Semi-trailer development: More loading volume for a better environmental balance sheet
Müller Packaging
Text and images: Alicia Salas, ASTAG Swiss Commercial Vehicle Association
Raise the curtain for the two-axle box body light steel trailer. Thanks to the higher volume, it is possible to transport up to 30 percent more drums. This is efficient and also good for the carbon footprint.
The company Müller AG Verpackungen in Reiden, Lucerne, and headquartered in Münchenstein (BL) had been looking into carrying out longer transport routes more cost-effectively and in a more environmentally friendly manner for quite some time. The new trailer should have a large volume, be stable and durable - a perfect order for Ackermann Fahrzeugbau AG.
Last fall, the project team sat together for the first time, consisting of the managing directors of the companies involved: Roland Tanner (Müller AG Verpackungen), Erwin Pfyffer (Ackermann Fahrzeugbau AG) and Arthur Mösch (Mösch Transporte AG). "For the new trailer, we wanted to work out a simple, stable concept as a team," explains Erwin Pfyffer. "Communication was always clear, the division of tasks structured and efficient. From the idea to completion, just five project meetings sufficed."
Quality made in Switzerland
The result of the project is a high-quality unique trailer and not a mass product. It is a two-axle box body light steel trailer. The overall external length of the body is 13,600 millimeters, with an overall height of four meters, unloaded and in the driving position. Erwin Pfyffer proudly states: "This is Swiss work. Manufactured 100 percent in Switzerland with Swiss know-how - Swiss quality, in other words."
This is not the first collaboration between these parties. This is only possible if they remain professional and trust each other, as Roland Tanner emphasizes. This is also evident in the products: "We all attach great importance to first-class quality. Our products are not mass-produced, but tailored to the needs of our customers," says Roland Tanner.
The project team: Arthur Mösch (Mösch Transporte AG), Roland Tanner (Müller AG Verpackungen) und Erwin Pfyffer (Ackermann Fahrzeugbau AG)
More loading volume – more efficiency
Accordingly, the customer's requirements and wishes were determined and taken into account during the construction of the trailer. For example, the interior height of at least 3.20 meters had to be significantly higher than a standard trailer in order to be able to transport up to 30 percent more drums due to more volume. Ecologically, this makes a lot of sense. As a result, the principle "Together with more volume to less CO2" was immortalized on both sides of the trailer. But it's not just the environment that's being protected, he says, it's also the wallet: a larger loading space means fewer trips and therefore lower transport costs.
The trailer is a prototype that is currently in the test phase for drum deliveries by Mösch Transporte AG to western Switzerland: "As soon as this is completed, it would be conceivable to build six or seven more trailers," says Roland Tanner.
Dimensions
- Clear length (33 SBB pallets without trolley): 13,495 mm
- Overall length of the body on the outside: 13,600 mm
- Clear height in the drop deck: 3205 mm
- Total height unloaded, front, in driving position: 4000 mm
- Total weight: 24 t built
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