Magazine Issue No. 20
Spring/Summer 2010
T h e C u s t o m e r M a g a z i n e o f HAL D E X EUROPE
Timber transport in Sweden 60 tonnes through the forest
TrCM+ Fleets jump at the chance
Trailers and Hydraulics A single source
Fleet+ 3 A thorough upgrade
Diciotto Project Overlength trailers in Italy
World premiere for rollover simulator
Trailer Test in
Cyberspace
www.haldex.com
editorial
Spring Awakening
W
inter is behind us. Yet times remain hard. Truck manufacturers, for example, not only have to contend with huge decreases in sales, but must also earmark billions of euros for investment to meet Euro 6 standards. Sales of semi-trailers have experienced a particularly dramatic drop. One of the most spectacular consequences was the second bankruptcy of renowned German manufacturer Kögel, which stayed afloat following a takeover by Humbaur. The companies that emerge from the recession stronger will be those that have prepared themselves and their customers accordingly.
whereas with the type-tested simulator, much of what takes weeks can be achieved in a few days. Haldex is also launching a third generation of the Fleet+ data logging system featuring extended functionality and simplified use. This presents advantages for both OEMs and end customers. The same applies to the One-Stop-Service strategy of intensified co-operation between Haldex Commercial Vehicle Systems and Haldex Hydraulics. Read on for more detail on these topics and discover the progress the Trailer Control Module+ and Soft Docking safety systems are making. In addition, I fully recommend the exceptional report from the frosty forests of Sweden that describes conditions, both romantic and merciless, during customer testing of our ModulX disc brakes fitted to a 60-tonne timber transport truck.
I hope you enjoy reading this issue.
The best way to understand this phenomenon is to look at the results from Haldex as a case in point: Earlier this year we presented the world’s first-ever type-tested rollover simulator for trailers. Not only does in-house development benefit from this technology, but so does the entire trailer industry. Time-consuming road tests can be invalid
Franck Bordes European Sales Director – Trailers & Axles OE
Content 10 Rollover Simulator virtual testing for Homologation
03
Current Interest news and Dates Directions And Trends
07 Trailer Control Module+ Implementing safety
08 Fleet+ 3 More functionality, more 04 18-metre articulated trucks user-friendly Italy experiments with overlength
12 Nordic timber transport A test of strength 15
trailers and hydraulics Wider range, one-stop service
16 the power of people MINI car FAN Dudley Harrison
editorial information Haldex Magazine No. 20, Spring/Summer 2010 PUBLISHER: Haldex Europe S.A.S., 30 rue du Ried, Weyersheim, 67728 Hoerdt Cedex, Frankreich, info.EUR@haldex.com, www.haldex.com RESPONSIBLE FOR THE PUBLISHER: Diana Spieler EDITORIAL SERVICES: Press Office Michael Kern, Gassenäckerstr. 5, 70736 Fellbach, Germay LAYOUT: Frank Majer PRINTER: Kehler Druck GmbH & Co. KG, Weststr. 26, 77694 Kehl, Germany PHOTOS: Archiv Haldex, Augustin, Bartscher, Brivio & Vigano, Daimler, Fond, Harrison, Hiab, IPG, Spitzer, Kern, Volvo, Wright 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 the postal address of the publisher. PRINT: 11.000 Copies. LANGUAGES: English, German, French and Italian.
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Current Interest
Data logging
Info Centre 2 It features a large LCD screen with a crisp, high-contrast display and three control buttons instead two as previously: These are the external features of the 4
Info Centre 2: a new LCD monitor and three control keys.
new generation Info Centre 2 diagnostic tool. The three control buttons enable more convenient scrolling in menus. The new display has
Videos
a clearer structure. Info Centre 2 users not only can choose among five different predefined start screens but they can also configure their own. In addition, Info Centre 2 features a new red LED warning light, which indicates any problems after the vehicle has been parked. It remains lit for ten minutes then shuts off to save battery capacity. The lamp automatically reactivates when Info Centre 2 is switched on again. As in the previous version, Info Centre 2 displays load information via a bar graph and, optionally, as percentages or in kilograms. Info Centre 2 also provides information about the EBS configuration and enables examination of successive error codes stored by EB+.
Truck Racing Calendar 2010
22/23-05. Misano (IT) 05/06-06. Albacete (ES) 19/20-06. Nogaro (FR) 23/25-07. Nürburgring (DE) 28/29-08. Most (CZ) 11/12-09. Zolder (BE) 18/19-09. Le Mans (FR) 02/03-10. Jarama (ES)
Strategy of the future: ModulAir air management.
A picture is worth a thousand words! 4 On the Haldex website, two short films demonstrate the operation and advantages of the Trailer Control Module+ (TrCM+) and Soft Docking systems, respectively. These two very informative videos can be found at www.haldex.com/CVS_EU, the Haldex webpage, under ‘Trailer Control Module+’ and ‘Soft Docking’, respectively. Just click your choice and the film will start streaming.
ModulAir
Refreshing Breeze 4 A European truck manufacturer has chosen the Haldex ModulAir mechatronical air treatment system
for its vehicles. ModulAir is the air treatment system of the future. Thanks to strategic controllability of the ModulAir system, it is possible to set switch-on and switch-off criteria for the compressor, as well as regeneration, for optimal performance under every driving condition. The contract is worth about EUR 73 million. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in 2011 and will span ten years, in principle. Last year Haldex successfully launched a mechanical version of the ModulAir air treatment system on the North American market. The Haldex plant in Heidelberg manufactures the mechatronical model. The plant also houses the company’s air treatment R&D facilities.
Economy
2009 results 4 With a total of 164,645 units, new registration of trucks over 16 tonnes in 2009 was 39.4 percent below the 2008 figure. Within the European Union, Poland was the only country to experience an increase in registration (+ 24.9 percent). The market shrank in all other countries.
Air tank
iPod competition
A certificate a few clicks away
Lucky winners!
Starting in 2010, it is possible to download certificates of conformity for Haldex compressed air tanks from the Haldex website. Simply click ‘Findex – Product Info’ at www.haldex.com/CVS_EU then select ‘Tank conformity certificate’ under the ‘More info’ heading. You can then determine 4
the relevant type and download the corresponding certificate of conformity as a PDF file.
4 Congratulations to iPod winners whose names were drawn from among those of our resourceful readers who had cracked the mystery! The product that spares the pneumatic system of trucks and buses a lot of problems is CONSEP, of course. We would also like to thank all our readers for your enthusiastic participation!
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Traffic
A place In the sun What are the advantages of 18-metre long articulated trucks? The Italian project ‘Diciotto’ is looking into this question. One experimental heavy goods vehicle (HGV) is operated by distribution specialists Brivio & Viganò. Driver Silvano Trezzi: ‘Excellent driving comfort’.
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Traffic
O
NE AND A HALF METRES IS not much. Nevertheless, it makes a big difference. Exactly four more Euro pallets can fit inside the trailer if its interior length is 14.8 metres instead of 13.2. The load area can now accommodate 37 pallets instead of 33. The entire articulated truck measures a good 18 metres in length. ‘Diciotto’ (18) is the logical name for the Italian project in which such truck and trailer combinations are being tested. Exactly 15 such vehicles are currently rolling over Italy’s roads (see text box Diciotto Project). One of them has been put into service by the company Brivio & Viganò, which is based in the Milan region. The vehicle is entrusted to long-serving driver Silvano Trezzi: ‘You get used to it quickly’, he says. ‘I don’t have any problems with the length’. What Trezzi especially appreciates: ‘The han-
The full length cannot always be utilised because of overall weight limits.
Diciotto Project dling is more comfortable than with the usual 16.5-metre truck’. What is known from shipbuilding also applies to HGVs in terms of comfort: with length comes stability. The fact that driver Trezzi copes so well with the extra-long vehicle in hectic Italian traffic probably has something to do with the fact that the rear overhang is the same size as that of a normal 13.60-metre long trailer. The extra-long trailer swings out no farther than other three-axle trailers on curves. But the over-length combination does, of course, require more space when manoeuvring. Vehicle pool manager Massimo Casiraghi states more precisely: ‘Of course, we send the 18-metre truck only to suitable loading bays’. He continues: ‘Up to now, there haven’t been any problems worth mentioning, either on the road or when manoeuvring’. The experimental vehicle built by the Italian trailer manufacturer Rolfo with a refrigerated container also features one small aid that is very useful when docking at the ramp: the Soft Docking ramp approach assistant by Haldex. In a nutshell, it’s ‘ideal’, says Trezzi, about the system, which provides both acoustic and visual signals when docking at the loading bay, and which automatically activates the trailer brakes just before contact with the ramp. ‘This makes working with the long trailer much easier’, he says in summary. Vehicle pool manager Casiraghi was so impressed with the system right from the start that he ordered the next lot of trailers with Soft Docking. He also says that retrofitting the experimental trailer was not a problem: ‘The job
Opinions are divided when it comes to 25.25-metre long combinations such as those common in Scandinavia: The Netherlands finds them smart and practical; Germany initially dropped them like a hot potato, but is starting a new and, once again, very controversial attempt right now. Much less excitement was generated in Germany by a large-scale test with around 300 extra-long trailers, as is now occurring in Italy, the results of which were entirely positive. A policy of small steps is perhaps the more intelligent way to go in the case of vehicle dimensions. In Italy, where space is tight in many places, it is probably the only practical solution. The Italian car manufacturers’ association ANFIA (Assocazione Nazionale Fra Industrie Automobilistiche) is examining the following questions in the Diciotto Project, which was started in 2009: • By how much will this improve the efficiency of the HGV? • To what extent is this length compatible with road conditions and loading bays? • What is the advantage if the articulated truck can transport 48-foot containers (transport by road has not been possible up to now) or two 7.45-metre swap trailers? • How does remaining traffic cope with the long vehicles – for example, when overtaking? The experiment is scheduled to last three years, i.e. until 2012. However, the ANFIA intends to give preliminary answers in mid-2010.
A total of 15 experimental articulated trucks are on the road in Italy.
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05
Traffic
The 18-metre length requires extra space for manoeuvring.
Vehicle pool manager Massimo Casiraghi says: ‘More trailers with Soft Docking have been ordered’.
A LED lamp provides a visual warning to the driver.
8 was done in three hours’, Masimo Casiraghi recalls, and he is convinced that Soft Docking will save him money in the future: ‘Vehicle damage from docking too forcefully at the ramp costs us around EUR 550 per year per vehicle’, he says, quoting statistics, and he reckons: ‘This system will pay for itself in no time at all’.
Commissioned treats are also part of the business.
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contractors grew consistently with the supermarket and reached 40 trucks at the beginning of the 1990s. Brivio & Viganò have remained true to their specialisation in food distribution and mainly internal traffic in northern Italy right up to the present and have thereby done very well. Three additional branch offices in the north of Italy have, over time, joined the head office in the small town Usmate Velate near Milan.
Soft Docking came along at just the right time for Casiraghi. The 160 vehicles in Brivio & Viganò’s well-maintained vehicle pool are particularly at risk for docking-related damage for two reasons. Since they are all refrigerated vehicles, damage is often especially expensive if it occurs. And, since Brivio & Viganò’s business is almost exclusively distribution of foodstuffs in northern Italy, the orange and white painted fleet has frequent contact with loading bays.Regarding the 18-metre experimental vehicle, Casiraghi wishes for a larger overall weight than the 44 tonnes currently allowed in Italy to go with the extra length because then he could then attach a three-axle tractor unit to the long trailer and ‘utilise the potential of 37 instead of 33 pallets much better than at present’. Currently, he often cannot fill the generous loading space because he hits the weight limit with fewer than 37 pallets. Brivio & Viganò is a relatively young company, established in 1980, which at that time began very small with only two trucks. A supermarket was the first customer. The haulage
If driver loyalty is any indication of company quality, then Brivio & Viganò certainly don’t need to hide in this respect: Silvano Trezzi, for example, has been there for 11 years. ‘Recently, one of our first drivers, who had been here 30 years in all, retired’, says Massimo Casiraghi, describing the constancy that prevails in the company also in this regard. Route planning is very much about accommodating drivers: ‘90 % of the time’, says vehicle pool mamager Casiraghi, ‘our drivers can spend the night at home in their own beds’. But jobs as drivers, even those at Brivio & Viganò, are hardly attractive to young people in northern Italy. Brivio & Viganò have recently attained DIN ISO 9001 certification and transport has long since ceased being the only service they offer. Delicious treats of all kinds are commissioned by Brivio & Viganò and kept in cold storage. There is no crisis in this business: ‘In fact, 2009 was even better for us than 2008’, says Casiraghi, looking back with great satisfaction on the past year. ■
Safety
For sure!
TrCM+ automatically activates the parking brake when an incorrect coupling occurs.
Two large French fleets have just selected the Trailer Control Module+ (TrCM+) and a French accident prevention and insurance association also endorses the system. It happens so fast Just two mistakes need to occur in succession to cause serious danger. Error one is failure to activate the parking brake after uncoupling. Error two is connection of air lines in the wrong sequence during the coupling process, i.e. starting with the red coupling head instead of the yellow one. If this happens, compressed air flows immediately from the tractor vehicle into the feed line of the trailer and releases its service brake. The driver can still respond by removing the red coupling head without delay. However, it gets particularly tricky if the service brake has lost air while idle, which has resulted in the activation of the spring brake. But one should not trust the ensuing stillness. There will be a delay before the spring brake releases itself, as soon as the necessary air pressure is reached in the system.
W
ith a total of about 6,000 vehicles, the fleet manager knows accidents don’t happen by chance: ‘We know well enough the causes of accidents’, explains Christian Bertholier of the transport and logistics company GEODIS BM, established in the French alpine city of Chambéry, adding: ‘We expect a lot from the new Trailer Control Module+’. Incidents due to inappropriate coupling of air hoses or failure to set the parking brake are amongst the most common causes of accidents, and not only at GEODIS BM. For Bertholier, who handles vehicle fleet purchasing among other things, there is no grey area: ‘Trailer Control Module+ will be our standard in the future’. Meanwhile in the town of Saint Genis Laval 80 kilometres away, Isabelle Vigier, fleet manager for the local branch of temperature-controlled specialist TFE (which operates some 3,700 vehicles), totally agrees with her colleague regarding TrCM+. She also indicates that trailers will be equipped with this additional safety feature in the future. TFE semitrailers can operate up to 23 hours per day, whilst the trailer may switch tractors up to
20 times a day. This means that 20 times a day, something that shouldn’t go wrong could go wrong, and may occur again and again. Accidentally connecting the feed line when the parking brake is not activated causes the semi-trailer brakes to release and the trailer may start moving by itself. ‘A number of deaths have occurred because of that’, points out Daniel Clément of the professional association CRAM RhôneAlpes (Caisse Régionale d’Assurance Maladie), explaining why CRAM now endorses TrCM+. But that is not all: the possibility of making TrCM+ the topic of a new safety campaign is being considered. Few drivers are wellinformed on the subject: ‘Only 25 percent are aware there is a parking brake on their trailer’, discovered Clément. ‘Furthermore, out of these 25 percent, three-quarters cannot even show where it is located on the vehicle’. For Clément, the usual placement on the left at the rear
of the vehicle is ‘not the optimal location’ either. In any case, CRAM makes it a condition for the promotion of TrCM+ that the control unit be positioned in close proximity to the crank, which is used to down-crank the stands in the uncoupling process: ‘We save the drivers additional toing and froing, and bring the parking brake more strongly to their attention’. If the driver, nonetheless, forgets to activate the parking brake after uncoupling, the TrCM+ Parking Hold Function proves valuable and prevents any danger. As soon as Daniel Clément: the red coupling head ‘Few drivers are well-informed is connected before the on the subject of parking yellow one, the parking brakes’. valve starts bleeding air and the spring brake nails down the vehicle for the time being. The green light indicating that it is safe to proceed will only come on if the driver pushes down the red button in accordance with the instructions at the end of the procedure, and therefore releases the spring brake actuator at the same time. ■
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Data Logging
100 percent Overview Very easy to use and more precise than ever: This is how the new generation of Fleet+ for Haldex EB+ presents itself.
E
lectronics should not be complicated. And by not being complicated, they will make life easier. This same motto is the one adopted by the Fleet+ data logging system, which Haldex has developed for trailers with Haldex EB+, and which the company has just further refined. In the ‘Snapshots’ option, for instance, there is a brand new capability – a search function whose filtering criteria can be specified by the user. For example: Where has the ABS been activated more than zero times? Where has the supply pressure remained under 5.5 bars or over 10.0 bars? These are questions for which a fast and specific answer can be found via the search function. Furthermore, the well-informed user knows: If the ABS is applied frequently, this may indicate an inappropriately sporty driving style. The spring brake actuator is activated when
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the supply pressure falls below 5.5 bars. And when supply pressure is greater than 10 bars, the EBS ceases to regulate. Both insufficient and excessive supply pressure can result in unnecessary brake wear. ‘Fleet+ 3 achieves precisely the level of transparency we need for such things’, explains Marek Wolanski, boss of the truck leasing business Multi-Truck-Center in Zwochau near Leipzig (Germany), which operates some 1,400 semi-trailers under its flag. ‘Simple design, user-friendly’, are the advantages appreciated by workshop manager Tobias Schulze. The new Fleet+ makes it easier than ever for users to sift though through the huge amount of electronic data. As soon as Fleet+ connects with the ECU (Electronics Control Unit) of the trailer, five categories are displayed in the heading on the screen: Over-
view, Snapshots, Histogram, Trip Records and User Info. At this stage, the user starts by setting priorities. ‘Overview’, for example, shows the total number of trips (and the overall distance covered in the process) with the connected ISO 7638 cable as well as the stop light ca-
Smart additional function OEMs, too, can benefit from the extended and more precise data logging feature. As an option, the third generation Fleet+ can, for example, be combined with a sensor that measures and stores vertical acceleration of the trailer. Based on this data, it is possible to draw valuable conclusions any time as to how much stress has been actually applied to the chassis, axles and tyres.
Data Logging
ble if a speed of ten km/h and a distance of more than one kilometre are exceeded. For trips when the ISO cable is not connected, Fleet+ calculates an approximate value based on stoplight-based EBS activations. Haldex recently increased the maximum number of trips that can be stored to 1,000. The ‘Overview’ function can be used to analyse the trailer history. At a glance, the user can identify how many snapshots are present in six different categories, how often stability events occurred, the total number of brake operations, the values of ABS controls or the number of times AUX switching outputs were activated. Deeper analysis of the subject is a cinch: Thanks to intuitively designed, user-friendly buttons, the ECU can be read in a flash, and the PC saves the requested files. Other menus that allow the user to gather more detailed information are just as easy to navigate. The ‘Snapshots’ function shows mainly critical parameters such as overloaded trips. The relevant values appear in the form of bar graphs.
Headquartered in Leipzig, Multi-Truck-Center manages approximately 2,000 units.
heading, in the expanded Fleet+3. In the ‘Histogram’ menu, one new feature is a more detailed breakdown of brake pressure in the low range. It is possible, based on this data, to draw conclusions as to how well tractor and trailer are matched.
The user can also simply extract data about another vehicle for the purpose of comparison, tiling the two graphs upon each other on the screen to view them. Differences and possible misuses as can be quickly pinpointed. Moreover, the user can apply even more weighted comparison criteria in the ‘Histogram’ menu, the third option in the
Fleet+ ultimately displays all other important data in the comprehensive ‘Trip records’ menu, which acts as an extended log book as it conveys a total of 18 criteria protocols, which gives the user an opportunity to filter according to the user’s own criteria. MTC boss Marek Wolanski: ‘It creates the best transparency’.
Insufficient supply pressure? Brakes could wear unnecessarily.
Right-clicking with the mouse on a certain trip displays
a summary in list form of all trip data, which disappears by right-clicking again. Some filtering parameters can be programmed such as ‘supply pressure greater than ten bars’ or ‘axle load >27,000 kg’ (to find trips that are overloaded). If this has occurred, each trip meeting this criterion is highlighted in yellow, which makes it very easy to spot when scrolling left or right on the list. The system immediately displays for the user everything that previously had to be pulled from the entire history. But that’s not all: The last menu option in the heading, ‘User Info’, functions as a practical personal note pad for the user. It is, therefore, intended for the user’s own comments and notes and is saved in the PC together with the ECU data. ■
Brake time and brake pressure say a lot about an individual driver’s style.
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Technology
Cyber-Course The new rollover simulator for trailers, recently launched by Haldex, leads the way far into the future. It eliminates expensive road tests and greatly accelerates development and homologation.
T
here is music in it: one hears fizzing, stamping and whistling when the rollover stability function goes into action. Yet these sounds are secondary to the highly modern electronics. This is because the trailer exists only virtually in this scene. However, the hardware – from brake chambers to valves and pneumatic lines – is real, as prescribed by the UN-ECE (United Nations Economic Commission for Europe) for hardware-in-the-loop simulation testing.
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Nonetheless, quite a few eyes look on, spellbound, as this virtual trailer goes into a curve at 65 km/h and completes the manoeuvre, just barely: a beamer projects the exercise onto the wall. The spectators in the Haldex facility in Redditch (UK) are, at this moment, experiencing nothing less than the world premiere of the first type-approved rollover simulator for trailers. Guests include testing and approval experts from across Europe.
‘And now the whole thing at 66 km/h’, chief engineer (trailer) Dudley Harrison announces: the vehicle moves leisurely. On the tachometer and rotational speed counter display it is possible to follow how the road-train approaches the maximum desired speed gear by gear. At the same time, several red bars show the current laden weight of each wheel at the height of the trailer wheels. As the vehicle again curves right, this time at 66 km/h,
Technology
the bars on the left race upwards while those on the right just melt away: 4.4 meters per second squared is shown on another display as the lateral acceleration, which is ultimately too much – the wheels on the right lose contact with the ground and lift off. When an imaginary support wheel to the left makes a so-called touchdown (ground contact), the programme aborts.
of November 2011, national homologation will no longer be permitted.
Trailer manufacturers will, therefore, soon have to document the functional capability of rollover control for new trailers pursuant to directive UN/ECE 13. More than 30 different trailer configurations Chief engineer Dudley Harrison: ‘Accelerated are affected. They must be processes’. subjected to tests such as single and double lane changes, constant This is because, precisely at this moment, circular driving and driving through a tightthe simulator showed what regulations reening curve. quire of such tests – that they be conducted to physical limits. Legal requirements are not Virtual testing, for secure homologation particularly stringent: ‘The minimum stanpursuant to EU directives as recently allowed dard is at least as good as without rollover by the EU, and the rollover simulator from control or slightly better’, brake expert WinHaldex now make it possible to save time fried Gaupp from the German TÜV Nord and money. To benefit, however, trailers must paraphrases the specifications according be equipped with EB+ from Haldex. to the law. Harrison further explains just how effectively Haldex EB+ stability control actually works: ‘Without rollover control, the trailer would already have tipped at 57 km/h and not just at 66 km/h’. Rollover stability has been integrated into EB+ from Haldex since 2003. However, only in 2010 will this safety system be required by the EU throughout Europe. As of July 2010, it will no longer be possible to homologate a trailer without rollover control in Europe. As
Take it to the limit: everything seems fine until the virtual trailer tips.
Clever fellow
Brake expert Winfried Gaupp gave the simulator his seal of approval.
The EB+ braking system and the rollover simulator from Haldex can accommodate a number of configurations. It is also possible to specify additional parameters such as vehicle dynamics, tyres and road surface to carry out the defined test manoeuvre virtually using such variables and complex software. The simulator was developed in cooperation with the IPG automotive company Karlsruhe, which specialises in simulated driving dynamics. IPG calls the simulation solution ‘TruckMaker’. It is based on existing modules of ‘CarMaker’, which is used, for example, by Porsche, and is supplemented by several trailer-specific elements.
Haldex thoroughly tested the prescribed test programme in 2009 with 33 different trailer configurations through road tests at the IDIADA test grounds (near Barcelona) in Spain. Haldex then developed the typeapproved rollover simulator on the basis of that data. In a comprehensive expert opinion, German TÜV North confirmed that the simulator satisfies the requirements of the UN/ECE regulation for simulation testing and can serve as a full-fledged virtual replacement for expensive road tests.
Nearly any driving situation and vehicle combination can be simulated.
The new simulator is a blessing not only for trailer manufacturers who can accelerate homologation but also for Haldex, which profits from the new technology: ‘What previously took three to four months to test’, says chief engineer Dudley Harrison, can be carried out by the simulator in one or two days. ■
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Transport
Nordic Combined Timber transport during icy Swedish winters challenges people and material to the extreme. Olof Sandersson and his 60 tonne, 24-metre vehicle face wintry extremes everyday.
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Transport
Beastly dangerous: moose consider the forest their territory.
H
is work leads him deep into the Swedish forest he loves so much. Olof Sandersson wouldn’t trade the hard work he does in the forest for anything because timber trucking is his life. Sandersson also bonds with the forest in his free time: More than 60 years old, he hunts moose or fishes in the many waters of the north.
Olof Sandersson faces even the most adverse conditions with equanimity.
Even at an early age, Sandersson accompanied his father into the forest on his father’s 155 HP Scania Regent to transport timber. After finishing school and acquiring his driving licence, he himself has sat either behind the steering wheel or in the small crane cab that is mounted on the rear of his 580 HP Scania. More than 40 years of experience cannot be weighed in gold in this business that presents the man at the wheel with imponderables of every kind: In the winter, the forest floor is often covered with unpredictable snow and ice. In the spring, thawing snow regularly transforms the forest road network into swampy terrain that requires extreme caution and is, in some cases, impassable. The annual driving performance of the three-axle Scania and the four-axle trailer is quite impressive despite such conditions: The load train drives ‘180,000 to 200,000 kilometres’ year after year, says Olle, as his friends call him.
Of course, one person can’t do this alone. His cousin, Kjell-Åke Olsson, took the morning shift today, started at 4 a.m., and will bring the vehicles to Olle in the afternoon. ‘We each try to take both a short and a long trip during each shift’, says Olle, explaining the principle for good productivity without conflicting driving and rest periods. Olle nimbly climbs up into the driver’s seat, inserts the tachometer disc and studies the orders, which have been transmitted via computer and are immediately printed out onboard. It is narrow on E62, the snowy main road that he follows for an hour or so until he finally turns off into a secluded forest road leading to the loading site. ‘Sometimes rear view mirrors pay the price when there is oncoming truck traffic’, explains Olle, regarding the hazards of driving on public roads. It gets really tricky on the winter forest trails. If they have been poorly ploughed, the truck can easily get off track and sink into soft ground. In some cases it may be necessary to unload right there and then. If that doesn’t help, only powerful forest machinery can. During an empty run, it’s possible the truck cannot get enough traction, which is essential here in the mountainous border area with Norway. Olle inserts the inter-axle lock and always keeps the engine speed in the upper medium range. ‘If I drive too fast’, he says, ‘the 6 x 4 pushes over the front axle and I land in the ditch’. Olle continues: ‘If I drive 8
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Transport
8 too slowly or with too much torque, there is a risk that the wheels will spin and the load will get stuck’. On the return trip with a full load, the trick is to make his way safely downhill through the steep passes with a total gross weight of 60 tonnes or more without dropping the pace. ‘It’s often not even possible to stop when going downhill on snow and ice’, Olle explains, as another reason why oncoming traffic deep in the forest should be avoided whenever possible.
den’s forests: the tree trunks accurately cut in identical lengths are piled neatly along the wayside. Olle picks them up for a sawmill. This accuracy is made possible by forest machine technology that no longer has anything in common with old lumberjack romance. Today’s machines fell the trees, remove the branches and cut them in standard lengths in one go, fully automatically.
However, the numerous moose in this area don’t care a bit: During this trip too, two representatives of the species suddenly appear on the slippery driving surface, but manage to toddle off into the woods in time.
Olle is no less adept at packing the trunks ordered by the sawmill onto his truck. Having climbed briskly into the heated crane cab, the cab ascends, affording a better overview, and he starts loading from a high vantage point. He needs little more than half an hour to load a good 35 cubic metres of Nordic softwood onto his truck and trailer and then start the journey to the sawmill.
Primeval nature and a highly technical forest economy are closely entwined in Swe-
It’s already getting dark when the wheel loader quickly relieves Olle’s truck and trail-
The chamber: the crane cab has a hot water heating system.
Haldex brakes perform faultlessly even under a mighty armour of ice.
Tight alright Haldex regularly visits Olof Sandersson. That’s because both his Scania 6x4 truck and drawbar trailer are equipped with the latest Haldex disc brakes ModulX DB22 and DB19, which are taking part in a special test of strength with this customer. Service technician Bengt Larsson, who continually analyses their performance under such extreme conditions and maintains the ensemble, is a welcome guest for Olof Sandersson. Haldex, in turn, greatly appreciates the timber trucker because he subjects his brakes to the most extreme conditions and the company can profit from 40 years of professional experience. The results of these tests of strength are completely positive: ‘We have seen that the brakes remain sealed in an exemplary fashion, even under such conditions, and that no water penetrates’, summarises Patrik Käll, sales manager Scandinavia.
er of its 60 tonne, 35 cubic metre load of timber. ‘On this trip, I managed to earn just enough to fill my tank’; Olle querulously notes the unstoppable decline in prices. The pitch black Swedish winter night has fallen as the most senior of Sweden’s timber truckers again makes his way into the depths of the forest to pre-load for cousin Kjell-Åke’s early morning shift. The numerous auxiliary headlights turn night into day, illuminating the scenery of the completely snowed in forest, which takes on an especially dreamlike appearance in this light. Olle’s summary of his life as an ownerdriver in the Nordic forests is both sober and passionate: ‘I wouldn’t want to trade places with anybody starting in this business today’, he says, describing increasingly narrow economic margins.
Straps have to be tight to secure the loose load.
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Not for weak nerves: the country roads in the north are narrow.
Spring/Summer 2010
On the other hand, he can’t quit either. Olof Sandersson also doesn’t think much about taking a holiday. ‘This is more than just my job’, he adds, then explains: ‘Timber trucking is a calling’. ■
Technology
Joint Development Haldex Commercial Vehicle Systems (CVS) and Haldex Hydraulic Systems have launched a product offensive. Their selection is broader, their service more comprehensive.
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n construction machinery − machines manufactured by customers such as Caterpillar or Liebherr − Haldex hydraulic components have long been a constant. In trucks, too, Haldex hydraulics stand out: hydraulic units for tailgate lifts, for instance, have been working optimally for a long time; likewise, Volvo truck lift axles rely on Haldex hydraulics. Now, however, the Haldex range is better than ever. The reason: Haldex Hydraulic Systems and Haldex Commercial Vehicle Systems are even more closely linked. The experience and expertise of both partners has been combined for a multitude of synergies as well as advantages for customers.
Haldex hydraulic components will benefit from peerless service quality: They are now part of the service network of Haldex Commercial Vehicle Systems. In addition, ‘OEs profit from having a single contact for deliveries and advice’, says Laurent Husser, coordinator for Hydraulic Systems sales in Europe. The product quality is in step with service quality: Altogether, Haldex develops or manufactures approximately 90 percent of the components in the hydraulics portfolio, in particular, electric motors, pumps, pressure switches and pressure vessels. Because of this, Haldex fully controls the qualitative standards of almost all parts. This is unique in the market.
In addition, a closer alliance between Hydraulic Systems and CVS generally provides more holistic trailer support: demand for hydraulic units, gear pumps and motors to hydraulic flow dividers to Haldex power packs are widely used on piston pressure switches tailgate lifts. Volvo truck lift axles also rely on Haldex hydraulics. can be satisfied. Lift hydraulics for low-loader ramps or tilt hydraulics for silo Tilt hydraulics for silo vehicles vehicles are also available. also rely on a particularly strong as well as heat-protected electric High performance, heat-promotor, which, for long service life, tected electric motor, heavy duty does not feature a rigid connecgear pump and very compact tion between the pump and the motor, which uses little power. dimensions are special charStarting in mid-2010, a new lift acteristics of Haldex ramp hydevice for elevating roofs will be draulics, of which there are two types: one that fits under the available. It works smoothly and frame and one that is mounted seamlessly thanks to a rotary inlaterally. stead of a piston pump. ■
Spring/SuMMER 2010
HALDEX MAGAZINE
15
The Power of People
Dudley Harrison and his wife Monica in front of the famous Birmingham factory.
Publisher: Haldex Europe S.A.S. Weyersheim (Strasbourg), France Birmingham made automotive history for more than a century.
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
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.HKR@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 Cambridge, Ontario Tel.: +1 519 621 6722 Fax: +1 519 621 3924 E-Mail: info.CA@Haldex.com
anniversary celebration.
Small Family Professionally, chief engineer Dudley Harrison of EBS concerns himself with heavy trailers. However, in private, he has a heart for smaller calibres: He is a dyed-in-the-wool Mini car fan.
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mall but powerful: the classic Mini isn’t entirely in the same league as the VW Beetle or Rabbit; but at more than 5 million produced units, it is, nonetheless, the best-selling British automobile. It was produced for 41 years and originated at the famous plant in Birmingham Longbridge, once the centre of the British automotive industry, with thousands of employees, but now in the hands of the Chinese Nanjing Group and struggling for survival. This naturally has no effect on the Mini myth. The tradition lives on, and fascination with the little car that was conceived during the Suez Crisis as a compact and thrifty automobile and that came onto the market in 1959, remains unbroken. Even as a student, Dudley Harrison, with a spanner in his hand, was always happy to dedicate himself wholeheartedly to his 1977 Mini Clubman Estate instead of burying himself in computer technology and electronics studies. These fields today represent the focus of his professional life: as chief engineer
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Spring/Summer 2010
at the Haldex works in Redditch (near Birmingham), he is responsible for specifications for Haldex EBS systems for heavy trailers. ‘Rolling up my sleeves with a spanner in hand was always at least as important to me as theoretical work’, says the 40-year old, who started his career at Lucas in truck brakes and has been employed since 1993 in Redditch. It isn’t very far to the birthplace of the cult vehicle Mini in Birmingham where thousands of Minis from all over Europe gathered to celebrate its 50th birthday. Dudley Harrison was also there with his dark green Mini. He was even one of the lucky few who were allowed to participate in a special convoy through Birmingham’s Centenary Square. Harrison’s jaunty Mini, which he often drives while pursuing his hobbies of photography, travel and classic cars, and with which he never misses the annual ‘Mini Run’ from London to Brighton, is a very special specimen: It is one of the last-produced in 2000 in Longbridge and belongs to an exclusive circle of Minis first registered in 2001. ■
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
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. Granollers Tel. 34 93 84 07 239 Fax 34 93 84 91 218 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.
MAG20_GB/04.2010/Weyersheim
‘Monster’ Mini at the 50th
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
www.haldex.com