This year, the world’s largest trade fair for the automotive aftermarket has more than ever before to offer commercial and freight vehicle professionals both in the repairs / servicing and retail sectors. Around 1,000 of the total of 4,820 exhibitors offers components, replacement parts and tools for HGVs, buses and vans. Once again it has a host of US show trucks there creating a stir, as well as race and trial trucks.
A single, unified identification label called ‘Truck Competence’ makes it easier for visitors and professionals with a special interest in freight and commercial vehicles to find ‘their’ products. Manufacturers of components and systems, such as ZF Continental, Jost and Wabco are just as much part of this as are the numerous spare part suppliers and toolmakers, offering everything for the commercial vehicle and bus repair shop, from brake linings to turbo chargers and from spanners to paint booths.
Show trucks – a magnet for the public
Once again, this year, the show trucks, race and trial trucks are set to provide a major attraction – and not only for visitors with a particular interest in HGVs. They will mostly be found in the open-air arenas. Six different brands of tractor unit, all fitted out with stainless steel cowcatchers, additional headlamps and elaborate paint jobs, will be on display at accessories specialists HS Schoch in the open space in front of Halls 5 and 6.
With lots of shiny chrome, meaty exhaust pipes and bonnets up to 1.6 metres long, these US show trucks also attract the gaze of various exhibitors – for example on the stand of workshop equipment supplier Twin Busch, on open area 11, or next to the Forum opposite Hall 5 and in the Agora, where there are two US trucks to be seen, in all their ornamental glory. They are part of the ‘Drive-your-Dream Tour’, for which Automechanika represents the final stop. This will be celebrated with live music in the Agora, during the weekend of the trade fair.
Truck racing provides examples of applications
Just how popular ‘Truck Competence’ and modern repair methods are in motor sport too, becomes clear at Automechanika Frankfurt. Visitors will, on the stand of replacement-part retailer PE-Automotive, for instance, be able to admire the MAN race truck of professional racing driver,
Ellen Lohr, with its almost 1200 horse-power engine. PE-Automotive are to be found on the outdoor area F 05.0.
Amongst the truck racers at Automechanika Frankfurt there is also the team from Schwabentruck Racing, who will be setting up their paddock on the open area F 04.0. Team Schwabentruck Racing was originally launched as a training initiative at Iveco Magirus AG. Even today, the training workshop in Ulm fabricates components and smaller assemblies for Gerd Körber’s race truck as a training project.
With the support of numerous partners, Schwabentruck Racing will be organising an ‘Automechanika Truck Competence Rally’ at the show for some 120 trainees at Iveco Magirus AG and other Iveco-owned companies. The aim is for the trainees to complete tasks relating to their future profession during a one-day tour of the exhibition. Thus for instance, the trainees will carry out a practical test of the prototype for a new wheel puller from Febi Bilstein. “Automechanika Frankfurt is the ideal place to find out about the latest repair techniques and an excellent practical building block in one’s training,” emphasises former senior training instructor at Iveco and leader of the Schwabentruck Racing Team, Georg Glöckler.
HGV extreme: trial trucks
The truck-trial exhibits at Automechanika Frankfurt demonstrate that commercial trucks can not only be beautiful, fast and practical, but they can also be outstanding hill-climbers. In the ‘Truck Trial’, all-wheel drive freight vehicles will measure up against one another in various classes, in an attempt to steer their way, with as few errors as possible, through an off-road obstacle course. The course includes steep slopes and muddy holes to be negotiated, as well as metre-high boulders and extreme traverses. Five of these all-wheel-drive three- and four-axle vehicles can be admired in the open area on the north side, in front of Hall 4 and in the outside area F11. They include the MAN 8×8, owned by six-times European champion, Marcel Schoch, from the HS-Schoch-Hardox truck-trial team.
Be it show truck, race truck or trial truck – at the end of the day, what all these vehicles rely on is the expertise in freight and commercial vehicles of suppliers, component manufacturers, spare part producers and tool manufacturers, as well as workshop equipment suppliers and workshop outfitters and they can all be recognised by the ‘Truck Competence’ label.