Capital Equipment News June 2016

CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS

JUNE 2016

Volvo Trucks now offers Euro 5 five-axle trucks

directly from the factory to meet a growing

need for higher legal payloads. Combination

weights of 50 to 76 tonnes are already al-

lowed on some markets.

“Distributing the load on five axles reduces

the risk of overloading the axles. This solution

eliminates the need for an external bodybuilder

and costly retrofitting. All in all, it gives fleet

owners quicker delivery, direct from Volvo and

all the benefits of a full Volvo warranty and

aftermarket support,” said Gush.

Severe conditions

Severe conditions imply situations or

applications that involve off-road or rough-

road driving, requiring an engaged front

drive axle. In this case, customers require

manoeuvrability in tight areas and maximum

traction so the trucks don’t get stuck.

This could mean the transportation of heavy

loads that require special permission to

travel on public roads. Customers in this

segment are looking for dependability,

startability, maximising hill gradients and

loading capacity.

To address fleet owners’ exacting require-

ments in this segment, Volvo Trucks has

introduced Automatic Traction Control as

standard on the Volvo FMX with all-wheel

drive or a driven front axle – an industry

first. The front-wheel drive (4x4, 6x6, 8x6

and 10x6) is automatically activated when

needed, providing all the necessary traction.

This innovation is already at work in Volvo

Construction Equipment and has proven to

be a reliable, highly-effective solution to

tackle even the toughest of worksites.

The new technology is set to give operators

reduced fuel consumption, better manoeu-

vrability and uncompromised traction, as

well as ultimately reducing powertrain wear

and damage as Automatic Traction Control

is engaged only when it is required.

Volvo Trucks Dynamic Steering was first intro-

duced in 2013, but is now available for the

dual front axles on the 8x2, 8x4 and 10x4

derivatives. This feature is set to reduce the

strain on the driver, contributing to improved

driving comfort, as well as to increased safety

and productivity.

“The poorer the roads, the higher the loads,

the lower the speed – the greater the ben-

efits with Volvo Dynamic Steering for dual

front axles,” said Gush.

In addition to the crawler gears, Volvo Trucks

launched a reinforced version of the I-Shift,

making it available for customers driving

in extremely demanding conditions – what

they call ”very hilly” and ”very rough”. This

I-Shift is made for severe duty applications

conditions found in some of the toughest

quarries and mines.

“Technically, what we’ve done is to rein-

force the gearbox and adjust the software

so that it is better equipped to handle the

frequent gear changes that are common in

these environments,” said Gush.

Volvo Trucks knows the value placed on high

load capacity within the construction indus-

try. This is why the company increased the

maximum front axle loads for leaf-suspend-

ed trucks with double front axles from 18 to

20 tonnes.

“In a mine or a quarry, every extra tonne a

truck can carry is extremely valuable. This

feature will increase the productivity and

fleet owners will have better profit mar-

gins,” said Gush. “Customers driving on

regular roads may not be able to increase

the maximum payload, but they still ben-

efit in terms of load distribution flexibility

without overloading the axles. These two

extra tonnes in the front are good to have

for trucks like crane trucks and concrete

pumps.”

For customers in heavy haulage, it’s an op-

portunity to take on heavier assignments,

and to take on lighter ones without requiring

a costly special permit.

Volvo Trucks believes that the new specifi-

cations added to their already-proven range,

combined with the brand’s increasing foot-

print in the region, will give their African

fleet owners the edge in these competitive

and demanding local industry segments.

“Innovation, yes it’s a buzzword. But for us

it’s the result of our continuous, relentless

and uncompromising effort to find the best

solution for our customers,” concluded

Gush.

TRANSPORT & LOGISTICS

Malcolm Gush, Sales Director at

Volvo Trucks South Africa.