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trailer world Issue One 2014

Each special product also teaches you something for normal series production.

22      Issue One 2014 Interview »Each special product also teaches you something for normal series production.« On a visit to the technical trials site of BPW, trailer world spoke to Hans Werner Kop- plow, head of the Special Vehicle Systems business unit at BPW, and Johann Philipp Heidrich, head of Development and Design at BPW Fahrzeugtechnik, about special running gear for heavy and light vehicles. trailer world: What do you understand by special products, and where are they used? Hans Werner Kopplow: We have divided our product range for heavy commercial vehicles into the sectors of standard and special vehicle systems. The special vehicle systems area deals with all axles and running gear which are subject to special requirements, whether these are particularly heavy loads or special applications. After all, special vehicles are used in all kinds of applications. Consumers are above all trailer manufacturers and the numerous special providers active in this area, such as manufacturers of low-loaders, car trans- porters and many other customer and application-specific special vehicles. Johann Philipp Heidrich: For us, special running gear means run- ning gear or drawbar installations with additional functions that are de- veloped for the particular requirements of specific customers and indus- tries. This is also usually a question of weight, in other words axles and running gear for very heavy as well as very light loads, such as for electric vehicles with an axle load of only 300 to 400 kilograms. In addition, there can be very large or very small dimensions for the running gear, or spe- cial driving properties. Who are the customers? Heidrich: The consumers are drawn from manufacturers of car- drawn trailers such as caravans, industrial machinery and plant as well as commercial trailers, but also for cab-and-engine vehicle and self-propelled vehicles such as piste preparation crawlers. Can you give us an example? Heidrich: We have developed a pivoting drawbar for manufac- turers of mobile shops and market vehicles; this can be folded in when the vehicle is set up. As a result, stallholders and market traders can save space, and thus pay less rent for their pitch. Also, the sales area should be at the customer’s eye level if possible. As a result, we have running gear in our range that features hydraulic lowering. What quantities are involved? Kopplow: In total BPW produces and sells far in excess of 300,000 axles. About 20 percent of the total volume is accounted for by special vehicle systems – however this is subdivided into various categories and niches such as swinging and steering axles, to name but a few.

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