trailer innovation awards for its innovative Mbs oMegA air suspension system designed and tested in partnership with vdL weweler. The air suspension system houses a revolutionary “omega”shaped spring steel trailing arm, making it possible to build an extremely light suspension system weighing approximately 100 kg per axle row. it’s currently the lightest suspension system available on the european market.

WEatHErIng tHE currEnt cHallEngIng tIMEs

Like all businesses, d-Tec is impacted by the currently supply chain challenges and the rising costs of materials and energy. gerrit said that while order intake remains high, company policy is that they will only commence building trailers once all the parts are on site. currently d-Tec will lock prices agreed with customers for six months in spite of volatile material cost fluctuations.

d-tEc In IrEland

gerrit van vlastuin is optimistic that d-Tec will be a success with irish customers. “we see setanta as a very strong commercial partner. They have their own workshop network in ireland, and for us it’s important that you have the combination of commercial strength and service capacity. we can be sure that we will have a market share in the future in ireland.” Asked about what products he sees as performing strongly gerrit stated: “one year ago we expected that the vacuum tank trailers would be the most important, but today we see that also the container chassis are more and more important. because our height is so much less, this means fuel consumption is less, up to 10% lower.”