A new production facility in the USA and a diverse product portfolio, specifically tailored for the North American market - along with the SCHEUERLE WideCombi PowerBooster - are a few signs of the company's growing presence in the industry. The TII Group, world market leader in the manufacture of vehicles in the field of heavy-duty transport, aroused great interest with its exhibits and the exhibition stand itself at CONEXPO 2014 in Las Vegas.
"We expected a great deal of interest from visitors but our expectations have actually been exceeded," says Bernd Schwengsbier, Managing Director of TII Sales. Susanne Schlegel, Commercial Managing Director at SCHEUERLE and KAMAG was also delighted with the event. "We had many promising discussions with potential customers at the CONEXPO and received a vast number of enquiries. In particular, the production at our American partner, PFC, met with huge interest." Coinciding with the CONEXPO show, the TII Group announced its cooperation with Precision Fabricating & Cleaning Co., Inc. (PFC) in Cocoa, FL. Here, the first HighwayTrailer was made ready in time for the fair which was then also exhibited on the stand. Components, know-how and quality management were imported from Europe. The response was remarkable. "The interest of the visitors to CONEXPO certainly showed us that we are moving ahead in the right direction with this cooperation," says Schwengsbier. Short delivery times, payment processing in US currency, local service and the possibility to keep track of the various stages of construction of the ordered vehicle on site - these benefits have already convinced a number of American customers which then led to the placing of firm orders. In the medium term, the cooperation is to be extended to include other products of the TII Group for the North American market.
The TII Group presented an absolute world´s first with the four-axle WideCombi PowerBooster. Designed for the American market regarding local regulations and road conditions, the WideCombi can be further extended and, as a result, can be perfectly adapted to suit the dimensions of the respective load as well as ensuring full control of the load distribution on the road surface. In order to allow an optimum ratio of payload and tare weight, the WideCombi has been designed using a robust split- type construction.
The SCHEUERLE WideCombi is based on the proven pendulum axle technology which was invented by SCHEUERLE in 1956. The hydraulic cylinders in these axes provide a strong damping action and guarantee a high lifting range in order to drive under and lift jacked loads. The pendulum axles provide smooth and precise steering operations, excellent maneuverability and a steering angle of up to 60 degrees. The PowerBooster version of the WideCombi offers a 4-in-1 solution which has been perfectly matched to suit the requirements of the American market:
- The vehicle is equipped with drive axles and can be towed at 80 km/h or, if required, driven by a likewise shiftable PowerPackUnit (PPU). Before negotiating a critical incline, the driver activates the powerful PPU. As soon as the tractor no longer has sufficient power to manage the incline, the drive automatically cuts in thus providing sufficient thrust. Once the slope has been overcome, the additional drive unit switches off automatically and the speed can be increased again in accordance with the road conditions.
- After the drive has been switched off, the drive unit can reach a speed of up to 80 km/h in the transport combination. The K25 PB is also characterized by its sturdy chassis construction, a +/- 300 mm axle compensation and a steering angle of 60 degrees.
- For in-plant transports, the drive unit with the PPU - with or without the K25 platform trailer - can be uncoupled from the tractor and controlled by means of a mobile control system as a self-propelled transport combination. This operating panel controls the hydrostatic drive, lifting and lowering functions, hydraulic steering along with the braking system.
- The PowerBooster can be used as a traction unit at the front or pusher machine at the rear for extremely long combinations (with or without decks). With all these different possible combinations, the PowerBooster is the all-rounder in heavy-goods transportation.
The SCHEUERLE-KAMAG K25 H Power Booster also aroused great interest among the visitors to the fair. In particular, the fact it can be coupled with vehicles from other manufacturers meant that stand personnel were inundated with numerous enquiries and requests because there is the guarantee modules can easily be integrated into existing fleets. "The market has taken to the K25 H PowerBooster extremely well. Due to the versatility of the K25 H Power Booster, we can provide our customers with a tremendous increase in efficiency. The option of being able to couple all K25 modules - as driven or non-driven variants - to vehicles from other manufacturers facilitates the integration into existing fleets. As a result, our customers can extend their range of activities and open up new areas of business," says Schwengsbier.
TII Group customers benefit from the availability of three authorized sales and service partners in North America - PEI (Precision Enterprise Inc.), TSP (Transport Systems and Products, Inc.), and RGS (Rigging Gear Sales Inc.). Based on their decades long business relationship with the TII Group, they offer an advisory service, provide spare parts as well as carrying out maintenance and repair work. Altogether, they offer transport solutions for the following industries:
- Road transport
- On/Offshore wind parks
- Plant construction
- Mining
- Aerospace
- Shipyards
- Steel industry
- Special vehicles
