An exclusive feature from MOTORINDIA
Edscha Trailer Systems, part of the VBG Group, is keen on providing its solutions to customers in the Indian market. Edscha Trailer Systems is the inventor of the sliding roof for trucks and a byword for technological leadership worldwide. The sales and marketing of Edscha Trailer Systems is handled by Ringfeder Power Transmission (India) Private Ltd., another VBG Group company. Ringfeder India handles the sales and service of Edscha Trailer Roofing Systems and Ringfeder Trailer couplings.
The company has done a training programme with its management in India and is currently following up projects and improving awareness among customers. It is currently working on its first few orders to potential customers. The company is bullish on its roofing solutions and plans a special delivery program for the Indian market. At present, it is extensively testing projects under the challenging local conditions in order to ensure that it is ready with the best material to suit the customer requirements.
Advent of sliding roofs
In Europe, the advent of such trailer solutions came with the rise in demand for increased payload on the same trailer. It opened up possibilities of providing an additional payload of close to two-and-a-half tonne which is an increase of around 15 per c
ent from a traditional container. The birth of the sliding roof system and foldable quick solutions dates back to 1969 in Germany. The then owner of Edscha had a perfectly organised and fully automatized factory to produced hinges. The need for optimization led to the development of the sliding roof which was further improved and made stronger and cost-wise cheaper than a trailer without a sliding roof.
It is interesting to note that the curtains which were developed three decades ago are still running on the toughest of conditions in some regions. Since then the concept has had reinforcements making it lighter and more flexible and today, a trailer with a curtain sider is as strong as a steel box and is capable of keeping the goods intact even if it rolls over.
System advantages
One main advantage of the equipment is quicker loading and unloading which leads to better growth and efficiency for operators. Another key aspect is the increased payload on offer for customers.
Mr. Roger Remmel, Sales Area Manager, Asian and Australian markets, VBG Group, said: “Increased payload means a fleet operator will require either lesser number of trailers or lesser number of trips to run his operations. The customer saves a lot of money in the end, and it’s a win-win situation.”
With more sophisticated and advanced products and solutions on offer, the company feels it is only a matter of time before Indian customers understand that trailer roofing is a far-better solution than the ones which are currently used. Another important factor is that the customer is sure to get his additional initial investment back within one year.
Mr. Dheepan Ramalingam, General Manager – Indian Operations, Ringfeder Power Transmission India Pvt. Ltd., said: “When customers have time on top of their priority, they will understand that the curtain sider is possibly the best solution considering the ease of the loading and unloading which will result in faster turnaround time. Many body-builders want to use the product and will go for it when their customers demand it. We are expecting good number of orders soon.”
In India, the concept of curtain siders has already been adopted by some companies and promises to be a good bet in the coming years. Apart from the various advantages the curtain sider offers to fleet operators, it also provides widespread visibility for branding, something which is very common in Europe and other countries. Consumer brands in particular consider the space on the sides of the trailer as a valuable branding option to market their brand. This could also be an indirect but definite source of income for fleet owners.