Alongside its diverse product range of components and systems for trucks and trailers, the JOST Group presented new innovations and developments at this year’s IAA commercial vehicles show in Hanover. The main highlight of JOST’s pavilion was trailer axles engineered by Mercedes-Benz, which were displayed for the first time under the JOST brand. The JSK 34 sensor coupling version of the ultralight JSK 34 fifth wheel coupling, which was especially developed for tankers and silo trucks, was presented for the first time at IAA. Along with axles and fifth wheel couplings, JOST offers one of the world’s most comprehensive product ranges for landing gears, including the electrical Modul E-Drive landing gear, which also made its debut at the JOST stand.
In addition, the JOST stand also housed the proven, multi-award-winning towing hitches under the ROCKINGER brand, Tridec’s new EF-S steering system for trailers, which offers entirely new options for driving, manoeuvring and safety, and Edbro’s lightweight CS 17-5 tipping hoist cylinder for semi-trailers.
JOST trailer axles
Located in Kassel-Calden, JOST Trailer Achsen Systeme GmbH began manufacturing and distributing trailer axles engineered by Mercedes-Benz in January 2015. The product range includes disc-braked trailer and semi-trailer axles for standard, mega and distribution vehicle applications, as well as steered axles. JOST trailer axles are especially known for their unique durable compact axle, which gives the DCA axle series its name. The DCA axle beam incorporates the axle tube, trailing arm, brake flange and axle journal in a single unit. This innovative design makes for an extremely light yet robust construction. In combination with the maintenance-free compact bearing and the wheel heads for 19.5-inch or 22.5-inch wheels, which have been tried and tested millions of times, this results in a very long product life with a minimum of required maintenance. A broad spectrum of add-on parts allows a wide variety of applications to be covered with just one axle – from tankers and silo trucks to standard and mega curtain-siders and even dump trucks.
JOST now also manufactures axles in its customary high quality at its brand new axle plant in Nowa Sol, Poland.
JSK 34 with LubeTronic1Point
The new, ultralight JSK 34 fifth wheel coupling is now also available in a low-maintenance version featuring JOST’s own LubeTronic1Point for automatic lockjaw lubrication, which has proven itself time and time again. With this automatic system, reliable lubrication is guaranteed for three years.
The ultra-light JSK 34 cast fifth wheel coupling is designed for two-inch king pins and can reduce the system weight by up to 40 kg in some series. It is especially suitable for all weight-sensitive transports, such as tanker and silo transports. JOST has equipped the JSK 34 with a newly-developed hybrid bearing to increase driving comfort and service life while also reducing the dynamic load on the vehicle’s frame. This type of bearing combines the robustness and shock absorbing performance of a rubber bearing with the frame-friendly properties of a plastic bearing.
Edbro CS 17
EDBRO is exhibiting its CS series of hydraulic front lifting systems at the JOST Group stand. They are characterised not only by their particularly low maintenance construction with the ‘Fit & Forget’ promise, but mainly by their low intrinsic weight, fast lifting and very high lifting forces. Both series are available with cover as well as with eye.
The topic of payloads is a particularly sensitive one when it comes to bulk material transport. For this reason, Edbro focussed specifically on the reduction of intrinsic weight when developing the CS series further. Today, the cylinders in Edbro’s CS series are among the lightest on the market and thanks to the one-piece cylinder construction and increased stop contact faces, Edbro has succeeded in giving the CS series a very high tipping speed without sacrificing reliability, safety or fuel consumption – even after many years of service.
‘We work on long-term relationships with our customers’
Interview with Mr. Lars Brorsen, CEO, JOST Group
What are the focus areas for JOST Group at this year’s IAA?
Following our acquisition of Mercedes-Benz Trailer Axle Systems couple of years back, we are now exchanging Mercedes’ three-pointed star brand on the axle to the JOST brand. The JOST brand will remain still even when the axle moves at any speed.
We have a new lighter fifth wheel – the JSK34 and the new KKS automatic comfort coupling system. On the Tridec side, we have the EF-S steering system and under the Rockinger brand we are working on solutions with cameras. We also have the lightest tipping cylinder in the world from Edbro.
How important is the acquisition and rebranding of Mercedes-Benz trailer axles for your company?
The acquisition of Mercedes-Benz trailer axles was important for us because it was important for us to get into axles. Now nobody can question if we have the competence of making axles. In fact, we already produce axles in India for the Indian market and similarly in South Africa for the local market. We are getting more and more into axle manufacturing around the world, which also means the rebranding of Mercedes-Benz axles was important so that people can recognize that it is our axle.
Are you happy with the way the Indian market has progressed over the years? How do you expect the market to perform in the coming years?
We entered India around 2005 and opened our plant in 2008. The market has been moving up and down but we have had no doubts whether we have to be in India. In 2011-12 when the market was down, nearly half of what we produced at our Indian plant was exported to China because we wanted to ensure we maintained our workforce and didn’t lose our competence of producing parts. Now we are happy that we are producing more and selling to our customers in the domestic market which is part of our strategy.
We are not looking for business for tomorrow; we are looking for a long-term relationship with our customers. Tata Motors helped us a lot when we came in, supporting us over the years and we have supported them as well. Overall, we have had a very good working relationship with our OEM customers in India.
How important will the Indian market be for JOST in future?
We look at it globally. We will support any market which we see is growing. In India, we have a big piece of land and people available; we just need some time to scale up our operations. We are present in India and are going to stay there forever.
Also, out of our top 25 customers globally, a third are Asian, a third are American (North & South) and a third are European. So, all markets are equally important for us. We are servicing our customers by being a part of their system so we support them wherever they go. For us, it’s a natural thing to be global.