Tipper trailers and other transportation solutions play an important role in the construction industry for delivery of aggregates and other material. Manufacturers are focused on delivering high-quality, robust products.
Having been in the UAE for more than 30 years, GORICA Group is a recognised force in the Gulf and wider Middle East. The company is ready to work with any customer, and there is no typical client, explains Domen Bockor, GM for Sales and Marketing. “We deal equally with massive companies that can buy up to 500 units, and on the other end of the spectrum a sole operator buying a single trailer.”
Local manufacturing gives GORICA a big advantage, he says. “We are by far the number one body builder in the Middle East and Africa and West Asia, in terms of output and product depth. And we are recognized as number 15 in the ‘World TOP 30 body builders’ by Global Trailer [publication].”
One of GORICA’s main advantages is its strong after-sales support, with service staff in all the major locations, meaning they can quickly attend to a customer and communicate well with a company’s drivers and staff. That also translates to strong resale values on the used equipment market, he notes.
Products with more electronics naturally need greater aftersales support. “For a tipper trailer, unless there is an overturn, there is typically only really minor support required.”
GORICA has factories and workshops throughout the Middle East. In Saudi Arabia, the company is building a factory that is expected to be operational in the coming months, its completion delayed somewhat by Covid restrictions. It will improve after-sales support for customers and speed up lead times, while the factory will also carry out body-mounting of superstructures on rigid trucks.
For the near-term market prospects, Bockor says the outlook for GORICA is linked with the sales of major European and Japanese truck-makers, since its buyers of a new premium truck typically buy a trailer from GORICA once they have ordered a new vehicle. More broadly, economic development is changing the Gulf from a construction-based economy to a more service-based economy.
“If I look from now 10 years down the road, there will be less of these type of products and many more serviceoriented products, meaning waste management products like garbage, compactors, refrigerated trailers, milk tankers for transportation of fresh milk, fuel tanks, animal feed bulkers and so on.”
From that perspective, GORICA is directing its product development towards high-tech solutions, whether waste management solutions for municipalities or refrigerated trailers, a process that began eight or so years back, he says.
“We ‘smelt’ this transformation of the economy and the market, and we are working closely with European truck-makers and we see changes being implemented on their trucks. We have prepared ourselves and are now really only widening our product base, because we already built the manufacturing capabilities, the design capabilities and the rest.”
The company is also aligning its R&D and production innovation focus in the direction of Expo 2020 and the UAE government, namely zero-emission and electrified products. “We are working on sustainability of transportation, which for now can only be achieved in certain industries and certain productions, though as the technology develops we will be able to go further.”
The company has a broad supply chain in Europe and South Korea, including steel suppliers like SSAB in Sweden, Thyssenkrupp in Germany and Hyundai in South Korea. When working with major international companies, such as Wabco for braking systems, they have vast supply chains with manufacturing locations across the world. “Our supply chain is mainly based with European suppliers, that’s how we ensure high quality levels.”
The company has also invested in high-quality manufacturing techniques, including automatic welding and submerged arc welding for cross-sections of tankers. All the CNC rolling is fully automatic, and the plasma cutting and steel bending are automated. “The level of automation [in our manufacturing facilities] is so high, it’s comparable to any European body builder.”
Longer service life
One of the best-known names in the industry, Schmitz Cargobull has a dedicated range of semi-trailers for the Middle East, says Fabian Bahlmann, MD of Schmitz Cargobull Middle East.
“We differentiate between semi-trailers for temperature controlled transport, e.g. insulated box semi-trailers for the transport of food and pharmaceuticals; general cargo transport, such as multifunctional Curtainsider semi-trailers for various applications; and construction and agricultural applications, e.g. aluminium tipper semi-trailers for grain or steel tippers for construction use.”
Of note for customers is the fact that the company operates a complex in-house product validation centre. “Through this, we ensure to test any new product or component 100% before offering it to the market.”
For the construction segments, the company’s latest range of S.KI tipper trailers is characterised by a payload-optimised design and high durability and tipping stability in both the steel and the aluminium version, says Bahlmann.
“The revised design of the cross members ensures even greater stability and guarantees a longer service life for the chassis, thanks to optimum corrosion protection. For the S.KI frame generation in galvanised design, Schmitz Cargobull assures customers of a 10-year warranty against rust-through.”
The company offers both tipper bodies and tipper semitrailers, with advanced R&D and testing allowing it to reduce tare weight without compromising stability and robustness, he explains. “This allows our customers to increase the permissible payload between 1-3 tonnes in most instances [compared to competitor products]. through weight reduction in the semi-trailer itself.”
Schmitz Cargobull’s semi-trailers and truck bodies follow a modular construction concept, which increases the service and maintenance friendliness compared to traditional, welded steel constructions, he notes.
When it comes to supporting customers, such as application support, after-market service and ensuring uptime, the company offers a wide range of digital services around its semitrailer products, such as access to its Electronic Parts Online System to conveniently identify and order specific spare parts.
“We are backed up by a regional network of authorised service partners across the GCC and wider Middle East. Our service partners are selected authorised workshops that are available for our customers and trained to conduct repair and maintenance work on our products with full back-up support from Schmitz Cargobull.”
When it comes to the latest technologies, Schmitz Cargobull is the only semi-trailer manufacturer with a presence in the Middle East that equips all its semi-trailers with an Electronic Braking System (EBS), including Roll-over-Stability programme (RSP).
“These advanced safety features also have a positive impact in terms of connectivity, as data such as mileage, trailer load, tyre pressure and brake pad wear becomes easily accessible for modern fleet management systems,” concludes Bahlmann.