New axle load norms, a major driving factor
One of the country’s fastest-growing builders of trailers and other transport solutions, Ensol has delivered its first air suspension-equipped trailer, marking the possible beginning of a major shift in customer preference and market demands in the trailer segment. A crucial factor that has driven the fitment of air suspension in the trailer has been the new axle load norms announced in July last.
We find out more about the new product and the breakthrough order in an exclusive interaction with Mr. Arun Sharma, Managing Director, Ensol Industries Pvt. Ltd.
Excerpts:
What was the market / customer need that drove you to design and develop your first trailer equipped with air suspension?
Ensol is always searching for new concepts and innovations. The Government is very much concerned about the overloading of commercial vehicles which is why the notification for increasing the axle load was circulated in July.
As per the notification all trailers / trucks having axle with air suspension will be allowed to carry one ton extra per axle. We started thinking about how air suspension trailers could change the way the market operates and help drive efficiencies for customer success.
While the Indian trailer market is not that tech-savvy, nowadays people are open to use technologies that can help increase revenue and reduce the operational cost.
Please share some more details about the product, including the features it comes with and the advantages it delivers to customers.
We started testing our products at the Ensol Innovation Lab on how we can enhance our trailer offerings and make advanced air suspension trailers so that our customers can carry 3-ton extra load with the same GVW which will help improve their efficiency and boost their revenues.
We have developed an air suspension trailer with the two lifetable axles and EBS. The two lifetable axles will save the operational cost of the tires when the trailer runs empty.
The trailer offers very good driving comfort while the cargo is safely secured in all loading conditions, thanks to a load-sensing spring and an adjustable shock absorber that make for maintenance-free and low noise operation.
Electronic activation of the EBS braking components reduces the response and build-up times; this, in turn, reduces the braking distance by several meters, which can be decisive in critical situations. The integrated ABS function ensures driving stability and steerability throughout the braking procedure.
The benefits delivered to the customer include:
- Optimized stopping distance and improved brake stability
- Roll-over stability
- The range of options can be fully customized as per fleet preferences and needs
- Optimized cost of building, operating and maintaining the trailer throughout its life-cycle
- Can be mounted and retrofitted on all trailer types, including road-trains, bi-trains and tri-trains
- Extends tyre life by up to 10%
The features of EBS:
- Controls brake and suspension functions
- Includes overload protection and charging valve to ensure air suspension and brake functionality
- Analyzes data intelligently and translates it into more than 40 functions
- Feeds data into the Operating Data Analysis tool
How do you see the market for air suspension trailers evolving in India? What do you think would drive growth and what role should the different stakeholders play in this regard?
In markets like Europe and the US, air suspension is a standard feature in trailers. Earlier, truckers were getting higher margins in the transportation business and were hence not concerned about the operational costs; but in today’s situation, with the diesel price increasing day by day and profit margins shrinking, there is added focus on efficiency, technology and productivity. In addition, rated-load compliance was not very strict unlike today where companies in major sectors like cement, steel, coal and gas do not allow overloading above the permissible GVW.
In the Indian context, demand for air suspension trailers is expected to increase on the basis of increased payload, lower operational cost and enhanced safety.
The Government is a major stakeholder in driving such changes in the market and has taken a major step with the implementation of AIS 113 to promote use of air suspension by giving an incentive of three-ton additional payload.
We are thankful to our OEM vendor partners like WABCO and York for supporting us with technical assistance on braking systems and axle & suspension respectively.
We are also grateful to our first customer, New Jai Shankar Transport, for whom we made our first trailer with air suspension technology, for trusting us. The customer has registered the trailer along with a 40-ton tractor as per the new axle norms with three tons of additional payload.