Magazine Issue No. 19
Autumn/Winter 2009
T h e C u s t o m e r M a g a z i n e o f HA L D E X EURO P E
10 Years of
Haldex MagazinE
Truck Safety Moving Forward
Company Culture Keeping in Step
Consep Pneumatic Efficient and Cost-effective
Haldex in Egypt Trailers in the Middle East
!
Win An i-Pod Shuffle Learn More in this Issue
Bird's Transport
Quickaction Squad
www.haldex.com
editorial
Over The Course of Time For some, it creeps along. For others, it flies much too quickly. The phenomenon of time is hard to grasp. That’s why it pays to celebrate when the occasion arises! Haldex Magazine, for instance, is celebrating its tenth anniversary. We have remained true to our goals – quality, transparency and continuity. Haldex Magazine is always issued on time with its usual high quality – even during difficult times. Looking back ten years, we see a different world than we do today. The Haldex coupling for all-wheel drive cars had just gone into series production. This success didn’t happen by chance. Far from it. Quality prevails; continuity counts.
Today, we’re talking about the second generation of EB+ and safety systems such as Roll Over Stability which use the new 3M architecture, electromechanical brakes are waiting in the wings, and global Haldex production operates on a totally different scale. The central European warehouse in Weyersheim, near Strasbourg, now deals with 15,000 active part numbers and sends consignments as far as Africa and Russia. In this issue, you can read about how safe commercial vehicles have become over time and check out a profile of the Egyptian trailer manufacturer MIS, which is demonstrating a remarkably versatile and exportoriented approach to business. We also present the new, pneumatically actuated Consep air precleaner, which Haldex has developed as an especially cost-effective and easy-to-fit solution. Finally, with the British haulage company Bird’s, we introduce you to a classic European family business that not only stands for service, quality and reliability but also knows how to celebrate, especially when its royal blue Bird’s race truck has competed successfully! I hope you enjoy reading this issue.
At that time, EB+ was becoming a logical complement to ABS systems. The Info Centre had arrived with extended functionality, and aftermarket logistics had just been integrated into the European distribution centre in Alsace (France). ModulX, the new modular disc brake family, was gaining increasing recognition.
Lennart Hammargren Sales Director Europe
Contents 12 Bird's – A Family Company Personal Service and Tradition 03 Current Interest news and Dates Directions and trends
06 Road Safety Trucks Far Better Than Their Reputation
15 A Reason to Celebrate A Success Story: Ten Years of Haldex Magazine
04 TRailer Manufacturer MIS Egypt Relies on European Engineering
10 New Consep Model Efficient and Cost-effective Separation of Oil and Water
16 People at haldex a long walk: How landskrona Stays Fit
Editorial Information Haldex Magazine No. 19, Autumn/Winter 2009 Publisher: Haldex Europe S.A.S., 30 rue du Ried, Weyersheim, 67728 Hoerdt Cedex, France, info.EUR@haldex.com, www.haldex.com Responsible for the Publisher: Diana Spieler Editorial Services: Press Office Michael Kern, Gassenäckerstr. 5, 70736 DE-Fellbach, Germany LAYOUT: Frank Majer-Koenicke Printer: Kehler Druck GmbH & Co. KG, Weststr. 26, DE-77694 Kehl, Germany PHOTOS: Archiv Haldex, Bartscher, Bird's, Daimler, Fond, MAN, MCV, Kern, Perkins, Volvo COPYRIGHT: No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission of the publisher. Free Subscription/Address Change: info.EUR@haldex.com or to postal address of the publisher. Print: 10,000 Copies. Languages: English, German and French.
02
HALDEX MAGAZINE
Autumn/Winter 2009
Current Interest
All-Wheel Drive
Economy
Largest Order Ever
Downswing
4 The latest order placed by the Volkswagen Group is the largest single order ever for the Haldex Group. The order placed by VW totals SEK 4.5 billion (approximately EUR 440 million) and further deploys Haldex all-wheel drive technology within VW. The order involves the fifth generation of the Haldex coupling, which VW wants to use on its new modular platform announced for the year 2012. This fifth generation of the all-wheel drive coupling is optimised with
Safety Systems
EU Gets Serious 4 The jungle of existing EU safety regulations is expected to soon be cleaned up, and at the same time, vehicles will become safer then ever. That is the intention and purpose of the new Framework Directive 2007/45/EC, which the European Parliament has now approved. In accordance with the
 The VW Caddy also has a Haldex all-wheel drive coupling.
regard to weight, cost and energy consumption. The all-wheel drive coupling for VW will be produced by the Landskrona plant in Sweden. The VW order
represents 'robust growth' for the Traction Systems business unit, according to Ulf AhlĂŠn, President of the Traction Systems Division.
directive, electronic stability control (ESP) will become mandatory from November 2011 for newly homologated trailers weighing more than ten tonnes and, from November 2014, for all new vehicles in this category. ESP will be mandatory for newly homologated vehicle classes M and N (for conveying passengers or goods) from November 2012 and for all new vehicles two years later.
An automatic emergency braking system as well as a lane guard system are mandatory from November 2013 for all new homologations in the M2 and M3 classes, and the N2 and N3 classes (buses with more than eight seats and goods vehicles weighing more than 3.5 tonnes) and will be mandatory from November 2015 for all new vehicles of these classes. In addition, noise emissions as well as the rolling resistance of medium weight and heavy commercial vehicles are to fall by three to four dB(A). It is intended that maximum permissible values for rolling resistance be introduced in two stages: Maximum permissible values of initially 8.0 kg/tonne, and later 6.5 kg/tonne, are under discussion for tyres of category C3 (heavy goods vehicles).
Production
Company
Brake Electronics to Heidelberg
Garphyttan Wire to Suzuki
4 Haldex has restructured production of its ABS and EBS braking systems. Production now takes place in Heidelberg (Germany) instead of Redditch (United Kingdom). At the same time, some areas of the product range have been rationalised to reduce article numbers. The development centre for ABS and EBS
4 Haldex is increasingly concentrating on its core competences such as safety, environmental protection and vehicle dynamics, and has now divested its Garphyttan Wire business unit (manufacturer of spring steel wire). In June 2009, Garphyttan Wire became part of the Japanese company Suzuki Metal.
remains in Redditch, but delivery occurs from the European logistic centre in Weyersheim near Strasbourg (France).
4 For the first half of 2009, the ACEA umbrella association reported 46 percent fewer registrations of new heavy class vehicles than in the previous year. Especially hard-hit is Spain with a decline of 76 percent. In the new EU states, the drop is 73 percent. France and Germany have been hit relatively lightly (minus 35 percent each). Declines in the United Kingdom total 48 percent.
Engine Components
Pumps for Perkins Engines
4 Haldex has received two orders from the engine manufacturer Perkins. The first of these is comprised of oil pumps and water pumps for future Perkins engines and amounts to about SEK 500 million (approximately EUR 49 million). The second order is for water pumps for new Perkins engines with electronic engine management and totals SEK 75 million (approximately EUR 7 million). Production for each of these orders will start in 2010.
Autumn/Winter 2009
HALDEX MAGAZINE
03
Business
IN the Fast Lane ECTC represents Haldex in the Land of the Nile. One of its major customers is trailer manufacturer MIS, who build a remarkably wide range of products. Cairo‘s King of Components: ECTC boss Magdi Tolba.
O
NE OF THE MOST important addresses in North Africa for commercial vehicle components is ECTC, whose headquarters are in Cairo. The Egyptian Company for Trading & Construction represents more than 20 famous names such as Hyva, Haldex and ZF. ‘ZF awarded us the title of Best Agency in the World’, proudly reports ECTC boss
04
HALDEX MAGAZINE
Autumn/Winter 2009
Magdi Tolba in whose office a comprehensive fashion collection points to a quite different branch of business: The company has been producing branded textiles for some 15 years. Tolba explains why he went into that business: ‘foreign exchange was tight in those days’. The company‘s base in Cairo is therefore named the Cairo Cotton Center. Both branches of the business are profitable de-
spite very different staffing levels: Tolba points out that ‘the 4000 or so people who work in the textile business achieve about the same sales as the 85 workers in the commercial vehicle branch’. ECTC is actively involved in components far beyond the Egyptian home market. It is, therefore, very convenient that Egypt’s largest purchaser of Haldex components is in a
business
similar position: Egypt‘s largest trailer manufacturer, MIS (Metal Industries Salheya), situated about an hour‘s drive from the capital Cairo, delivers about 60 percent of its production to the Gulf states and to other parts of Africa. ‘Nearly all our trailers are fitted with Haldex components’, says MIS purchasing manager Salama Abdelmalak. He values both the ‘price/performance ratio’ and the excellent support he gets directly from Haldex and from Mohamed Osman, who is a trained engineer and who serves as ECTC General Manager. Deliveries for Metal Industries Salheya range from air reservoirs and valves to actuators.
Equipment has to be robust if it is to last in markets served by ECTC and MIS. Juggernaut vehicles weighing 80 or 100 tonnes are not rare in these regions where climatic conditions are always described as ‘extreme’. Technical refinement is not really desired: Neither ABS nor EBS plays an important role. What does count under such conditions is quality. It is no coincidence that MIS has turned to Europe‘s best-known manufacturers for licensing. Meiller and HYVA, for instance, provide tipper hydraulics while Rohr delivers expertise in tankers, and bulk vehicles involve Spitzer. The licensor for fire service superstructures is Ziegler while Italian Farid addresses refuse trucks.
MIS offers a wide range of products – from tippers to fire service superstructures.
MIS parent company MCV is expanding vigorously.
Ready to Pounce The company MIS was founded in 1998 by its parent company MCV (Manufacturing Commercial Vehicles), which itself was just four years old at that time. MCV started as a general importer for Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicles in Cairo, but the MCV group now has bases in Cuba, Great Britain, Algeria, South Africa, Singapore, Sudan and Dubai. MCV is first and foremost involved with buses of all sizes, but most often comprised of CKD-assembled Mercedes chassis and MCV‘s own superstructures. As an economical alternative, MCV also offers its customers imports from China. Annual production in Egypt is currently a good 3000 units, but is expected to soon double. The portfolio also includes transporters and trucks with a Mercedes star in the grill. Some of these are imported from Brazil (where the company also gets the Sprinter) and some from Germany or from Turkey.
Around 50 platform semi-trailers constitute about one-third of the 150 ISO-9001 certified units produced each month. Alongside these are about 60 semi-trailer tippers (including quite a few with enormous 45 cubic metre troughs needed for the building boom in the Gulf states) and about a dozen bulk transporters and tankers. One or two special constructions should also be mentioned. About 75 percent of MIS products consist of local content whose development is encouraged as far as possible by the Egyptian state through a very simple principle: The more materials originate at home, the lower the customs due on imported components.
MIS manufactures tank trailers under licence from Rohr.
Commercial vehicle equipment and textiles are both stored at the Cairo Cotton Center.
Because locally produced Egyptian steel is cheaper than imported material, it is easy for MIS to make the trailers themselves almost from start to finish. There are only a few exceptions: Imported items find their way into MIS trailers as special parts of the superstructure, axles and Haldex brake system: ‘These are key technologies’, says Purchasing Manager Salama Abdelmalak. ‘Importation of them is unavoidable’. ■
Autumn/Winter 2009
HALDEX MAGAZINE
05
Traffic
A Safe Bet Their large mass and numerous blind spots make trucks dangerous. But statistics show the real picture: They are far better than their reputation when it comes to road safety.
T
ruck accidents often involve considerable damage. This means, of course, that incidents such as these are the ones that make headlines. The distorted reputation of trucks that persists in the public perception as a result of these reports is not at all flattering.
lously gathered and analysed statistical data. Perhaps its most surprising conclusion, based on accident numbers from 2007, is that: ‘In relation to the distances travelled, trucks and semi-trailer tractors are involved appreciably less often than cars in accidents resulting in injury to persons’.
Statistics, however, show trucks in a completely different light. For its ‘Road Safety Report’ for 2009, Dekra Automotive meticu-
According to the Dekra report, the risk of a car being involved in an accident resulting in injury to persons is 1.5 times that of a truck.
06
HALDEX MAGAZINE
Autumn/Winter 2009
An automatic emergency braking system will soon be mandatory for heavy trucks.
And whereas the number of trucks has risen, their involvement in accidents resulting in injury to persons has fallen. In Germany, for example, there were 5.9 percent more vehicles for the transport of goods in 2007 than in 2000, but, over the same period, the number of accidents resulting in injury to persons dropped by 17.5 percent. In addition, the danger posed to other road users by trucks fell significantly. For example,
Traffic
Most common accident scenarios in Europe Type of accident
Frequency
Departure from lane
4.2 %
Rear-end collision with a truck
15.8 %
Head-on collision with oncoming car
8.4 % Enormous force is involved in a rear-end collision with a truck.
Side collision with car
8.4 %
2.6 %
5.7 % Source: Dekra Road Safety Report for 2009
for truck accidents with fatal consequences, the report indicated a reduction of 39 percent in the category of ‘other party’ (pedestrians, cyclists, car occupants, etc.) in Germany for the period 2000 to 2007. This is due not only to the fact that trucks are now fitted as a matter of course with safety features such as front under-run protection, but also to car safety features such as ESP and airbags, which are now widely used.
Collision with pedestrian or cyclist
There is no shortage of safety systems for trucks either. Features offered by manufacturers range from driver airbags and electronic stability control (ESP) to adaptive cruise control (ACC) and lane guard systems (LGS) to8
8.3 %
Systems Made by Haldex
The Ultrasonic Guard System helps ensure the safety of pedestrians and cyclists.
Haldex safety systems include classic ABS, EB+ Gen2 electronic braking, the Soft Docking ramp approach assistant and the new Trailer Control Module+. EB+ Gen2 includes Roll Over Stability which is now available also for drawbar trailers. Open architecture allows ABS and ALB control functions to be guaranteed even if the seven-pin ISO 7638 cable is not connected. The Soft Docking safety system helps prevent damage when reversing, e.g. at the back of the vehicle and at loading ramps. The new Trailer Control Module+ with the additional ‘Parking Hold’ function prevents
EMB: 14 percent less braking distance.
potentially fatal consequences from mistakes made during coupling. A big safety benefit is the electromechanical brake (EMB).
This will reduce braking distance by an additional 14 percent on average, and will lower life cycle costs and also reduce downtime.
Autumn/Winter 2009
HALDEX MAGAZINE
07
traffic
Veering off the road is a typical truck accident.
8 ultrasound turn-off assistance and automatic emergency braking systems. The use of seatbelts in trucks, however, still remains relatively low. In addition, modern electronic safety systems are still not widely used in commercial vehicles even today. Hence, the Dekra report notes only a 23 percent reduction in the category of ‘goods vehicle occupant fatalities’ for the period 2000 to 2007. Just what beneficial effects ACC and LGS alone could have on truck accident outcomes is illustrated by a study carried out by Allianz Insurance in collaboration with MAN. According to this study, about two-thirds of all serious truck accidents involving rear-end collisions as well as nearly 50 percent of all of those in which the truck leaves the carriageway could have been prevented by these systems. It is precisely these two types of accidents that are still the main cause of incidents resulting in the injury or death of occupants of heavy trucks in western Europe. As Volvo
The Lane Guard System warns the driver if the truck drifts out of the lane.
safety research has discovered, 35 percent of truck accidents of this sort, resulting in personal injury, are due to the truck veering off the carriageway, and 20 percent result from colliding with the rear end of another truck. When all accidents involving trucks of more than 3.5 tonnes are taken into account, though, collisions with cars dominate. According to the Dekra report, 25.1 percent of accident scenarios can be assigned to this category whereas departure from the carriageway and rear-end collisions with a truck travelling in front comprise 20 percent of all truck accidents in Europe. The third most frequent type of accident is collision with pedestrians or cyclists. Even though trucks are relatively seldom involved in accidents resulting in death or injury (barely eleven percent in Germany, for example), the consequences for other road users are often serious. One of the things that make trucks so dangerous is their mass. According to the findings of Volvo accident research, when heavy truck accidents occur that result in serious injury or death, 54 percent of
the victims are car drivers and 40 percent are pedestrians and cyclists. Technical defects play only a marginal role in truck accidents according to statistics. The main cause of accidents is primarily human error. Driving too fast, maintaining too little distance, fatigue and mistakes when turning off, and turning around or reversing represent the four greatest sources of danger in this respect. Drivers of commercial vehicles may indeed be seldom involved in accidents on a whole. However, when an accident does occur, it is more often due to mistakes made by professional truck drivers than by car drivers, according to German statistics for 2007, at least. The police almost always deem van and truck drivers more responsible than car drivers for accidents resulting in personal injury. The main culprits were drivers of 2.0 to 3.5 tonne vans at 62 percent and semi-trailer drivers of more than 16 tonne vehicles at 53 percent. Only tanker drivers achieved a neutral rating, as it were, of 50 percent. ■
ESP, ACC and LGS play key rolls in modern safety systems.
08
HALDEX MAGAZINE
Autumn/Winter 2009
We have cracked the problem.
Soft Docking means safety when reversing Crashes happen all too easily when docking to a ramp. The more often a truck approaches an unloading point, the greater the risk of damage to its rear. The results are expensive repairs and downtime. The total damage, including loss of vehicle use, can easily reach five figure sums. Soft Docking helps to prevent damage: With visual and audio warnings, the brakes are automatically applied with a force that is adjusted to the speed of the vehicle and the weight of its load. Quick installation, easy retrofitting.
More info on www.haldex.com/softdocking
Innovative Vehicle Technology
Air Management
Product Manager Siegfried Heer says: ‘The customer now has a choice’.
A simple Exercise Especially easy to fit and cost-effective – the new pneumatic Consep air precleaner. Consep makes itself useful wherever increased air flow is needed.
10
HALDEX MAGAZINE
Autumn/Winter 2009
W
ater, oil and dirt in a pneumatic circuit can cause a lot of aggravation. They can excessively burden the air dryer cartridge and, in a worst case scenario, contaminate the entire pneumatic circuit. Even seals are not spared from damage. ‘Raised compression temperatures resulting from heavily loaded compressors’, says Reiner Voss, head of Air Management Development at Haldex in Heidelberg, ‘cause oils contained in the compressed air to crack’. Voss continues: ‘This, amongst other things, results in ester products, which attack seal materials.’ That’s why Haldex recommends Consep air precleaners whenever there’s a need for increased air flow. The spectrum ranges from buses and dustcarts to swap body trucks.
Air Management
Whenever there's a need for increased air flow: consep bans impurities before they get into the braking circuit.
For especially simple and cost-effective fitting – and, hence, especially simple retrofitting – Haldex now offers a pneumatically-controlled model of the Consep air precleaner, which has proved its worth for more than 20 years. The only difference to the existing system: A pneumatic, self-regulating mechanism that has already proved its reliability millions of times over is employed in place of the familiar, electrically-actuated solenoid valve normally used as an automatic drain valve.
the coarse filter. Solid particles are separated out before reaching the coarse filter.
Its advantage: The fitting of electrical components such as fuses, cables, vehicle-side controller and relays can be dispensed with when the pneumatic Consep is installed. Fitting time declines – depending on the vehicle – to only about half an hour. Separation of the compressor line in order to integrate the pneumatic Consep into the compressed air system is, however, unavoidable. Care should be taken that the unit is positioned as close
In contrast to the electrically-actuated and strategically-oriented solenoid valve on the familiar Consep system, which can be integrated in CAN bus technology, the automatic drain valve (ADV) on the new pneumatic version is synchronised with the idle phase of the compressor. In terms of trigger frequency and compressed air usage, ‘The pneumatic Consep triggers less frequently but can expel substantially more condensate when it does’, according to Reiner Voss.
®
ModulAir update
The new Haldex ModulAir® air management system has cleared one of the last hurdles on its way to serial production: It has reached prototype status C (series production with tools). ModulAir® is conceived as a universal platform for the intelligent air-conditioning system of the future. It includes strategic controllability and combines a multitude of pneumatic functions.
When pressure falls, the drain valve expels condensate that has collected in the chamber. It can be collected in a separate container and disposed of in an environmentally-safe fashion. This prevents the vehicle from expelling condensate and polluting roads and bus stops. Solid particles and semi-fluid emulsions remain in the dirt pre-chamber.
Proven principles: The new pneumaticallyactuated Consep relies on a cyclone air filter and an automatic drain valve.
as possible to the air dryer yet is well-ventilated. This allows the compressed air to cool as quickly as possible to 65° Celsius, which Haldex recommends for optimum condensation. In comparison: Air temperature as it leaves the compressor is over 150° Celsius. With the exception of the automatic drain valve, the pneumatic model from Consep works exactly like the familiar electricallyactuated version. In the cyclone filter, the gaseous liquids contained in the air condense during the delivery phase of the compressor and drip into the condensate chamber through
The pneumatic model of the air precleaner, just like the electrically-actuated system, can remove up to 90 percent of the oil and water. ‘That’s why it’s important with the Consep’, continues Product Manager Siegfried Heer, ‘to regularly maintain the system.’ Serial production of the pneumatic Consep, which is designed for retrofitting as well as original equipment, starts at the end of the third quarter of 2009. From then on, Haldex will offer a choice: Strategic controllability and economic use of compressed air through the familiar Consep system with its solenoid valve. Alternatively, low cost and simple, time-saving fitting with the new pneumatic solution from Consep. ■
Autumn/Winter 2009
HALDEX MAGAZINE
11
transport
12
HALDEX MAGAZINE
Autumn/Winter 2009
transport
Careful Targeting Bird‘s, a Birmingham-based haulier, considers itself a classic, family-run business characterised by customer involvement, committed staff and pragmatic action.
T
HE GRANDSON: Chris Levett was one of the first people in Britain to obtain an HGV licence at age 18. On top of this, at age 25, he is one of the few truck racing drivers who can back a semi-trailer to a loading platform with millimetre precision.
favourite brands. The fleet also includes ten trucks that deal with the collection and distribution business.
Tractor units from MAN and Scania form the backbone of the fleet.
TOWED UNITS: A total of 229 trailers bear the distinctive Bird‘s logo on their tarpaulins. They range from mega-trailers to Euroliners (all with sliding roofs) and a few bulk trailers to the ‘tall boys’, 4.59 metres high, that are used in Britain but not on the Continent.
job is done, the truck floor can be reconfigured so that the truck can carry normal loads on the way back. Chris Levett driving the Bird’s race truck.
HIS FATHER: Is someone else with a good shot of diesel fuel in his blood, something his son has inherited. In the late 1980s, Andrew Levett, as a driver for the Scania factory team, clocked some fast laps in truck races, which were rapidly becoming internationally popular. THE GRANDMOTHER: Delvene Levett keeps everything in order and stands her ground every day in the business. With confidence, she uses the company motto to make a point: ‘We are unique in what we do’, she says, and promises her customers, ‘Nobody beats us on price, and nobody beats our service’. THE COMPANY: Clients, including traditional sports car manufacturer Morgan whose extravagant limousines are delivered to customers in Bird‘s closed car transporters, know you can rely on Bird‘s. Typical for Bird‘s: When the
THE FLEET: At present, the company has exactly 107 trucks on British and Continental roads. Bird‘s likes to keep things simple and is not keen on AdBlue tanks either on the truck or in the depot. For this reason, the fleet consists only of trucks that implement Euro 4 and 5 properly through exhaust gas recirculation. Semi-trailer tractors from MAN (TGA and TGX) and Scania (470, 480 and 580 hp for long-distance operation) are, therefore, the
Towed units range from mega-trailers to the ‘tall boys’, 4.59 meters high.
Continuous check-ups of the vehicles in the Bird's Workshop.
THE SHOP: Paul Read and fleet manager Keith Bray make sure everything involving vehicles runs smoothly. A glimpse into a MAN with 140,000 kilometres on the odometer shows that Keith Bray has trained his drivers well: The inside looks like new. ‘We use tiptop trucks’, which is a kind of mantra at Bird‘s, ‘so they should be kept in good shape’. There is no question that equipment at Bird‘s gets the same immaculate care. Read is the manager responsible for trailers: ‘We have Haldex in almost 100% of the trailers’, says Read, an experienced mechanic who knows what he wants and who often travels to Germany to visit Schmitz or Krone. 8
Autumn/Winter 2009
HALDEX MAGAZINE
13
transport
8 HIGH STANDARDS: In Germany, Read talks to large series manufacturers about how to incorporate particular extras so that he will be happy with the trailers. He values the prompt service at Haldex. Cooperation has always been close: Read was one of several people selected for fleet trials of EB+Gen2. Read has actually taken quite a few Haldex innovations under his wing before the technologies went into series production.
with Scania, but Bird‘s repairs and services Scania units itself then sends the bill to the Scania shop. Things can be that simple when there is trust on both sides.
Keith Bray wants practical solutions and counts on egr not scr.
FIELDS OF BUSINESS: Bird‘s was established in its present form as a groupage haulier in 1973. As elsewhere, large associations developed in Great Britain over the years, but their impersonal style is not for Bird‘s.
with MAN that is expected to bring complete freedom from worry: whatever has to be done will be done at the MAN shop. THE SCANIA AGREEMENT: But things may be even easier. There is a two-year contract
Paul Read is responsible for bird's trailers, almost all equipped with haldex..
THE FLEET MANAGER: Keith Bray is generally responsible for the entire fleet and particularly for the tractive units. With his fondness for pragmatic solutions, he is a perfect fit with the Bird‘s team. Bray takes a quite individual approach to service and repair. He has signed a three-year contract
Bird‘s has 80,000 square meters of storage space available in Birmingham.
Those were the days: this Scania LB76 from the 1960s has been immaculately restored.
FAST-action Squad Racing, as well as diesel fuel, is in the Levett blood. Chris Levett started truck racing in the British national championship. He is now in his third year of truck racing – sponsored by Haldex – and is placing better and better in international competition. Two mechanics have been specifically assigned to look after Levett‘s blue-liveried MAN race truck with its 1050 hp motor. The truck belongs to Team Lutz Bernau.
Only about 30 percent of their business is now represented by groupage transport (with all of Great Britain as a catchment area). Bird‘s is most active in Ireland and Germany – the company has bases in London and Belfast as well as in Birmingham. But Bird‘s also has regular destinations in Belgium and France. 24-hour service is something the company treats as a matter of course. Bird‘s also offers a three-day window for those with more time or greater financial constraints.
it goes without saying that Bird‘s trucks are well-maintained.
The race truck relies on a Haldex brake system.
14
HALDEX MAGAZINE
Autumn/Winter 2009
THE FULL-TRUCKLOAD BUSINESS: Accounting for 70 percent of all trips, the full-truckload business now dominates traditional groupage trade. But Bird’s would not be Bird’s if the company had not immediately and sucessfully targeted the most prestigious customers of all – primarily big and well-known names in the food industry including McDonald‘s, for whom the company not only drives full truckloads but also, when necessary, does commission work. ■
Inside Haldex
Happy Birthday Wide variety and an international feel. Regular publication. Haldex Magazine is celebrating its 10th anniversary.
Y
OU WILL NEED to bring with you: ‘a sleeping bag, a toothbrush and good humour.’ That’s what was written in the first issue of Haldex Magazine in 1999 in the invitation to Camp Haldex at the worldfamous Nürburgring race track in Germany. It was an exciting time. Midland Grau had just merged with the Haldex family of businesses, which had undergone complete restructuring in Europe including communications. The aim was to give a European orientation to marketing activities, which up to then, had been locally planned, and following the merger with Midland Grau, to establish a uniform brand image. That’s why Haldex Magazine was designed from the start to convey a European rather than national perspective. Topics covered to date are technology and practice, markets and customers, and personalities and businesses. With appealing, interesting articles, Haldex Magazine is intended to communicate rather than advertise.
The magazine is always published in the three main European languages – English, French and German. There is usually another edition in Italian, Spanish, Dutch or Russian depending on the topics covered.This makes Haldex Magazine a true European whose popularity has caught on even beyond the borders of Europe. At www.haldex.com/CVS_ EU, you can find a link to all issues for the last two years. Make your voice heard! Praise, criticism and suggestions are always welcome by e-mail at info.EUR@haldex.com or the postal address for Haldex Europe (see editorial information). At the same addresses you can also add your name to the distribution list or change your mailing address.
Diana Spieler, Marketing Communications Manager: 'Appealing and interesting'.
Win An i-Pod Shuffle We’re looking for the name of a trusted product that spares the pneumatic systems of trucks and buses a lot of heartache. Put the letters POSCEN in the right order and win one of ten iPods in a Haldex prize draw to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Haldex Magazine. Send your entry to info.EUR@haldex. com or the postal address for Haldex Europe. The deadline is November 15, 2009. Haldex employees ineligible. Good luck!
Autumn/Winter 2009
HALDEX MAGAZINE
15
People at Haldex
Publisher: Haldex Europe S.A.S. Weyersheim (Strasbourg), France
A very special competition took place over seven weeks at the Haldex factory in Landskrona. Fifty-two teams battled to take the most steps.
I
T ALL BEGAN with a pedometer for each participant. The kickoff for the ’Stegtävling’ (Step Race) in Landskrona was a stiff walk of five kilometres in May. ‘Participants not only had to walk, but also demonstrate their capacity for judgment’, explains Helena Estling of the Landskrona Human Resources department. One of Helena’s responsibilities is to promote good health and optimal ergonomics in the workplace. ‘How many steps does it take to cover this distance?’ was the prize-winning question at the kickoff. Plenty of reading material on the topic of fitness could be won at the post kickoff barbecue as prizes for the best estimates.
Full ProgrammE Helena Estling works continuously to improve employee health in Landskrona. The Human Resources department sponsors a serious health program that includes financial help for a variety of activities and special rebates for fitness studios. Not least, the Landskrona facility maintains its own fitness studio, which can be used by all employees free of charge.
Fifty-two teams for a total of 200 participants walked during the seven-week competition. Every level of employee was represented. And some suddenly found extra kilos slipping away. On top of this, the weather was perfect. Teams’ results ranged from an average of 264,933 to a mighty 924,421 steps per person – which translates into 250 to 900 kilometres. One member of the winning team was especially motivated: Day after day, she not only walked to her own railway stop, but got off one stop before Landskrona thereby accumulating an additional ten kilometres. But the whole thing was not just about records but also group support. ‘This kind of activity brings people together’, explains Helena. ‘People talk, they laugh and they banter’.
Helena Estling organised the competition.
16
HALDEX MAGAZINE
Autumn/Winter 2009
The benefits to health come automatically. Doctors recommend 8,000-10,000 steps a day. But in fact, on average, we walk only 3,000-4,000 steps a day. Helena‘s goal: ‘That people feel good’. And she knows very well that ‘we can‘t force anybody, but we can certainly inspire’. ■
Italy Haldex Italia Srl. Biassono (Milan) Tel.: +39 039 47 17 02 Fax: +39 039 27 54 309 E-Mail: info.IT@Haldex.com
Belgium Haldex N.V. Balegem Tel.: +32 9 363 90 00 Fax: +32 9 363 90 09 E-Mail: info.BE@Haldex.com
Korea Haldex Korea Ltd. Seoul Tel.: +82 2 2636 7545 Fax: +82 2 2636 7548 E-Mail: info.KR@Haldex.com
Brazil Haldex do Brasil Ind. E Com. Ltda São Paulo Tel.: +55 11 213 55 000 Fax: +55 11 503 49 515 E-Mail: info.BR@Haldex.com
Mexico Haldex de mexico S.A. De C.V. Monterrey Tel.: +52 81 8156 9500 Fax: +52 81 8313 7090
Canada Haldex Ltd Guelph, Ontario Tel.: +1 519 826 7723 Fax :+1 519 826 9497 E-Mail: info.CA@Haldex.com China Haldex International Trading Co. Ltd. Shanghai Tel.: +86 21 5240 0338 Fax: +86 21 5240 0177 E-Mail: info.CN@Haldex.com France Haldex Europe SAS Weyersheim (Strasbourg) Tel.: +33 3 88 68 22 00 Fax: +33 3 88 68 22 09 E-Mail: info.EUR@Haldex.com Germany Haldex Brake Products GmbH Heidelberg Tel.: +49 6221 7030 Fax: +49 6221 703400 E-Mail: info.DE@Haldex.com Hungary Haldex Hungary Kft. Szentlörinckáta Tel.: +36 29 631 300 Fax: +36 29 631 301 E-Mail: info.HU@Haldex.com India Haldex India Limited Nasik Tel.: +91 253 2380094 Fax: +91 253 2380729 E-Mail: info.IN@Haldex.com
Poland Haldex Sp. z.o.o. Praszka Tel.: +48 34 350 11 00 Fax: +48 34 350 11 11 E-Mail: info.PL@Haldex.com Russia OOO Haldex RUS Moscow Tel.: +7 495 747 59 56 Fax: +7 495 786 39 70 E-Mail: info.RU@Haldex.com Spain Haldex España S.A. Parets del Valles (Barcelona) Tel.: +34 93 573 10 30 Fax: +34 93 573 07 28 E-Mail: info.ES@Haldex.com Sweden Haldex Brake Products AB Landskrona Tel.: +46 418 47 60 00 Fax: +46 418 47 60 01 E-Mail: info.SE@Haldex.com United Kingdom Haldex Ltd. Newton Aycliffe Tel.: +44 1325 310 110 Fax: +44 1325 311 834 E-Mail: info.GBAy@Haldex.com Haldex Brake Products Ltd. Redditch Tel.: +44 1527 499 499 Fax: +44 1527 499 500 E-Mail: info.GBRe@Haldex.com USA Haldex Brake Products Corp. Kansas City Tel.: +1 816 891 2470 Fax: +1 816 891 9447 E-Mail: info.US@Haldex.com
Haldex (www.haldex.com), headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, is a provider of proprietary and innovative solutions to the global vehicle industry, with focus on products in vehicles that enhance safety, environment and vehicle dynamics. Haldex is listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange. Haldex has a yearly turnover of close to 8.5 billion SEK and employs 4,700 people.
MAG19_GB/09.2009/Weyersheim
step-by-Step
Austria Haldex Wien Ges.m.b.H. Vienna Tel.: +43 1 8 69 27 97 Fax: +43 1 8 69 27 97 27 E-Mail: info.AT@Haldex.com
www.haldex.com