Once again, Europe’s leading trailer manufacturer Schmitz Cargobull has secured first place in the renowned “Trailer Innovations Award”, this time in the “Environment” category. The aerodynamic curtainsider S.CS EcoFLEX with POWER CURTAIN and Eco Pack, a vehicle from the EcoGeneration series, convinced the international jury of experts. Schmitz Cargobull also came third in the “Chassis” category with the innovative Ferry underride guard.
“With the S.CS EcoFLEX curtainsider, we have brought a vehicle onto the market that makes a considerable contribution to reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions in road haulage,” said Andreas Schmitz, CEO of Schmitz Cargobull AG.
“The ‘Trailer Innovation 2023’ award recognises our ongoing work to innovate. We accept the challenge of offering our customers solutions for sustainable transport that are not only practical but also pay off for the customer.”
Fuel savings of more than five percent
Schmitz Cargobull successfully launched the aerodynamic curtainsiders of the EcoGeneration last year. In practical use, customers have achieved fuel savings of more than five percent with these vehicles.
The EcoFLEX with its liftable rear can now also be equipped with the slatless POWER CURTAIN body and the Eco Pack – an aerodynamic stowage box whose design optimises air flow and realises further fuel savings. The Eco Pack provides storage space for spare wheels, pallets and load securing equipment.
The latest award for the aerodynamic Schmitz Cargobull EcoGeneration vehicles follows other accolades such as the “German Sustainability Award Design 2022” and the “European Transport Award for Sustainability 2022” from the HUSS publishing house.
In the “Chassis” category of the “Trailer Innovation 2023”, the new Schmitz Cargobull Ferry underride guard secured third place. Vehicle configurations with low tyres, which are often used in combined transport, sometimes lead to damage to the rear of the unit when handling vehicles on the railway, ferry or at unfavourable ramp angles. To protect them, Schmitz Cargobull has developed the Ferry underride guard with sliding rollers, which fulfils the high requirements of the ECE R58.03 underride guard directive.
In the event of contact, the sliding rollers allow the vehicle to roll and, together with the shock absorbers in the underride guard arm, prevent severe damage to the chassis or add-on parts such as lighting supports. In this way, the new underride guard also contributes to lower total cost of ownership (TCO) for customers.