The customer magazine of BPW

Issue Two 2010

Logistics in the future Sustainable visions for the transportation of tomorrow RubrikEditorial

Dear Readers, Contents

You’re sure to know the word “sustainability”, that meanwhile 06 Future I Transport vision 2025 much overtaxed catchword of our industry? Sustainability How does the future appear for the Commercial Vehicle not only stands for doing business in a way that conserves industry and will goods continue to be carried by road? resources: it can also be interpreted along the lines of future Leading industry figure outline their vision of the future. viability. Sustainable success therefore needs to have an objec- tive, an idea of the future. 11 Future II Porsche’s first invention What are the chances for in-wheel motors in commercial The ideas of the commercial vehicles industry and the logis- vehicles? tics industry, together with the way in which the political sec- tor shapes the framework conditions, promise no more than 14 Future III Water as the fuel of the future? small steps on a path with many stumbling blocks. While the What will keep trucks on the move in future if electric recent IAA Commercial Vehicles trade-fair presented more drives are still not powerful enough? innovations than ever before with 272 world premieres, all consisting of further developments and improvements, on the 17 Future IV Dealing with traffic congestion other hand there are no real signs of fundamental changes in Logistics concepts that avoid traffic should eliminate the transport and traffic business. congestion in the mega cities. 20 Industry » Trade fair came at just the right And so this issue of trailer world takes a daring look at vari- moment in time« The industry shows cautious sat- ous possible visions of utopia. After all, we need to know what isfaction at the IAA Commercial Vehicle exhibition in we have to expect over the next 10 to 20 years. Year One after the crisis.

It is reassuring therefore to see that for this period at least 24 Innovation Constantly reinventing the wheel there will still be a demand for axles; however, in future it will Together with Otto Fuchs, BPW has developed an alu- be increasingly important to take a holistic approach. BPW’s minium wheel for heavy commercial vehicles that pays off development into a cross-interface system provider gives the in next-to-no time. company the necessary future viability. 27 Portrait Solar power station on two axles Let us tackle the next decades together by working at the on- The Belgian company Jan Creacar has launched a mobile going development of the transport industry along sustain- solar power station. able, viable lines. 28 International Sochi: one giant building site Accordingly, I remain, Russia is investing billions in the infrastructure for the Winter Olympics on the Black Sea. Yours 32 Portrait » Shaping the future as a joint project« BPW’s Paderborn subsidiary sees itself as a trustworthy partner for chassis systems in the car and special vehicle sector. 04 Panorama Dr. Bert Brauers, Member of the Management Board/Sales 35 Dialogue/preview E-Mail: [email protected] 35 Imprint Graphic on titel: Hoffmann

2 Ausgabe Eins 2010 Photos: Willms, Behler, Jans, Fünf6

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Issue Two 2010 3 Panorama

Recommendation: Yesterday’s Tomorrows

Automechanika  Author Tommy Laeng com- bines dream visions from the past with the fascinating il- lustrations of the graphic designer Klaus Bürgle (which have also been used as the basis for the il- lustrations in this trailer world) in a unique shared view (unfortu- nately only available in German.  Following a difficult year in 2009, the contacts in countries such as Azerbaijan, Turk- “Zukunftsträume von gestern, Automechanika 2010 as the world’s largest menistan and Uzbekistan. heute, übermorgen” trade-fair for the automotive aftermarket of- “Together with general aftermarket topics, the can be purchased for €19.90 fered BPW an outstanding opportunity to show talks also focused on our proprietary ECO Disc from LKIT Verlag, presence and cultivate contacts in new target brake for trailers. The swift, successful launch ISBN: 978-3-643-10675-9 markets. With around 155,000 visitors from of this product received a most positive echo 180 countries, the trade-fair set a new record from our customers”, says Stefan Oelhafen, for the visiting countries. BPW thus made new Aftermarket Manager at BPW.

‘Busch-Hungária’ siderable progress in safeguard- structures.” This is the conclu- foundry joins the ing production capability and sion reached by the interna- BPW Group delivery reliability for spheroi- tional series of studies “Trans- As an English alternative, we dal graphite products. In future, portation & Logistics 2030” by recommend:  BPW and the foundry M. Busch ‘Busch-Hungária’ will therefore PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) “Yesterday’s Tommorows: Past which belongs to the BWP Group become an important support and the Supply Chain Manage- Visions of the American Future” have proceeded with a complete facility within the BPW Group. ment Institute (SMI) of the by Joseph J Corn and Brian takeover of the spheroidal graph- EBS Business School. This was Horrigan, The Johns Hopkins ite foundry run hitherto as a joint part of a presentation entitled University Press which can be venture with the Hungarian com- “Emerging Markets - New hubs, purchased for € 25,99 through pany Rába. new spokes, new industry lead- Amazon.com amongst others. The company in Györ in the ers?” which was presented at the North West of the company BVL Logistics Congress. is only approx. 100 km from As far as the logistics global »The days of ‘BPW-Hungária’ in Szombathely. players are concerned, these A workforce of 300 employees changes entail both chances and trench warfare produces amongst other things The site in Györ is responsible risks, as access to the new mar- wheel hubs, brake callipers and for casting components for the kets is often highly restricted are definitely a axle housings on a production ECO Disc. and they will also be confront- site covering around 30,000 m². ed with new and in some cases thing of the past.« Alongside BPW and Rába, the Logistics world 2030 locally specialized competitors. customer base also includes other VDA President Matthias  Wissmann at the IAA on companies in the car and HGV “The dynamic economic de- The study series “Transporta- cooperation between VDA and industry. velopment of the emerging tion & Logistics 2030” is avail- Deutsche Bahn with regard to For the BPW Group, the takeover countries will bring about fun- able free of charge at networking different modes of of ‘Busch-Hungária’ brings con- damentally changed logistics http://www.pwc.com/transport transport

4 Issue Two 2010 Panorama

Quality management at BPW

At BPW, every single blank that starts the production process sists the measuring room with precision know-how. Similarly, and every single finished part that is sent to the customer goes initial sample inspection is carried out promptly with extensive through the quality assurance process. BPW gives quality top laboratory and measuring room activities. Material flows in the priority. measuring room have been optimised to ensure that the chal- lenges and tasks presented by new products such as the ECO Disc  BPW has recently erected a new building at company head- trailer disc brake can be implemented quickly and successfully. quarters in Wiehl for the extensive tasks involved in quality The quality department has set up a “branch” at the new ECO Disc management. The two-storey state-of-the-art building complex production facility. At the centre of the production building with accommodates amongst others the laboratories, testing and about 10,000 m² of floor space, the quality department supports measuring divisions together with gauge construction. The close cutting-edge production and assembly of the ECO Disc with state- proximity of all areas now of-the-art measuring technology. A large number of new measur- optimises organisational ing methods and precision machines can be found here that are workflows and communication otherwise only featured in calibration laboratories. Function test procedures in BPW’s qual- rigs for example are used for final function testing with air gap ity department. For example, controls and map tests so that any irregularities in the fully auto- compliance with high-preci- mated assembly of the trailer disc brake can be detected immedi- sion drawing requirements has ately and corresponding measures taken straightaway. to be safeguarded by complex BPW technicians are very strict measuring system analysis. Just one more reason why the company’s motto is “BPW – The about quality assurance. Here gauge construction as- Quality Factor”.

Logistics and HGV industry are growing again

 “For 2010 and 2011 we expect ployment figures are now improv- turnover to increase by 4 to 5 ing again. percent”, predicted BVL Chair- The commercial vehicle industry man Professor Raimund Klinkn- is also seeing renewed growth. 1,000 er at the German Logistics Con- MAN for example recorded a gress in Berlin. After an extremely 20% increase in turnover in the brake callipers for BPW’s ECO Disc trailer disc brake are manufac- difficult year with an 8% decline in first nine months of this year, tured on the average per day. turnover, both turnover and em- compared to last year.

Issue Two 2010 5 Future I

Transport Vision 2025 The finite nature of oil reserves, climate change and traffic growth reaching capacity point demand great ideas for transport in the future. trailer world has taken a closer look at Utopia for road freight transport and enquired about solutions for the short and medium-term future.

isions take a courageous look at the future, they are great dreams no denying the similarity to the legendary “Rumpler Tropfenwagen” V to be achieved. But fantasies for road transport tend to be more (Rumpler teardrop vehicle) that sped along the highways of the Me- sober, being tied to specific purposes and utility values. They concen- tropolis in 1925 in Fritz Lang’s eponymous visionary film. trate above all on possible solutions for the urgent problems of the In spite of the futuristic design, MAN’s Truck 2025 still remains present and the future. Efforts by the heavy goods vehicle industry true to the principle of “towing truck with trailer”: the semitrailer focus primarily on reducing energy consumption for freight trans- as a one-piece transport container offers too many advantages for port. Simply put, the future motto is to save fuel and thus energy. it to be deemed replaceable. Nor did the future road train combi- The ideas for implementing this vision are wide-ranging, but all share nation created by MAN’s chief truck designer Holger Koos and his one common factor: transport will still use the roads, with vehicles team depart from the basic technical prerequisites of current truck- rolling on wheels powered by a self-sufficient drive system, consist- trailer combinations. Nevertheless, it does herald a clear change: ing in all probability of a combustion engine. away from the cuboid shape that braces itself against the head wind with an air resistance coefficient of about 0.5, to a streamlined de- The load train concept for the future At the IAA 2010 for ex- sign with an excellent cw value of 0.3 which is on a par with that ample, MAN presented its Concept S study as a first concept for the of modern cars. truck-train 2025. This progressive trade-fair presentation intended to show practical possible solutions and stimulate discussion. MAN’s Combustion engine keeps on running According to Stefan key messages: in future, aerodynamic design will play an even more Knecht, Head of Truck and Cab Development at MAN, the ­Concept S crucial role in freight transport. And the truck and trailer must work study which created quite a stir at the IAA is said to have carbon reduc- together as a finely coordinated unit in order to save resources. tion levels and corresponding potential fuel savings of up to 25%. The Visually speaking, this idea is manifested above all in a stream- elegantly shaped bodywork of the MAN truck conceals plenty of in- lined design of both truck and trailer. The latter curved upwards in novative engineering. Wheels with individual suspension offer added a banana shape, designed to form a perfect match with the driver’s space for modified cooling systems. And the electrification of acces- cab. This attractive unit showed a remote resemblance to a dolphin sory units, powered by giant solar panels on the cab or trailer roof, and presented scarcely any resistance to the head wind: the air sim- permits a completely new combination of drive components working ply flows over the truck and trailer with little interference. There’s with conventional diesel or biofuels. “Diesel-based combustion is Graphics: Hoffmann

6 Issue Two 2010 Issue Two 2010 7 Future I

»There‘s still a future for trucks with combustion engines.« Stefan Knecht and Holger Koos from MAN

an integral part of the foreseeable trucking future”, says Stefan Knecht. The MAN Concept S also needs new approaches to the logistics But it doesn’t necessarily have to be mineral diesel, adds the expert. Fu- environment, for example at the contact point to the loading ramp, els made from biomass, liquefied natural gas or other new sources will load distribution and access to inside the trailer. On the other hand, be driving the diesel engines of the future. On condition that a func- an aerodynamic truck loses some of its advantages when trans- tioning infrastructure can be put in place, hydrogen could also have porting containers, with the square-shaped container still offer- a future in combustion drive ing too much air resistance. systems for trucks. “We’re Other questions about the not going to just throw away Truck 2025 concept looked nearly one hundred years of at radical changes to the combustion engine know- cab. But for the time being, how!”, argues Knecht. these issues remain highly This view is shared by hypothetical. There are no leading commercial vehicle medium-term plans to ac- experts, in spite of all the tually put Concept S on the euphoria surrounding alter- road; instead, it is intended native drive forms. MAN’s to provide inspiration for innovative truck with its technical implementation new, stretched design still and political acceptance. offers enough space for al- ternative accommodation The future begins now of additional units. From Iveco has taken a compar- solar collectors generating atively small leap in time solar electricity via thermal to 2015 with its “Glider”. recuperation encompass- The research laboratories ing all the heat produced in Turin prefer to con- in the engine itself and in centrate on current road- the brakes, they contribute worthiness rather than on to providing the necessary far-distant studies. Inspired power. by the physiognomy of an eagle, essential features of New length regulations the Iveco Glider focus on necessary However, the optimum aerodynamics, aerodynamic shape of the new concept semitrailer train with its omitting bulky outside mirrors, for example. Flap control for the enlarged space requirements would demand changes in the length cooling-air inlets and passage of the head wind through the truck regulations. “We will need a total length of 20 metres to accom- frame are just some of the aspects intended to make the wind a modate the same number of pallets as a conventional trailer”, says partner in the search for efficiency, as in the eagle. MAN chief engineer Knecht. Customers are not going to accept any reductions in payload, which would be counterproductive in Electricity for accessory units In their search for efficiency, the terms of cutting the overall costs. Italian designers have come up with several innovative solutions, Graphics: Hoffmann, Photos: Willms, Krone

8 Issue Two 2010 Future I

»New materials help to increase the payload.« Uwe Sasse, Fahrzeugwerk Krone

such as placing the engine radiators in the middle of the frame and with conventional towing trucks: the so-called Don-Bur Teardrop decoupling the drive engine completely from all power-robbing trailer is already being produced in the UK today. The Teardrop accessory units such as water pump, air or A/C compressor and trailers have a domed roof, similar to that in the MAN study. The radiator fan. generous bridge height of 4.6 m on British motorways permits Fed by “free” electricity recuperated from braking force and solar operation of the consumption-efficient trailer, without having to power, the accessory units dispense with cargo space. would no longer make Double-decker loading and their negative contribution reduced height versions of 4 of around 8% to the truck’s m for use on the continent fuel consumption. This en- supplement the range of the hances overall efficiency. inventive British company The comparatively small that has already put more amount of energy need- than 1,000 teardrop bodies ed by the accessory units on the roads. could already be stored Fahrzeugwerk Krone in present-day and above also offers the European all affordable battery sys- market products that have tems that keep it ready as been optimised in terms and when needed. Heat ex- of profitability and energy changers in the Glider gen- efficiency, such as the Pro erate further energy from Liner Eco semitrailer and the engine’s waste heat. the EasyTarp curtain lock- The Glider with its feasi- ing feature. “Aerodynamics ble future concept is the are important in trailer de- logical continuation of a sign, but this is not the only fuel-saving truck. This on- way to enhance energy ef- going development has ficiency”, says Uwe Sasse, already started to become Technical Director at Kro- reality in the new consump- ne. Consistent lightweight tion optimized products construction helps to op- Eco-Stralis and Efficient timise the energy balance, Line, currently presented while the axle and tyres also by Iveco and MAN respectively. still offer potential for reducing the rolling resistance.

Trailer manufacturers with their own concepts Innovative Chances in new materials Uwe Sasse also sees the use of new trailer manufacturers also have to keep comparatively close to the materials as a means of improving efficiency, helping to reduce practical situation in everyday transport operations to – at least – energy demand for example in the refrigerated trailer. But the time maintain acceptance among customers. The most striking approach is not ripe yet to make extensive use of carbon fibre materials. The comes from the UK. Here they are using a new design of trailer corresponding production processes are still too expensive

Issue Two 2010 9 Future I

»Networking that goes beyond the actual truck.« Bernhard Rossenbach, BPW

and the high-strength materials are too sensitive to torsion loads road, travelling along special motorway lanes coupled at intervals for them to be used in standard vehicles in the foreseeable future. of just one metre by electronic drawbars, forming super road trains. But components made of carbon fibre could help to increase the Here aerodynamic design would only be relevant to the “leader” at the payload. Recuperating braking energy from the three-axle chas- front of the train and to the last trailer. In between, the body would sis will play a central role in consist of cuboid driver cabs the future of trailers too, us- and transport units forming ing the resulting electricity an almost streamlined train to cool the cargo compart- unit. ment. Cooperation with The Swedish truck man- innovative system partners ufacturer Volvo has posted such as BPW and compat- its corresponding vision on ible electronic networking YouTube on the internet for of the entire truck-and- all to see under the keyword trailer combination is thus “Volvo Vision 2020”. On a becoming increasingly im- small scale, the long truck portant for manufacturers concept known as the Euro- of both motor vehicles and Combi comprises the ideal- trailers. ised form of freight trans- port for today: reduced use Networking and inter- of resources per transported modal systems “We are tonne and a decrease in the facing a quantum leap in number of vehicles help to technology”, says Product enhance transport efficien- Management Director Bern- cy. In the best case, the en- hard Rossenbach. For him, ergy required to transport networking goes above and one tonne of freight could beyond the individual truck: be reduced by up to 50% intermodal systems must compared to today’s values. be compatible with other modes of transport. The Sober visions A look global development in using into the future of transport containers as freight units forms a stark contrast to time-consuming technology clearly shows that goods will continue to roll on wheels individual loading on pallets. Future standardisation for the most along our roads in future. Both current and future technology will flexible, faster handling of transport units does not mean that the clearly master some of the challenges of the future. Now it’s up to container has to keep its extremely disadvantageous aerodynamic the legislative process to open up discussions about new vehicle cuboid shape. BPW expert Rossenbach is quite sure: “In 20 years, dimensions and configurations. After all, visions of Utopia containers will no longer look like the containers we know today!” going way beyond previous conceptions cannot be expected from

His vision goes along the lines of modular vehicles like trains on the the industry. (owi) Graphics: Hoffmann, Photo: Fünf6

10 Issue Two 2010 Dossier

Porsche‘s first invention What are the chances for in-wheel motors in commercial vehicles?

t was the first invention patented by the tor with 2.5 hp continuous power and 7 hp In-wheel motors in road vehicles have both I automotive engineer Ferdinand Porsche at peak power is fitted to one of the two front advantages and drawbacks. The higher unsus- the dawn of the 20th century – but an idea wheels to drive the vehicle. pended mass has a negative effect. that has still not really asserted itself right In-wheel drives as a rule consist of The great advantage lies in the added pos- through to the present day: in-wheel mo- electric motors: combustion engines are sibilities available to vehicle designers when tors (or wheel-hub motors) continue to lead not suitable for this purpose on account there is no need for the huge engine block, a marginal, exotic existence. The combustion of their size and the related structural re- transmission system and drive shafts; the pe- engine concept with transmission system and quirements. But this also describes the ripherals that are still needed (A/C for exam- power transfer to one or several axles is still dilemma facing car and truck designers: ple) can be accommodated elsewhere in a ve- first-choice when it comes to finding the right decentral power sources are only suitable hicle with in-wheel motors, opening up more drive system. for applications that can be implemented scope in designing the interior with possibili- On the other hand, Porsche’s construc- with electric drives. One exception here ties also for optimising weight distribution. tion with the “Lohner Porsche” was based consists of auxiliary drives using hydrau- Assuming that corresponding electronic on decentral drive units. An electric mo- lic systems. control is provided, decentral drives

Issue Two 2010 11 Future II

Where does the power come from?

However, practitioners see little chance in the foreseeable future for commercial vehicles used for road freight transport to use revolu- tionary concepts. This has less to do with the 1900: Ferdinand Porsche as passenger in a “Lohner-Porsche” electric car with four in- actual idea of the in-wheel motor than with wheel engines each producing 2.5 hp. currently available drive variations and the ranges they offer. Fuel cell system, electric or also apportion power with far greater pre- At the Paris Motor Show 2008, Michelin hybrid drives may find legitimate use in local cision than is possible with classic drive presented the “Active Wheel” with an in- public transport buses and in cars, while the systems. wheel motor which is to be used in the “Vol- existing power supply already solves the prob- In-wheel motors offer exciting possibilities age” roadster by Venturi, the French electric lem for electrified railways or tram systems. for the design of trendsetting electric truck- vehicle specialist, and in the “WILL” compact However, as far as a 40-tonne long-distance train drive concepts. It would be conceivable vehicle by the French electric car manufac- truck-train is concerned, these ideas are no for example to rethink the classic division of turer Heuliez. Experts have succeeded in ac- more than pipe dreams in view of the current labour between towing truck and towed unit. commodating both a 30kW electric motor status of technical engineering. and additional chassis and safety components This view is confirmed by the Fraunhofer “Active Wheel” in practice in the wheel. Institute. Dr.-Ing. Michael Jöckel, technical

This topic is being investigated by numerous system providers in the automotive sector such as Continental, Michelin and ZF. At the IAA, ZF presented a completely new drive unit with the electric portal axle AVE 130 Hybrid. However, this concept and others like it are only intended for use in city buses. The ZF solution is undergoing field tests in MB’s Citaro BlueTec Hybrid bus in various European cities and trans- port authorities. The central feature of this axle system consists of the two water- cooled asynchronous motors each pro- ducing 120 kW (approx. 130 hp). They are suitable both for “occasional jobs” and for recuperating braking energy, as well as for continuous operation in fuel Sporting use: “Volage”, the electric roadster by Venturi with its four in-wheel motors is cell or E-buses. said to accelerate with a real burst of speed. Photos: Porsche AG, Venturi, Fraunhofer, Graphics: Heins

12 Issue Two 2010 Future II

»Electric drives in the form of hybrid technology are conceiva- ble in trucks.« Dr.-Ing. Michael Jöckel, Fraunhofer-Institute

contact partner for operational stability and teries for an E-truck would be even heavier. motors in heavy trucks, putting the special system reliability in Electromobility System Then there’s the problem of where to store case of hydro-drive on one side for the time Research at the Fraunhofer Institute, sees en- the necessary H2. Hydrogen is kept in sev- being. This refers to hydraulic in-wheel mo- ergy density as one of the crucial criteria, at eral tubular tanks at a pressure of 350 or 700 tors on the front axle that function as trac- least in the medium term. “The energy den- bar. The massive tubes take up many times tion aids and turn a truck with conventional sity of diesel fuel is about a hundred times the volume of an 800 l diesel tank. Serial rear-wheel drive into a 4-wheel truck at low higher than that of batteries.” This means that hybrid drive as a possible alternative, with speeds on medium-duty ground. MAN has one litre of diesel fuel stores the same amount a compact stationary motor in the truck as brought this concept to the market for cus- of energy as “one hundred litres of battery”. power source with interconnected batter- tomers particularly on construction sites. Electromobility System Research is therefore ies and drive provided by electric in-wheel Hybrid drives and the possibly related use at present only looking into city cars and lo- motors, has no significant advantages in a of in-wheel motors constitute at the most a cal public transport buses where this problem 40-tonne truck compared to current con- practical alternative for short- and medium- is of minor significance in view of the short figurations. distance distribution traffic with a high share cycles of use. At the most, for the research Furthermore, limited range, handling of stop-and-go. Classic long-distance truck expert, envisaging a parallel hybrid drive problems and the lack of an H2 infrastruc- trains on the other hand will probably have with an electric motor integrated in the drive ture are at least medium-term arguments to manage without Porsche’s innovative con- train is no more than a hypothetical future against using any kind of in-wheel electric cept for several decades to come. (rk) scenario for classic long-distance transport; under certain topographical conditions this may take on the function of the retarder and Structure of an in-wheel motor be responsible for recuperation, acting as a booster when starting up or on steep inclines and thus generating significant fuel savings so In-wheel motor stator that it may possibly be an interesting aspect for the companies involved. Brake rotor and brake caliper

Drawbacks: loss of payload and space

One of the main counter arguments con- cerns the loss of payload. A fuel cell drive system in a 40-tonne truck-trailer com- Stator bracket bination with a reasonable range would In-wheel motor rotor mean added weight of at least 3 tonnes, or Rotor bracket approximately one third of the weight of a well-equipped towing truck, while the bat-

Issue Two 2010 13 Rubrik

14 Issue Two 2010 Future III Water as the fuel of the future?

There‘s plenty of life left in the combustion engine. But it does not necessarily have to run on fossil fuel.

tones as far as the eye can see: only one all the fuel cell that is given the best chance • bridge technologies such as natural gas Shour‘s car drive from the Jordanian of becoming accepted in niche areas. To- engines or the use of conventional bio- capital of Amman and there‘s nothing but alcohol, which sees widespread use in desolate desert. But the desert also supplies Brazil, for example. Iveco is the only us with fuel and lubricants – the basis for manufacturer to offer a heavy natural gas mobility. truck – quite an attractive solution for A few places reveal how complex the distribution traffic. search has meanwhile become. There are oil shale deposits half a kilometre under the Second generation biofuels desert sand. This fossil treasure can’t just be pumped out, instead it has to be liquefied first in a complicated technical process be- Green fuels such as dimethyl ether fore producing crude oil in a few years. Basi- (DME) or bioethanol are made from plants cally, it is and will remain difficult to exploit or organic waste. In the first generation, fossil sources. Even though new oil deposits oleaginous plants such as rapeseed were are constantly being discovered, oil resourc- compressed into plant oil which was then es are finite. And there is increasing public used to produce biodiesel. This is a compli- debate in democratic countries at least about cated, low-yield procedure that only uses whether it is at all acceptable in ethical terms the oleaginous seeds while at the same time to continue with the unlimited exploitation taking up extensive acreage, which leads to of resources in ecologically sensitive areas corresponding discussions about the impact such as the rain forests or arctic oceans, in this has on food production. view of the risks involved. Meanwhile, both multinational oil com- No matter how difficult it may be to search panies and smaller firms are working on for alternatives, one thing would appear to gether with the shrinking availability of high-purity synthetic BTL fuels. The “bio- be certain: future mobility will be shaped fossilised raw materials, the discussion also mass to liquid” method uses the whole plant by a mix of different fuels. The automotive focuses on the ecological footprint. which is initially gassified in special reac- industry is working on two concepts. On As far as the fuel tank is concerned, the tors. A second stage then converts the biogas the one hand, the well-known and proven search for an alternative can be divided into into liquid fuel. principle of combustion engines, currently three areas: A similar approach is being pursued by accounting for around 60% of oil consump- • development of second-generation liquid engineers at Neste, the Finnish oil compa- tion, will continue. Another possibility is to or gaseous bio fuels ny. They are experimenting with algae and

Photo: Gina Sanders - Fotolia.com, Graphics: Hoffmann develop new drive systems. Here it is above • use of hydrogen as a fuel bacteria in an attempt to produce the

Issue Two 2010 15 Future III original substance for biofuel. The creatures oil company Preem to open a DME fuel sta- Fuel cells demand a completely different they use are said to be cheap, efficient and tion in Stockholm this autumn, with others to vehicle concept, as hydrogen is used in the quick to reproduce. Unusual raw material follow. Selected transport companies are also cells to generate electricity. The resulting is also used by the Finnish energy company involved in the practical test that will be run- drive system is then based on electric mo- St1: six decentral reactors receive deliveries ning over several years. tors. A few years ago, fuel cells were viewed of organic waste – from bakeries, brewer- in general as the ideal drive system for the ies or from the production of potato crisps Jules Verne’s vision future because of the practically unlimited – which is then converted into biofuel. The availability of hydrogen. Meanwhile the fuss manufacturer claims that the resulting etha- has died down, due amongst other things nol has the best possible eco-balance: while Already back in the 19th century, author to the large amount of energy needed to diesel fuel refined from fossil oil produces Jules Verne had the vision of using water as generate H2 and the problems involved in

3.8 kilo of CO2 per kilo in the combustion the fuel of the future. The chemical separa- handling hydrogen. process, the same value for the St1 fuel is no tion of water produces hydrogen which can Some manufacturers have completely more than 0.01 kilo. The pilot plants pro- be used as mobility fuel either in fuel cells or given up attempts to continue develop- duce around 1 million litres of fuel a year. in modified combustion engines. ing the principle that has been known for In Germany, a BTL refinery at Choren in In 1999, a hydrogen fuel station was in- around 170 years; on the other hand Daim- Freiberg (Saxony) was officially inaugurat- stalled (but meanwhile decommissioned) at ler and also other premium manufacturers ed two years ago among others by German Munich Airport as part of the H2argenmuc such as BMW or Honda still see chances. Chancellor Angela Merkel. However, it has project. MAN was one of the system partners The Citaro FuelCELL-hydbrid by Mer- still not got beyond the test phase. Once it in the ten-year experiment. The approach was cedes-Benz is meanwhile the third genera- is operating under full load, it is supposed interesting insofar as the modified MAN en- tion of city buses to be powered by fuel cells. to produce 18 million litres of eco-diesel gines had no problem in using waste hydro- They have a range of around 250 km; still per year. gen in the combustion process, which cannot far too limited to forecast a great future for Dimethyl ether is a special case in hand: be said for fuel cells. Estimates indicate that fuel cells in the truck sector, particularly as this is a gaseous fuel, but like liquid gas, it industrial production in Germany generates long as H2 production is not up and run- can be made ready for use at comparatively enough hydrogen to operate several thousand ning on a large scale. And so it is still go- moderate pressure of 5 bar. Truck manufac- city buses. However, both MAN and car mak- ing to take a few years before we can really turer Volvo is coordinator of the European er BMW have given up their attempts to use see whether Jules Verne’s prediction was bio-DME project and joined forces with the H2 in conventional engines. correct. (rk)

H2argenmuc hydrogen fuel station for buses at Munich airport. Volvo is testing DME fuel in distribution traffic. argemuc, Volvo, Graphic: Hoffmann 2 16 Issue Two 2010 Photos: H

FutureDossier IV

Dealing with traffic congestion The mega cities of this world worry about the impact that increasing traffic volumes have on their quality of life. Keeping the retail trade well stocked is also a daily challenge. trailer world presents exem- plary city logistics concepts from the French capital.

very year, 31.5 million tonnes of goods inadequate. And so the morning rush hour is example, the city authorities, the SNCF rail- Eof all different kinds are transported in still characterised by delivery trucks parked at way company and the port of Paris have of- Paris to keep the city‘s two million inhabit- random, blocking small streets or hindering fered transport companies the possibility of ants and more than 100,000 shops, restaurants traffic on the boulevards. using spaces or buildings on the outskirts of and tradesmen‘s workshops well stocked, or Shopping streets are being increasingly the city centre where trucks can deliver pal- to dispatch products made here to custom- pedestrianised. Delivery vehicles and vans lets of packages that are then transferred onto ers at home and abroad. Of this total amount, account for 20% of all vehicles on the streets smaller delivery vehicles that can move about around 28 million tonnes are transported by of Paris. The quantity of goods being deliv- more quickly in the city itself. delivery vans and trucks, making 300,000 de- ered is expected to increase by 1.5% per year As property or space of this kind is rare liveries every day. through to 2025, so that delivery traffic will and land extremely expensive in Paris, there This has always been a challenge in view of be growing twice as quickly as passenger are plans to create so-called city hubs as mul- the heavy volume of traffic together with the transport. ti-storey cross-docking platforms, located often narrow and overloaded roads. A new around the city centre. These are to be erect- dimension was introduced to the problem ten City fosters innovation In order to con- ed and operated jointly by several transport years ago when the city authorities introduced trol developments, the city authorities have companies. The goods are brought into the measures to exacerbate the situation for in- defined a “time window” for deliveries and hubs at night by truck from the warehouses dividual car traffic while pushing the use of reserved the heaviest periods in the morning in the hinterland and transferred to small de- local public transport, in the interest of the or evening for electric vehicles, gas-driven livery vehicles, preferably with electric drive, environment and clean air.All major through trucks or vehicles with Euro-5 exhaust sys- for delivery in the city centre. roads were given separate corridors for buses, tems or better. Other vehicles are only allowed taxis and bicycles. This narrowed the remain- to use the night hours between 10 p.m. and 7 Coffee pads delivered by electric vehicle ing road surface and caused even more con- a.m. To make it easier to deliver supplies in This is already happening on a small scale with gestion. The approx. 10,000 delivery parking the city while moving away from the conven- the company Colizen, founded twelve months spaces on the roadside, that vehicles can only tional big vehicles, the city authorities have ago. For example, Colizen makes deliveries use for a maximum of 30 minutes, are simply also supported numerous innovations. For for Nestlé customers who have ordered

Issue Two 2010 17 Dossier

Deret‘s quiet electric vans made in the UK makes deliveries to boutiques in the city centre of Paris.

portion packs for their Nespresso coffee ma- and logistics group does not want to man- to the approx. 60 shops and supermarkets chine on the internet. age without large trucks in serving industrial run by Monoprix in Paris. But for two years Trucks bring the finished packages twice customers and retail chains. FM Logistics has now, the trip into the city has gone by rail. a day from the Nestlé warehouse way out of developed a pooling system for deliveries to In a warehouse at Paris-Bercy goods station town to Colizen’s 500 m² unit in a commer- supermarkets and shops in and around Paris. hired from SNCF, the pallets are unloaded cial estate on the Northern outskirts of the The company’s premises in the logistics site at night from the wagons on the one side city. A special computer programme optimis- Longeuil-Saint-Marie 40 km to the North of and then on the other side loaded onto the es the routes on the basis of the delivery ad- Paris are used to store the goods for nearly trucks waiting in line according to the vari- dresses. The driver then loads the route onto 20 different customers in separate warehouse ous delivery routes. The Geodis transport the GPS vehicle computer to show him the buildings. But the delivery routes are then or- group is responsible for the delivery runs for overall route and stopping points. The vehicle ganised by grouping together orders for the Monoprix, operating with natural-gas pow- consists of a small electric delivery van made same products from different brands – for ex- ered trucks in compliance with the Euro 5 by the French company Goupil. It is only one ample cosmetics or preserves, to make better exhaust standard. This solution means that metre wide and 3.30 metres long, but can car- use of the trucks’ capacities. there are 10,000 fewer trucks on the roads ry 500 kilo of load. The manoeuvrable vehicle of Paris each year. is much easier to park than a truck, and with Taking the train into town On the other its 80 km range per battery charge it is incom- hand, the retail chain Monoprix has two large From forwarder to electric vehicle dealer parably cheap to operate. warehouse sites for non-perishable goods While Monoprix and Geodis have found rail- and beverages in Combs-la-Ville which is a way premises for their delivery hub, the trans- Pooling customers and routes On good 30 km to the South East of Paris. In port and logistics group Deret uses a ware-

the other hand, FM Logistics, the transport the past, lines of trucks took goods directly house in the port of Gennevillier, a suburb to Photos: Cartographer – Fotolia.com, Klingensieck

18 Issue Two 2010 Dossier

Coping with the urban grid- lock in Paris: city hubs with railway siding, classic delivery situation, electric vehicles by Colizen and Deret.

the North of Paris. Deret has specialised in Modec vehicles for France. At the moment, by a truck-trailer combination from Deret’s producers and retailers of luxury goods and they are currently establishing a national sales central warehouse near Orléans and stored cosmetics. In making deliveries of these high- and service network. The Deret vehicle with according to the delivery routes. The elec- class products to the boutiques usually located its box body and airlift platform is 6.20 m tric vehicles are also parked here where in the centre of town, company boss Frédéric long, 2.15 m wide and 3.20 m high, weighing their batteries are recharged over night. Deret noticed that while the city authorities altogether 5.5 tonnes and capable of trans- First thing in the morning, they then set wanted to put new life into the city’s shop- porting up to six pallets with a total weight of off to make their deliveries to the shops in ping streets, at the same time they imposed 2 tonnes. When the battery is fully charged the city centre. increasing restrictions on deliveries by van or (which takes 3 to 4 hours), it can travel 100 Deret’s first key account customer for test- truck in the interests of the quality of life for km at speeds of up to 80 kmh. ing the system over a twelve month period the population of Paris. In order to counteract The operating costs are no more than €3.50 throughout the country and in Paris is the this development, Frédéric Deret looked for per 100 km, compared to €20 for a diesel de- perfumeries chain Sephora that belongs to a suitable delivery vehicle with electric drive. livery vehicle of the same size. However, the the luxury commodity group LVMH. It is The vehicle needed to be large enough for sev- purchase price of €75,000 is twice as much as hoped that Deret’s success with Sephora will eral pallets while offering an adequate range a conventional vehicle. attract other major customers, preferably in and being good value for money. Deret found the fashion and cosmetics sector. Deret is an all-round winner at Modec in the United Luxury cars for luxury boutiques Deret convinced that multi-customer routes even Kingdom. already operates around 50 of these vehi- running several times a day will make this Together with Michel Albrand, former cles in 21 cities in France. The pallets with special delivery network profitable in a few boss of MAN in France, Deret formed the the goods for the morning deliveries are years, even with the relatively expensive elec- company ElectruckCity as sole importer of brought to Gennevillier during the night tric vehicles. (rkl)

Issue Two 2010 19 Rubrik

»For us, the trade-fair came at just the right moment in time«

This year‘s IAA Commercial Vehicles exhibition in Hanover gave both man- ufacturers and suppliers the long hoped-for start signal. Following the last two difficult years, business is recovering at last: companies report more incoming orders again, together with a clear increase in capacity utilisa- tion rates. BPW‘s presentation at this year‘s show was totally focused on efficiency, intelligence and profitability.

20 Ausgabe Eins 2010 Industry

e all came to this year‘s IAA with mixed indicated by the sum of €21bn invested by technology with the added benefit of saving Wfeelings“, admitted Dr. Bert Brauers, companies in the branch in 2009 in research weight, material and time. “Together with the Member of the BPW Board of Management and development alone. ECO Tronic EBS, the IT Net is now the second and responsible for the company‘s sales. „But BPW’s presentation at this year’s IAA was member of our new product family”, says Bert the mood in Hanover was outstanding; all focused above all on two new products, con- Brauers. “This proprietary intelligent wiring in all, we registered excellent contacts at our solution is based on the concept of a com- booth on all the days of the trade-fair“. The pletely new system of architecture. LED tech- BPW Managing Director is particularly satis- nology introduces drastic simplification of the fied especially with the great interest shown wiring, for example for trailer lighting, in the company‘s new products from abroad. „For us, the IAA came at just the right moment BPW welcomes domestic and in time“, says Brauers. „After reaching rock bot- foreign customers in Hanover. tom in the last two years, we are now clearly back on the road to recovery and benefit from the positive incentives for our business. However, it In Hanover, BPW’s domestic and foreign will still take some years until the trailer sector companies had an opportunity to gain their will gain again the product activities of the year own impression of the company’s latest de- 2004 to 2006 “. velopments for trailer solutions. “I have been « an interested trade visitor to the IAA Com- BPW with new disc brake and mercial Vehicles exhibition for many years”, the intelligent trailer said Johan van de Wetering, Director at Af- rit, the South African trailer manufacturer. “Each time, arriving at the BPW booth is like “This IAA has given a clear start signal”, was coming home, with lots of familiar faces and also the comment from Matthias Wissmann, sisting on the one hand of BPW’s proprietary an opportunity to relax a little from the usual President of the German Association of the ECO trailer disc brake development. This hustle and bustle of the trade-fair”. His com- Automotive Industry (VDA). “The trade-fair is the market’s first disc brake specially de- pany has been working together with BPW is not only the principle leading international veloped to suit the requirements of a trailer. already since 1992, importing components trade-fair for transport, logistics and mobil- Meanwhile BPW has already fitted more than from Europe for production on the South ity: it is also the first show after the crisis for 100,000 brake callipers with a daily volume of African market. companies in this key sector to present their 1,000 units on average. “Our vehicle configurations differ new products.” 272 world premiers set a new Then on the other hand, there’s the “Intel- somewhat from those in Europe, so that record, turning the IAA into a festival of in- ligent Trailer Net (IT Net)”. This is a further we integrate the BPW products in our novations. Numerous companies used the development of electronic chassis compo- trailers and adapt them to suit the re- difficult period to focus on developing nents for trailer which uses new developments quirements in South Africa”, said van de new, highly innovative products, as clearly in data bus and LED (light emitting diode) Wetering. “This is why it is extremely Photos: Fünf6

Issue Two 2010 21 Highly promising contacts at the booth

The exhibition halls were definitely not as full as in 2008. On the other hand, BPW certainly has no grounds to complain about the quality of contacts. Trade visitors from all over the world came to the open-plan booth, showing great inter- est both in new products and also in the “classic” BPW items.

Info Weitere Infos über die genannten Unternehmen fin- den Sie unter: www.hkl-baumaschinen.de, www.agroliner.de, www.krampe.de, www.deere.de sowie www.berlin-airport.de

Come together party in Hanover

Those who work hard all day at the IAA, networking with customers and part- ners, clearly deserved a celebration in the evening. BPW’s Customer Evening in Hanover welcomed around 500 guests after a tiring trade-fair day, offering an opportunity to relax to music with tasty food and drink.

22 Ausgabe Eins 2010 Industry

positive for us that BPW is no longer tanker manufacturer Convair who also came just an axle manufacturer but, as clear- to the IAA and naturally also to the BPW ly demonstrated here at the IAA, is booth to find out about the latest European developing more and more into a system products for integration in Convair’s tank- provider”. ers. “I also act as the representative for our company with the main suppliers who are all Holistic approach optimises the here in Hanover”, explained Fairweather. “For interface between trailer and truck example, BPW’s latest suspension is not even available yet in Australia and New Zealand; but once this is the case, it makes the whole This approach will also be playing a crucial thing very interesting for us too.” role in future too for Doll Fahrzeugbau AG. Since April 2010, BPW also has its own “In our opinion, it takes a holistic approach to subsidiary on the Indian market. “The com- generate sustainable improvements at the in- mercial vehicle industry shows altogether terface between truck and trailer”, confirmed very strong growth with up to 8.5% per year”, Chairman of the Board Brunhilde Rauscher- said Dr. Inder Krishan Bhambry, Managing Doll and Chief Operating Officer (COO) Dr. Director of BPW Trailer Systems India. “Here Manfred Münch. “BPW for us is therefore an at the IAA we have seen that trailer manufac- important, reliable supplier, playing a major turers and suppliers are taking greater interest role for example in assisting the development in the Indian market.” This year, numerous of our single wheel suspension in the axles.” talks with potencial customers have been held Uwe Meißner, COO at F.X. Meiller in Hanover. (tw) Fahrzeug- und Maschinenfabrik GmbH & Co. KG sees the IAA as an ideal platform for cultivating existing contacts and establishing new ones. “Intensive sharing of experience and know-how with manufacturers and sup- pliers such as BPW gives us an opportunity to join forces in tackling the future challenges facing the industry”, says Meißner in Hanover. “The quality of trade talks overall at the IAA this year has way exceeded my expectations. It is great to see the wind of change blowing through the industry.”

Own subsidiary for the Indian market From top to bottom: The special trailer manufacturer Nittsu Shoki in Japan uses about 95% BPW Dr. Bert Brauers, BPW; Fumitaka Okada, Nippon BPW products. “This is why we have been com- Limited (Japan), with Masahiro ing to the IAA for many years”, Chairman Endo and Shuhei Mitsuma from of the Board Shuhei Mitsuma told trailer Nittsu Shoji (Japan); world. “As a rule, products from the EU are Johan van de Wetering, Afrit approved in Japan so we use this opportunity (South Africa); in Hanover to find out about current trends Dr. Inder Krishan Bhambry, BPW India; and new developments from the suppliers.” Uwe Meißner, Meiller; This year the focus was in particular on light- Brunhilde Rauscher-Doll and ing issues and the semitrailer coupling. Dr. Manfred Münch, Doll; Another long-standing BPW customer is Geordie Fairweather,

Photos: Fünf6, Wöhrle Geordie Fairweather from the Australian silo Convair (Australia).

Issue Two 2010 23 Dossier Constantly reinven­ ting the wheel

It’s as synonymous with Porsche as the colour red is for Ferrari. After all, the Fuchs wheel (Fuchsfelge®) from Otto Fuchs KG is not only light and tough, it also has that special something consisting of timeless design and racing flair. For die-hard car fans, this is what makes a Porsche the real thing.

t all began in 1962 when Porsche was tink- acquired a kind of global USP Iering around with the prototype for the 911 for forged light alloy wheels”, series and looking for a special, completely says Jörg Ludwig, responsible for new wheel. It was to combine light weight technical sales and marketing. with riding comfort and stability, while of- However, the company’s pro- fering an unmistakable design. In contrast to duction activities go way beyond the cast wheel, a forged wheel seemed to tick parts for car production, extending all the boxes. Up to then, Porsche had only through to aerospace engineering, gained experience in this direction with track the building industry and machinery rollers for lightweight small tanks. These roll- and plant construction. A wide range ers were forged for the tank chains and made of different parts are made for the many of aluminium – manufactured by Otto industry sectors using production Fuchs. The Porsche job gave the methods such as forging, extrud- metalworking firm from ing or ring rolling. In 2009, Meinerzhagen an oppor- the family company thus ex- tunity to become a brand generated turnover of pand- manufacturer. €2.4 billion with a ed it to The Fuchs wheel offer a wide became a classic. range of metal pro- In addition to Por- »BPW duction. During the 1930s, sche, it soon also and Otto his son Hans Joachim Fuchs ran one conquered other in- Fuchs share the of the first SME firms that opted for alumini- novative cars, such same sound basic um, subsequently producing components for as the NSU Ro 80, the the aviation industry.. After the end of the VW Porsche 914 and values.« war, the factory lay in ruins and the family the original Audi Quattro. Dr. Hinrich Mählmann, had to start again right from the very Nowadays all popular car mak- general partner beginning. But the years of the economic mir- ers are customers of Fuchs. The com- workforce acle also helped Fuchs to a swift recovery so pany’s success is based on its know-how about of 8,000 employees. that soon there were 3,000 employees work- materials and procedures gathered over many The foundations for the business were laid ing in Mei­nerzhagen. In 1964 the company decades together with more than a hundred by Otto Fuchs one hundred years ago. Back in took over Schürmann in Bielefeld (now called

special aluminium alloys. “By today we have those days he took over a brass foundry and later Schüco), producing elements for windows, Photos: Behler, Stretz

24 Issue Two 2010 InnovationDossier

»No one else is capable of producing the five-tonne aluminium wheel in bulk.« Jörg Ludwig, Otto Fuchs

“We are known above all cast block. These light wheels are to be found through the Fuchs wheel for Por- not only in environment-friendly cars such sche”, says Ludwig. In July, the as the Audi A2 and the 3-litre Lupo by VW company reissued the legendary but also in vehicles by Jaguar, Audi, Mercedes Fuchs wheel to mark its 100th an- and BMW. In addition Fuchs also offers the niversary. “Time and again, Porsche individual high-end forged wheel for smaller fans keep on asking us quantities, for example for AC- about it, now we have Schnitzer who customises reinterpreted our cars for BMW or also classic wheel”, for Rolls Royce. Not says Ludwig. many know that In time, the Fuchs is mean- forged wheel while the underwent world’s largest doors, fa- further on- manufacturer cades and going de- of airplane skylights and velopment wheels. Prac- meanwhile advanc- for many tically every ing to become one of the different airplane or largest international suppliers in the cars. The helicopter solar industry. success of is fitted with In 1978, Fuchs bought up the US the wheel in parts by Fuchs. company Weber Metals, a supplier for the the 1960s soon For four years aerospace industry, and at the end of the boosted demand. now, the company 1990s it acquired a wheel production plant More than 15 years has also been pro- in Hungary. ago, they started to de- ducing forged wheels Since it was founded 100 years ago, velop forged light wheels, for motorbikes. the company has remained in the hands producing them in bulk as part The latest coup: the forged alu- of the Fuchs family. At present it is run of the basic package for many cars. Today minium wheel for heavy commercial vehi- by the personally liable partner Dr. Hinrich the noble forged alloy wheel is made in six cles. Fuchs now makes wheels exclusively for Mählmann. complicated production steps from the rough trailer axles by BPW (see interview). This

Issue Two 2010 25 Innovation

new cooperation was announced at the IAA in September.

Alloy wheels for trailers

The leap from car to truck was in fact smaller than some may believe. After all, Fuchs currently produces car wheels with a 22 inch diameter. And so it was no great step up to the 22.5 »Investment pays inch wheel for trucks. “Prima- off in next-to-no time.« rily it was important to take account of the special de- Bianca Hagebeuker, BPW mands made by commercial vehicle manufacturers and adapt the geometry to the At the IAA 2010, for the first time BPW pre- higher wheel load”, explains sented the new, forged aluminium wheel ECO Ludwig. Thanks to decades of experience with the forged Wheel with the unmistakable crescent design, wheel, Fuchs has also coped with developed and produced by Otto Fuchs and sold this hurdle, safeguarding a strong ad- through BPW. Bianca Hagebeuker, Product vantage over the competition. “No one else Manager at BPW, talks about the new wheel. is capable of bulk production for wheels capable of taking five tonnes”, says Ludwig. What makes the ECO Wheel ecological? It was also a quite deliberate decision Compared to the steel wheel, our ECO Wheel is around 50 to opt for BPW as partner. “BPW and Otto percent lighter, while being robust and durable thanks to the Fuchs are two partners that are not only at properties of the forge alloy. This generates weight savings of home in the same region: above all, these are about 120 kilo in a three-axle trailer. two family companies that share the same sound basic values”, says Dr. Mählmann. “Both Less weight means less fuel consumption … companies go back more than 100 years, a pe- ... and the added possibility of increasing the payload means riod of time in which they have become suc- that the investment pays off in next-to-no time. Light alloy cessfully established on the global markets with wheels have a lower inertia moment when braking and ac- continuity, state-of-the-art technology and celerating the vehicle. This means that less energy is needed, a sound financial basis. They have a reliable, which also saves fuel. credible image, an ideal basis for building up the trust of business partners and employees.” And what about driveability? Dr. Mählmann is sure that the combination Also excellent. Aluminium has good thermal conductivity so of the shared strengths from both compa- that braking heat is quickly dispersed – both in summer and nies will provide customers with a convincing winter. This benefits tyre mileage as well as the service life product. While Fuchs is responsible for devel- of brake discs and linings. Furthermore, the material com- opment and production of the wheel, BPW bined with the production procedure also enhances driving takes on the marketing activities with 3,500 sales comfort and generates higher safety reserves. points worldwide. (bb)

Info More information about the Fuchs wheel and the company Otto Fuchs can be found at www.otto-fuchs.com Photos: Behler, BPW

26 Issue Two 2010 Portrait Solar power station on two axles

Diesel generators usually supply the power for open air events. These generating sets are loud and not necessarily environment-friendly. Another solution is in sight: power generated quietly using the sun as the main source of energy.

ans Creacar in Hoeselt, Belgium, turns of the trailer stabilise the system while in In the worst case where there is no sun at all Jeven 100 m² screens into easily moved operation. and the batteries are flat at the same time, an transport units. Mobile customised products emergency generating set is connected in to are the trademark of the company founded Operational safety is important supply power for the consumers on the one in 1929. Now Creacar has joined forces with hand while recharging the batteries 80% on the Catholic Limburg University in Ghent the other. to develop a solar cell trailer that functions Creacar has deliberately opted for BPW as a completely self-contained mini power when it comes to the axles. “In the past, oth- Demonstrating what is possible station, using solar power to generate elec- er axles have been used for our special trail- tricity. In July, the prototype survived its first ers with a higher centre of gravity and under major test at the Rock Werchter music festival maximum load. However, we encountered When the sun is shining to the full, the so- near Brussels. problems with the ball bearings and brake lar panels produce maximum 4,000 watt. On a systems, as well as the approval procedures. normal sunny day, 2,500 watt can be provided But we attach great importance to a high level in solar battery operation over a period of 8 of operational safety, even if this costs more”, to 24 hours (depending on how long the sun explains Bruno Jans, Managing Director at shines). Without additional feed of solar en- Creacar. ergy, the eight 12 volt batteries produce 5,000 The whole structure can be handled by one watt over three hours in constant operation, Bruno Jans, person alone and is erected within 10 min- while the emergency generating unit gener- Managing utes. It doesn’t matter how the trailer is posi- ates 4,500 watt. Once the batteries are flat, it Director at tioned: the solar panels align themselves au- takes 1.4 hours to recharge them with the gen- Jans Craecar tomatically at the optimum angle to the sun. erator and 2.3 hours with solar power. »Other axles caused problems “The principle is unique. The solar cells move The service parameters and possible uses under maximum load.« automatically with the sun to achieve a very of the solar trailer are still limited and appear high level of efficiency”, says Jans. to be comparatively modest, but even so, the As soon as the solar system generates more prototype demonstrates what is possible in The so-called Mobile Solar Power Trail- energy than currently needed, the surplus is principle. At Creacar they are certain that the er is a two-axle trailer weighing 3.5 tonnes stored in low-maintenance gel batteries that Mobile Solar Power Trailer is only the begin- with a hydraulic telescopic mast that sup- act as interim storage. If light levels decrease ning, and that the generation of “green” en- ports the solar cell panels. At the touch of to such a point that the energy demand is no ergy will become even more interesting with a button, these unfold to their full size of longer covered by the solar cells alone, the bat- on-going further developments in photo- 31 m². Hinged stands at the four outer points teries then release the energy stored in them. voltaic technology. (aw)

Ausgabe Zwei 2010 Issue27 Two 2010 27 International

Sandy beaches and snow-topped mountains. This is where the 2014 Winter Olympics are to be held.

28 Ausgabe Eins 2010 Dossier Sochi: one giant building site

Work is in progress in Sochi/Russia to build the sports arenas and all the necessary traffic, commu- nication and accommodation infrastructure to cater for more than seven million tourists for the 2014 Winter Olympics. A huge construction project under time pressure.

reakthrough at last! Slowly the huge tunnel boring machine forc- Bes its way through the rocks. Making loud crunching noises, it crushes its way turning constantly through the last stones, seeking the way out. At last, light is literally to be seen at the end of the tunnel and the first gallery in tunnel complex No. 1 breaks through the mountains near the future Olympic city of Sochi. Up to now, this is just a working gallery, but later it will be used for the combined motorway and railway tunnel. Six such tunnel com- plexes with altogether 14 individual tunnels are being cut along the 50 km route between Sochi, which will house the Olympic Village and the large sports arenas, and Krasnaya Polyana, the venue for the alpine sports. Altogether the tunnels will have a length of 29.4 km, together with 37 km of bridges.

Working day and night to be ready on time

The numbers involved indicate the difficulties being faced in con- structing the demanding route right across the snowy Caucasus Moun- tains and icy mountain streams. It demands a feat of strength to ensure that the work on the route which started in 2008 will be completed within only five years. “We are working day and night to be ready on time”, says Sergei, one of the workers employed by the construction Photo montage: Organizing commitee Sochi 2014

Ausgabe Eins 2010 29 Sochi’s entire road and rail network is being upgraded. This also includes nearly 30 km of tunnels.

company JugSK which is building the tunnel for the Russian railways personal cost what it means when Putin wants to hold the Olympic (RZD). The RZD project is said to be the most important and expen- Games at any price. They were forced to move in spite of numer- sive infrastructure project of the games. The route is costing €6.7bn. ous protests. “The state used blackmail and intimidation to force Up to today, there has been no indication of the precise costs in- people to leave their homes”, complains Alik Lej, one of the activists volved in hosting the Olympics. But the Russian Regional Ministry against repatriation. The old houses have now been replaced by the meanwhile estimates that expenditure will reach around €25bn. With Olympic Village. its position between the Black Sea and the Construction work is in progress all over Caucasian Mountains, Sochi offers an ideal »Once we get the area and not just in the bay. At the mo- combination, even in summer, of snowy ment, Sochi is more like one giant construction mountains and subtropical sandy beaches site than a gentrified resort. Work to repair the with palm trees. But the climate is also a going, there’s no main road has been going on for more than problem: in spite of the fact that Russia’s two twelve months, so that the residents currently leaders Putin and Medvedev come here to stopping us.« live in a permanent traffic jam. Only the hope ski, Sochi is by no means a winter resort. that it will soon be better gives them the pa- tience to hold on. Olympic Games at any price While the population struggles with the pit- falls of everyday construction work, the Olympics offer a unique chance for the economy. The project that is worth billions is acting And so 2014 will see the most expensive Winter Olympics of all like a stimulus package. Europeans also want to benefit from the large times: when Sochi submitted its application, apart from the moun- profits in Sochi. While state orders are nearly always only given to tains the city had practically none of what it needs to hold the games: Russian firms, they in turn gladly turn to foreign sub-contractors no ice stadiums, no bob runs or competition-standard ski slopes. for specialist support. Even the traffic infrastructure and the tourism industry were any- thing other than Olympic in dimension. But Prime Minister Vladimir European firms are also profiting from the Putin views the Winter Olympics as a personal project. While still building boom President, he managed to persuade the IOC that Russian would spare no expense to hold the best possible Games. And so for the last two years, old buildings have been bulldozed Nine multi-functional ice stadiums are under construction in the down and new ones constructed, often even against the wishes of Olympic Village, while ski lifts and slopes are being prepared in the the population. The residents of Lower Imereti Bay learnt at their mountains. Skidata and Doppelmayr from Austria are right up there Photos: Ballin, Map: Heins

30 Issue Two 2010 International

BPW in Russia

n BPW Ost supplies axles and chassis systems Nordic combined RUSSIA Press centre Cross country for trailers and semitrailers. Its customer base Biathlon Ski jumping in Russia includes among others the largest Sochi Olympic Village Russian producers Ural, Kamski Savod Trans- Dagomys Plastunka Krasnaya Polyana masch, Terstroimasch and also the Novtruck Izmaylovka Bobsleigh factory belonging to the Sommer Group or the Luge Skeleton repair company Global Truck Service. Freestyle Managing Director of BPW Ost is Wilfried Snowboard Ski Alpin Winkler. Matsesta Mzymta SOCHI Khosta GEORGIA n Contact: BPW-Ost Kudepsta UKRAINE Leningradskoye Shosse 25 A Black RUSSIA Adler 141402 Moscow, Khimki Sea Short track Black Sea Phone +7 095 7716177 Speed skating Olympic Village Figure skating [email protected] Hotel Curling TURKEY GEORGIA www.bpw-ost.ru Press Centre Ice hockey

at the forefront. Furthermore, accommodation has to be constructed together 2,500 km of road have to be renewed. The tracks between in the Olympic Village alone for around 18,000 athletes, trainers and Tuapse and the district of Adler in Sochi are being replaced over a officials. Cement for houses and roads is being supplied amongst distance of 350 km. Russian billionaire Oleg Deripaska is turning the others by Knauf and Asamer. obsolete Adler airfield into a state-of-the-art airport with assistance 40,000 spectators are expected to attend the games, and so 200 from Strabag/Austria, so that it can cope with up to four million hotels are being erected in the greater Sochi passengers a year by 2014. region. More than half of them will have four Deripaska is also responsible for con- or five stars. Two are to be built by Helmut struction of a new freight port in Sochi. After Ringbauer from Württemberg for the Schlet- all, Russia’s transport minister Igor Levitin terer Group. “Actually we were supposed to estimates that 100 million tonnes of con- start work in the summer, but it always takes struction material are having to be brought a bit longer to get building permission in Rus- to Sochi for the construction work. Seven sia”, he says. Schletterer now hopes to hold the million tonnes of cement alone are neces- ground-breaking ceremony in spring 2011. sary, let alone far more gravel and sand, al- Even so, Ringbauer is still in no doubt that it though this is available locally. Steel comes will all be ready on time. “Once we get going, from the Ural, machinery and equipment is there’s no stopping us, we’ll be 24/7 on the job”, Alik Lej is fighting to preserve the old frequently imported. The material is brought communities and against the “Olympics he says. at any price”. to Sochi partly on the inland waterways, but above all by rail and road. 20,000 transport units needed The building sites resemble bee hives. One truck arrives, the next is being unloaded, a third sets off for the landfill site full of rubble: a real logistics challenge in order to plan In fact, lots of construction work is already going on round the the timing of all these movements. After all, a container is being clock. Radio masts for mobile phone reception, sewage plants, water- unloaded practically every 70 seconds. works, landfill sites, recycling centres and even power stations – with And this all needs heaps of transport capacity. Calculations indi- the dry cooling system for one being supplied by the GEA Group cate a need for 20,000 transport units over the next four years. These in Bochum – are under construction to ensure that the Games will include truck cranes and construction cranes, diggers and bulldoz- run smoothly. ers, mobile cement containers and of course above all, tipper vehicles The road and rail network is also being upgraded. Not only the and semitrailers. Up to 2,000 of these trucks will be necessary to cope city’s roads have to be improved. Between Moscow and Sochi, al- with transporting all the goods and materials. (ab)

Issue Two 2010 31 Dossier Foto: Zappner

» Shaping the future is always a joint project«

If Wiehl means axles, then Paderborn means chassis systems for car trailers. The Bergische Achsen subsidiary BPW Fahrzeugtechnik sees its strengths in working together closely as partners with customers and suppliers.

32 Issue Two 2010 Portrait

BPW and Kässbohrer cooperated closely in the development of the new chassis for the PistenBully.

» Being mobility partners means thinking ahead. «

Franz Janka, Managing Director at BPW Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH & Co. KG

hen Franz Janka became Managing Di- tive environment protection, regulated traffic ity: “The philosophy of our market compan- W rector at BPW Fahrzeugtechnik three policy and clean air restrictions - these are the ions is often based on the hardware that they years ago, he had one main focus: to become new paths now being followed by the trans- produce. Consequently, jobs are frequently familiar with the company and all its strengths port industry. “Shaping the future is always a moved to cheaper production sites abroad. and weaknesses. And also to set the firm‘s tar- joint venture, with development partnerships We on the other hand are convinced that busi- gets. What would we like to be proud of in ten providing us with the driving force for new ness in the long-term has to look beyond this years time? How can the strengths be strength- technologies”, says Janka. approach”, says Janka. Added value can be cre- ened and the weaknesses eliminated? ated in a committed and qualified team that Today the direction for the future is well Creating added values as a acts in the best interests of the customers on defined: trust among partners, a living vi- learning organisation the basis of mutual trust. Resulting achieve- sion and an active approach. “Being mobility ments go way beyond what is perceived to be partners means thinking ahead, knowing the feasible. The general motto is always to make customers‘ needs and using them for orien- Company procedures are dictated essential- top quality products just in time and at the tation”, says Janka. Attention focuses not on ly by day-to-day business. External influences lowest cost, using the BPW Fahrzeugtechnik developing copy-cat “me-too” products but on soon make themselves felt as interference and Production System (BPW FPS) that was intro- implementing the company‘s own ideas – and additional workload. Surely this also applies duced in mid 2008. The production process much more besides. “We‘re talking about so- to BPW Fahrzeugtechnik? “Actually, no”, says is timed in coordination with the customer‘s lutions that surpass all expectations”, empha- CEO Franz Janka. “We see ourselves as a learn- requirements with the lowest possible use of sises Janka. This only works in close coopera- ing organisation that grows with the ideas and resources and according to the pull principle. tion with the customer. “Innovative solutions impetus coming from the market. Even if they To avoid unnecessary surpluses and reduce can only be found by keeping abreast of the can‘t always be put into practice.” costs, the downstream section always informs times with intimate knowledge of the market Initially this would seem to be an unconven- the upstream section what is needed and in and by developing visions in dialogue with tional, philosophical approach for a business which quantities. our customers.” company. What makes BPW Fahrzeugtechnik Information flows within the company and Climate change and other exogenic fac- with this attitude stand out from the competi- to customers and suppliers play an elemen-

Photos: Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug, BPW Fahrzeugtechnik tors influence the mobility of the future. Ac- tion? Franz Janka sees this with all due clar- tary role in smooth production processes

Issue Two 2010 33 Dossier

Chassis systems by BPW Fahrzeugtechnik see highly versatile customised use. timed in coordination with customer require- grow beyond our own horizons and extend remains fairly utopian, although it appears to ments and geared to just-in-time deliveries. the shared optimum? be so simple.” Corresponding communication extends from Janka takes an optimistic look ahead to the consulting and development via prototype Growing beyond horizons next 10 years. Developments in alternative construction and subsequent bulk production drive systems and in lightweight construc- through to the necessary transport arrange- tion together with restrictive regional traffic ments. High transparency is a prerequisite for One example of how successful open part- policy could give completely new significance successful implementation. “In turn, everyone nership can be is illustrated by the develop- in future to the intelligent chassis solutions involved in the process profits accordingly, also ment of a new chassis for the new PistenBully made in Paderborn. “Future transportation with greater planning certainty”, says Janka. by Kässbohrer. Kässbohrer gave BPW‘s chas- is undergoing fundamental change”, says The whole procedure is always based on sis specialists detailed insights into all neces- Janka. “We want our products and ideas to a high level of trust, for example when inter- sary data. This was the only way to make use bring mobility in every form and quantity faces have to be revealed. “If everyone just re- of the synergy effects and generate optimum wherever it is needed.” mains within their own defined framework, solutions for efficient, low-cost components. At the end of these ten years, we‘ll take this will always only depict the optimum “Unfortunately, not all companies are ready another look at the situation and ask you performance of that individual”, says Janka. for this degree of transparency”, regrets Janka. whether you can be proud of your achieve- But the question must always be: how can we “And so our idea of a living partnership still ments, Mr. Janka!

Intelligent chassis solutions from BPW Fahrzeugtechnik

 BPW Fahrzeugtechnik GmbH & Co. KG in Paderborn/West- and test field trials together with accompanying support. The phalia develops and produces holistic chassis technology with a synchronous BPW Fahrzeugtechnik Production System (BPW workforce of around 250 employees. The target group comprises FPS) is timed to the customer‘s processes, minimising the use of manufacturers of industrial and work machines (trailer cranes, resources. PistenBullies, compressor trailers) and trailers with up to 3.5 Moreover, the Paderborn firm also supplies components or com- weight rating from horse trailers via promotion trailers through plete solutions for single or tandem axle caravan chassis – and to simple box trailers. The engineering services encompass even for mobile shop vehicles. The spectrum extends from deve- FEM and brake calculations, as well as state-of-the-art road lopment partnerships through to IT-assisted just-in-time delivery. Photos: Armin Sallak, BPW Fahrzeugtechnik, Ilan Amith – Fotolia.com,

34 Issue Two 2010 Imprint Rubrik

ISSN: 1619-3784

Publisher: Preview BPW Bergische Achsen KG Ohlerhammer D-51674 Wiehl

Publishing Personnel: Werner Fohrmann, Bastienne Rohsiepe

Address: Shaken and stirred BPW Bergische Achsen KG Redaktion „trailer world“ It‘s difficult to pack liquids, gases Bastienne Rohsiepe or bulk goods in crates and Ohlerhammer containers. More suitable means D-51674 Wiehl of transport are available here, Phone. +49 / (0) 22 62 / 78 – 19 09 consisting of tanker and silo Fax +49 / (0) 22 62 / 78 – 15 79 vehicles. Internet: http://www.bpw.de E-Mail: [email protected]

Publishing house: DVV Kundenmagazine GmbH Nordkanalstraße 36 D-20097 Hamburg Phone +49 / (0) 40/237 14 – 01 FUTURE OF TRAILER WORLD Internet: www.dvv-kundenmagazine.de

This issue of trailer world has focused on the future of the transportation and logistics industry. Publishing Director: But we are also interested in the future of trailer world. But at the moment we are still in need Oliver Detje of exciting stories from the industry in general and from individual companies in particular. We want Project coordinator: your suggestions! What should trailer world report Kai Jacobsen about in the next few issues? All suggestions will be entered in the draw for the Design: BPW Infomobil in the Herpa model “Scenix Edition” Anne-Katrin Gronewold with light and sound. Editorial contributions to this edition: Please use this form for your suggestion(s): Dr. André Ballin (ab), Bettina Brüdgam (bb), Richard Kienberger (rk), Ralf Klingsieck (rkl), Petra Uhe, Ariane Wagner (aw), Oliver Willms (owi), Thomas Wöhrle (tw)

Photographs/ Graphics: Company: Ilan Amith – Fotolia.com, BPW, BPW Fahrzeugtechnik, Cartographer – Fotolia.

Forename and surname com, H2argemuc, Manuela Heins, Swantje Hoffmann, Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG, Richard Kienberger, Ralf Klingsieck, Armin Position: Sallak, Gina Sanders – Fotolia.com, Thomas Wöhrle, Fünf6 (Joachim Stretz), Volvo Address, town and postal code: Print: E-mail: Print 64, Norderstedt

trailer world appears twice a year with a total circulation of 25,000 copies in German Please return this coupon by 31 December 2010 by post to BPW Bergische Achsen KG, P. O. and English. The publication, its contribu- Box 1260, 51656 Wiehl/Germany or by fax to +49 2262 78-1765 or you can also submit your tions and illustrations are proprietary. suggestions online at www.trailerworld.de Any reproduction or distribution must be authorised by the publishing house or the Winners of the draw from trailer world issue one 2010: Hans-Peter Blumenthaler publisher. This also applies to the electronic (Memmingen), Andrea Dreimüller (Rockeskyll), Josef Elting (Rhede), Werner Feldmann utilisation, such as the transfer to data (Twistringen) Holder Granke (Callenberg OT Meinsdorf) bases, online media (internet), intranets or Under the heading „Optimist or pessimist“, we asked for your appraisal of the economic other electronic storage media. Publisher situation. 98% of the trailer world readers believed that things are getting better. and publishing house exclude the responsi- bility for photographs, scripts or other data carriers that are sent Ausgabe without Eins request. 2010 35 BPW Bergische Achsen Kommanditgesellschaft ·P.O.Box1280 ·D-51656Wiehl ·Phone+49 226278-0 · [email protected] ·www.bpw.de

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