We all have come across the breath-taking sight of wind blades, girders, bridges and other huge structures being transported on roads, with ease. However, heavy-duty transportation on public roads poses a big challenge for logistics specialists and heavy duty freight haulers. Sharp curves, steep inclines, highly-frequented motorways, bridges, subways, and narrow streets in villages and towns have to be negotiated and adjustments made to suit uneven ground conditions. With sturdy products from the TII Group, exceptional logistics performances can be attained with great certainty due to their extreme reliability, and thus the entrepreneurial risk of long-distance transportation can be considerably reduced.
The TII Group – Transporter Industry International – is the world market leader in the development and construction of heavy transport vehicles for moving loads weighing up to 20,000 tonnes. The group has three companies in its fold, namely, SCHEUERLE, NICOLAS and KAMAG, all of which are names closely connected with the history of vehicle technology for heavy transport vehicles. The companies combining tradition and innovation belong to Mr. Otto Rettenmaier, an entrepreneur from Heilbronn, Germany.
Product range
The broad product range of the TII Group includes series featuring compact fifth wheel semi-trailers that can be given an international licence as well as different types of modular platform trailers with a range of load-bearing capacities, platform heights and vehicle widths. They are also adaptable to the relevant country-specific regulations. In order to optimise the payload of the technical and approval-specific maximum load-bearing capacity of axles, the focus of development is on a possibly lightweight construction type whilst retaining the rigid main beams.
The basis for the road-traffic solutions of the TII Group is the hydraulically supported pendulum axle, which was designed by SCHEUERLE in 1956 and which has revolutionised heavy duty transportation ever since its market launch. It allows for an even distribution of the payload on several axles by forming the so-called support groups. Uneven ground conditions can be compensated for up to 650 mm and more with the hydraulic pendulum axle being very road-friendly. Whether it is wheel loaders or heavy excavators, transformers or huge industrial boilers, extra-long pre-stressed concrete beams or reactors for the petroleum industry, with its transportation machinery, the TII Group offers its customers the right equipment to perfectly match their vehicle fleet.
The group develops and produces transporters for applications in the oil and gas industry, steel and smelting works, in shipyards, in the offshore, air and space travel industry or in logistics terminals. It has three production sites in Germany and France, and in addition, its co-operation partner PFC (please expand PFC) produces vehicles for the North American market in Florida.
Indian market
In order to be able to offer its customers the complete innovative strength of the TII companies, SCHEUERLE, NICOLAS and KAMAG, have bundled the customer services for all markets and locations in a joint sales organization, TII Sales GmbH & Co. KG. With a wide network of representatives and own points of sale, TII Sales has the required global presence. Its staff act as the direct contact for the existing and prospective customers. This guarantees a comprehensive consultation service for its customers, right from the start.
The TII Group had supplied its first products to the Indian market in the 1960s and has come a long way since then. Sharing his views on the TII Group’s plans for the market, Mr. Ajanthas Kumarathas, Area Manager Sales, TII Sales GmbH & Co. KG, says: “India is an emerging market and is of high priority for us. We have a very strong position in India when it comes to self-propelled modular transporters (SPMT) vehicles for steel mills and shipyard transport solutions. 
Our vehicles set benchmarks when it comes to reliability, manoeuvrability and flexible and strong frames, which are specially suited for the Indian market. Also, our customers profit from our group structure. The TII Group offers not only outstanding vehicles but also first-class sales and service support, which has given us the best reputation for our quality and reliability worldwide.”
The group has developed a large customer base in the country and works with leading names such as BOXCO, Freightwings, Sanghvi, Lift & Shift, Essar Steel and Tata Steel among others.
When it comes to aftersales support, from the acceptance of new vehicles, training and instructions on the vehicle about modifications and overhauls through to repairs and the supply of spare parts, the TII Group offers all types of services that ensure the efficient operation of the vehicles for its customers worldwide. It also offers an additional range of services which includes support with the financing, procurement of used vehicles to other interested parties, consulting on planned transports as well as tailor-made service packages (national and international licenses, maintenance contracts, remote maintenance, etc.).
With concepts such as total cost of ownership (TCO) growing in significance over the initial product acquisition cost in developing markets like India, in line with the trends in developed markets like Western Europe, globally-proven products and technologies such as TII’s are increasingly becoming relevant and suitable in developing countries. “We offer good products with regard to total cost of ownership calculations due to our excellent product quality. Also, the versatility of our products helps customers save a lot of money. Take our Power Booster for example – a 5 in 1 solution, where you can use the trailer as a self propelled vehicle and as a pulled vehicle by a prime mover. The absolute advantage is that this system can be towed with a speed of 80km/h. What this means for our customers is that they can purchase a single vehicle, make other vehicles obsolete and save their money”, adds Mr. Kumarathas.
The TII Group continuously adapts its vehicles to the requirements of cost-competitive markets, including India. It has developed a strong position with its existing products for the market and continues to tailor its product novelties directly to the market insights gained. Moving forward, the company plans to step up its presence in India with new product offerings as well as increase its workforce to support its customers.
“India is a cost-competitive market with an eye for quality and reliability. Some major Indian transport companies have already noticed the advantages of our products. We are very active in the Indian market and are proud of our success, which is due to our high standards in quality, reliability and close proximity to our customers. Our group is currently performing a detailed market survey to better understand the needs of the Indian customers and evaluating future possibilities in the Indian market. While we may increase our sales and service activities in future depending on the actual market conditions, the decision to start a permanent establishment in India will be taken at a later stage”, Mr. Jannick Mathieu, Area Manager – Sales, TII Sales GmbH & Co. KG adds.