trailer world issue Two 2008

Panorama 4 Issue Two 2008  For the past months, truck and trailer manufacturers and their sup- pliers have been preparing for just one particular event: The IAA Commercial Vehicle show from 25 September to 2 October in Hanover. Some have already intrigued the media with their exhibition novelties; others will wait until the actual event to unveil their innovations. One trend can clearly be detected: the objective to produce more economical vehicles. The big leap – which would be, for example, a marketable hybrid truck as a mass- production vehicle – has not been dared by anyone as of yet. For the time being, truck manufacturers are only presenting diesel engines with greater fuel efficiency, fully automatic trans- missions and natural gas propulsion systems – especially in the transport- ers category. Trailer manufacturers have been more ambitious in advanc- ing their products. Here the focus lies mainly on aerodynamics, loading capacity and loading space. Nearly all producers have invested in lighter ma- terials, cleverly tailored solutions for container, steel or volume transporta- tion and a more streamlined design. The international focus of the IAA lies on the Middle East and South Asia. This accent is honoured by the trade fair with the India Day on 29 Septem- ber, followed by the Turkey Day on 1 October. Already on 26 September, the commercial vehicle industry‘s at- tention is directed towards Russia. On that same day, the „Trailer Innovation 2009“ prize will be awarded at the IAA. jobs are in danger. Due to the current fuel price increase and the toll fee increase as of 2009, the Federal Trucking and Logistics Associa- tion (BGL) estimates that this number of jobs will be lost through lay-offs and bankruptcies within the coming months. Grand Entrance at the IAA Transport Innovations  The return of cargo sailors has already been covered in the trailer world article on “Skysails”. Now, the Kiel-based Lindenau-Werft has been commissioned by the wind turbine manufacturer Ener- con to develop what apparently is 30,000 “the world‘s most modern sailor”. What is so innovative about the “E-ship”, anticipated to leave port for its ﬁrst trip by the end of the year,arefourmetalcylinders,25m high and 4m in diameter, which, by functioning as sailing rotors, are expected to attain fuel savings of 30 to 50 percent. Originally, the technology was developed by the engineer Anton Flettner, who had equipped the cargo ship “Buckau” with two 15.6-m-high rotors and sent it on a trip across the Atlantic as early as 1926. The aircraft corporation Boeing intendstorevitalizeanentirelydif- ferent kind of “airship”. Together with the Canadian company Sky- Hook International, it is planning a cargo airship capable of trans- porting up to 40-ton loads for up to 320 kilometres. The meanwhile insolvent German company Car- golifter had formerly intended to transport 160 tons – four times more than Boeing‘s planned “Jess Heavy Lifter 40” (JHL-40). BPW Best Brand  BPW is the best trailer axle brand of 2008. This results from a Sabine Habersatter and Bernard Krone are happy about the award. questioning of readers of the spe- cialist magazines “lastauto omni- bus”, “trans aktuell” and “FERN- FAHRER”, published by the ETM Verlag in Stuttgart. Chosen by 8,500 readers, the “Best Brands 2008” were awarded on 24 July 2008 in the Spiegelzelt (mir- ror tent) of Pomp Duck & Cir- cumstance in Stuttgart. During the awarding ceremony, Sabine Habersatter, Head of Corpo- rate Communication at BPW, enjoyed the company of the BPW client Krone Fahrzeuge, who received the same honours in the trailer category. She was thus able to share her enthusi- asm over the trophy with the Krone managing director Ber- nard Krone. Truck Market India  MAN, together with its In- dian partner Force Motors, has been building sophisticated trucks for the Indian, African

trailer world issue Two 2008

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