Sustainable and economical: Refurbishment prepares trailers for a second service life

Great uncertainty and high cost pressures pose problems for the transport industry. Despite tight margins, companies must comply with ever stricter environmental regulations. At the same time, the prices of new vehicles have noticeably increased. "Many vehicle fleets are therefore postponing investments into their fleet", says Ralf Merkelbach, Head of Fleet Sales Europe at BPW. The result: The service life of trailers is increasing, often even doubling. 

Before entering the second half of their service life, refurbished trailers – despite their older years of manufacture – are bought up to the latest technical standards, ensuring both economical and sustainable operation. High-quality components, such as those produced by BPW, form the basis. "Our parts offer outstanding functionality and lasting design. The KTL finishing with zinc phosphating protects against corrosion and ensures a high residual value of the vehicle", explains Dr Daniel Köhler, Head of Research & Development for the Truck & Trailer Components Business Unit at BPW.

In the liquid transportation segment, in which semi-trailers and drawbar trailers require very valuable trailer bodies, professional refurbishment has long been common practice. However, due to changing conditions, refurbishment also makes sense in the standard sector. This does not necessarily mean that the entire trailer has to be refurbished. "Often, overhauling individual components is sufficient to maximise transport efficiency", explains Merkelbach. 

The optimisation of the running gear, including the axles, brakes and wheel ends offers great potential. Cost-sensitive customers can attain weight and performance benefits for trailers with a large mileage by replacing worn or ageing components with parts from the BPW Reman line, as their performance is equivalent to that of new parts thanks to industrial refurbishment. These Reman solutions from BPW components are manufactured on the same production lines as new parts, are subject to the same strict quality controls and offer excellent value for money.

For example, trailers can be equipped with BPW Airlight II, including Lighttube and Alunabe, the lightest running gear currently on the market to further optimise the usable load. It is also possible to retrofit trailers with modern assistant systems such as the AirSave tyre pressure refilling system or the iC Plus retrofit kit. While BPW AirSave constantly monitors the air pressure and corrects it if necessary, the iC Plus running gear generation, in combination with the cargofleet 3 telematics platform, facilitates needs-based fleet management and smart maintenance management, maximising uptime while reducing cost and time pressure.