EQUIpMENT cORNER


Low emission option


Cargotec is offering low-emission Selective Catalytic Reduction (SCR) or Exhaust Gas Recirculation (EGR) technology as an option on its Kalmar products, in line with new EU and US emission regulations for off-road equipment. The company says that the equipment will meet legal obligations without sacrificing productivity, and that there is no increase in service intervals or costly downtime. SCR engines reduce Nitrous Oxide ( Nox) by injecting a urea-based chemical, AdBlue, into the exhaust gas. The exhaust gas and AdBlue then enter a catalytic converter, which turns the NOx into harmless nitrogen gas and water vapour. The EGR engine works at a lower combustion temperature


which generates a low level of NOx. This type of engine generates a high level of particles, but these are eliminated by an additional particulate filter.


DHL offers new car transport solutions


DHL Global Forwarding has developed two new car transport solutions – a collapsible transport box and a double car rack to facilitate the loading of vehicles and to use transport capacity more efficiently. Both systems also offer protection against damage during transport. The C3SB box is giant version of a collapsible household storage


box. Building on the existing C2SB model, it allows several empty boxes to be stacked on top of each other during return transport. The new car rack can store two sedan-sized vehicles on top of each


other in a container; two such vehicles would only one space in the main cargo hold of a Boeing 747, for instance. Both the C3SB box and the car rack are suitable for all modes of transport.


Long trailers without tears


Aerodynamics experts at Warwickshire-based motor industry research centre MIRA have developed a new design of 4.5m box trailer that reduces drag levels by 30%, similar to that of a 4m unit. MIRA used CAD geometry and ‘morphing’ techniques to modify the trailer shape and maximise aerodynamic efficiency without compromising overall load space. It also added underbody panels to the cab and trailer to minimise drag but at the same time avoiding the complex surfacing and space constraints of ‘tear drop’ designs. MIRA’s aerodynamicists claim that the fuel and CO2 savings of


between 15 and 20 per cent) could recoup the cost of the adaptations to the trailer within 12 months. The enhancements can also be applied to curtain-sided trailers. They also tweaked the design so that the rear door aperture was reduced only marginally, to the height of a standard 4m box trailer, for ease of loading. Underbody panels enable easy access for routine maintenance on brakes and axles and apertures were created in the side skirts to allow for wheel nut checking. MIRA also says that the new design is more stable in crosswinds and spray on wet roads is reduced.


Ministerial launch for Felixstowe’s latest


Minister of State for Transport, Theresa Villiers,


formally


inaugurated the latest crane at the Port of Felixstowe’s South Rail Terminal. The rail mounted gantry crane (RMG) is the most modern of its type and was manufactured by the Zhen Hua Port Machinery Company (ZPMC) in Shanghai. Following delivery in 2010, the second of two brand-new cranes for the terminal, it has since undergone testing and commissioning before commencing operations on the South Rail terminal. It is part of a major investment by Hutchison Ports in the facility,


one of two rail freight terminals at the UK’s largest container port, including lengthening for longer trains, replacing older handling equipment and relaying some of the tracks. The Minister ceremonially loaded a container to a freight train


at the South Terminal, one of two rail freight terminals at the UK’s largest container port. The Port of Felixstowe’s latest expansion, Berths 8&9 will provide an additional 730 metres of deep-water quay capable of accommodating the world’s largest container ships and will come on-line during 2011. A new North Rail Terminal will eventually double the volume of traffic handled by rail.


REVIEW: A satnav for truckers


The in-vehicle satnav may have opened up the joys of backstreet motoring to private car drivers but it has gone hand-in-hand with the proliferation of ‘Unsuitable for HGVs’ signs, often on the most unlikely- looking byways and dead-ends. With only about 400,000 large trucks on the roads of Britain – as against 31


New look for NYK Logistics


million cars – satnav devices geared to the needs of truckers had been seen as a niche market, but now there are several devices available specifically geared towards vehicles that are heavier, longer or taller than the average rep-mobile. In December and January, FBJ tested the ProNav PNN-300, available online for under £200, or around £250 with EU maps. Unlike ‘standard’ satnavs, the ProNav allows you to punch in details such as vehicle weight, height, axle load or dangerous goods that are subject to restrictions. Then, the device selects a suitable route avoiding all these potential snags. It is also possible to select routes that take account of local lorry bans, although we didn’t get the chance to test this feature. Users can save profiles for different vehicles


– it is of course important to ensure that the correct profile is selected before selecting a route. It is also possible to set the device


NYK Logistics North Continent’s latest ten new Krone Profi Liner trailers are a sign of things to come, as they display the Yusen Logistics logo that the company will adopt when it rebrands on 1 April. CEO of Krone Belgium, Hans Philips, handed the new trailers over to CEO of NYK Logistics North Continent, Piet Boogaard, at a ceremony on 11 January.


up for a light van or even a private car, as well as a heavy truck. Your FBJ tester was slightly handicapped in not having a truck to use it in – indeed, having no motorised transport of any sort much of the time. Nevertheless, it was possible to set up the device for, say, a 15ft high, 40-tonne HGV on bike rides in and around Croydon and South London.


The device seemed to


work reasonably well enough in terms of selecting routes that avoided low bridges or weight restrictions, although the hairpin bend chosen to avoid the Croydon flyover might have been a tad hard to negotiate with a 13.6 metre trailer. Most of the


ProNav’s features were reasonably easy to use, provided you read the instructions carefully first. (As the market for the device is overwhelmingly male this could be a problem, of course, as men never, ever read instructions.) Generally, the touch screen worked well, barring the occasional hesitation while the software unscrambled itself. Instructions on where to turn next and so on were reasonably clear, or at least as clear as they can be on a screen that is only about 12cm long. The red- circled truck-specific icons were reasonably easy to catch with a hurried glance, warning you of a problem ahead though it was harder to tell whether it was a height limit as opposed to say, a width restriction. One thing the ProNav does not do, is shriek


Truck - friendly? This was how the device proposed to avoid a low bridge


out a warning if you ignore, say, a low bridge restriction; instead it calmly recalculates your route as you plough on to disaster. In other words, like any other in-vehicle electronic device, the ProNav is not an excuse to disengage brain before engaging clutch.


At the wheel of a forty - tonne artic - well just use your imagination


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