trailer world issue One 2010

Issue One 2010 31 International customer’s fleet is painted very ostentatiously, that’s why, it’s easy to miss the acronym in the top left corner. ‘EX III’ is there – therefore, the trailer is permitted to carry explosives. The exterior walls are made of steel, other characteristics are central locking for all doors as well as devices for crane load- ing – “everything is good for Ekeri”, Mikael Eklund smiles. And you feel the pride in his own achievement, when he remarks that “this typical niche product” received the explosives certificate to the latest standard, which is not easy to get. Of course the north European specialists were hit hard by the economic crisis – he makes no secret of the fact that “within a year, we lost just under half of our turn- over”. In particular, headaches were caused by some of his Icelandic customers who over- night became insolvent. “At that moment, we needed a lot of creativity to not have to write off the entire outstanding accounts”. In the meantime, production is back to almost 80% of earlier levels. For the entrepreneur, the rapid recovery was due to specialisation: he is convinced that those who have mainly standard products in their product range are currently in a clearly more difficult situation. “At the moment in Finland, things are going better than they ever have” reports Mikael Eklund and remarks self-critically: “Maybe we simply used to have less time to really worry about the home market”. One of his Finnish customers is Juha Ristimaa, the one that is currently on the road with probably the most spectacular Ekeri equipment which has less to do with the product specifications and more with Juha’s passion for ostentatiously styled vehicles. He has baptised his 25 metre articulated lorry the “Legend”, the airbrush work on it de- pict film star legends such as Marilyn Monroe and Katherine Hep- burn or James Dean. This owner-driver has already won around 20 trophies at relevant events for his piece of jewellery. Ristimaa travels back and forth, mainly between Finland and Sweden, and he is one of the many customers for whom the lateral doors assure the necessary flex- ibility: he estimates that for 3 out of 4 loadings or unloadings, he opens the doors. He appreciates Ekeri as a customer-oriented supplier from whom he gets good service and smart ideas. For in- stance, the Ekeguard: a device that is no larger than a telephone. With this he activates the central locking, and if anybody tries to open the doors of either truck or trailer, the Ekeguard sends an SMS directly to Ristmaa’s mobile telephone. In addition, the device tells the weight of his load or the temperature in the cargo compartments. Today, Ristimaa carries lettuce, tomorrow crates of beverages, and paper on other days: “I make full use of the permitted 60 tons”, reports the Scania fan, who thinks there is nothing special about driving the 25 metre long combination: “it’s quite simple, the artic can be manoeuvred very easily”. (rk) Info More information about the companies named here can be found online at www.ekeri.fi and www.kraatz.fi Juha Ristimaa is an absolute fan of Ekeri, the Ekeguard remote control, and Marilyn Monroe. The striking paintwork on his 25-m truck and trailer is the centre of attention at many festivals in Northern Europe. »Flexibility we gain from the use of lateral doors is extremely important for us. We use it practi- cally all the time.« Juha Ristimaa, haulier Overcoming the crisis through specialisation Green flexibility “legend” Photos:Kienberger

trailer world issue One 2010

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