VEHICLES/ TECH / TRANSPORTATION/LOGISTICS
MIDDLE EAST
O87/JUNE 2O21 LI CENSED BY D U BAI D EVELO PM ENT AU TH O RIT Y
R A E L C U N
! N O I S U F
hts g i e w y v a e st h e g g i b s ’ y r te t s a u e r d c n i o t e r h t e f h get o t Two o g n i m o c are y e t h t n e y h m e l w e l t a s e e v re light e h t g n i s u vehicles
R E W O P R SOLA AR ONE FOUND T YE HOW LIGH E PARTNER R Y T T C E F R ITS PE
CONTENTS
CONTENTS FEATURE
20 / CELLCENTRIC AT THE CENTRE Two of the industry’s most important bosses talk about bringing green hydrogen to the masses.
ALSO THIS ISSUE … NETWORK
06 / NEWS FROM THE MONTH
06
10
12
16
26
30
Volta powers on with its expanding electric vehicle range. LAUNCHES
10 / RENAULT REDUXED This month’s launches includes the debut of Renault Trucks latest refurbished hauler. FEATURE
12 / TRUCK BOOK PRO T&FME highlights the biggest vehicles and aftermarket products from the annual book. INTERVIEW
16 / MAMMOTH MOVES Mammoet on how it is working closer with frieght forwarders and its moves in the sustainable energy sector. INTERVIEW
26 / LIGHT SPEED Lightyear One and Bridgestone on why tyres are making the difference with the world’s first long-range solar car. FEATURE
30 / INDUSTRY 4.0 AT 10 Bosch looks back on a decade of Industry 4.0 and where it could go next. PARTING SHOT
32 / GETTING INSIDE DTC Why getting Dubai Taxi Company certification was crucial for Volvo’s new V60.
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JUNE 2021 01
WELCOME
GROUP MANAGING DIRECTOR RAZ ISLAM raz.islam@cpitrademedia.com +971 4 375 5483 MANAGING PARTNER VIJAYA CHERIAN vijaya.cherian@cpitrademedia.com +971 4 375 5472 EDITORIAL EDITOR STEPHEN WHITE stephen.white@cpitrademedia.com +44 7541 244 377
COLLABORATION IS THE KEY TO SUCCESS Ever since Volvo produced its first truck from under the steaming presses and churning chimneys of its Gothenburg factory in 1926, it has been vying with Daimler for supremacy in the commercial vehicles industry. However, a century of rivalry came to an end in March with the launch of cellcentric, a joint-venture between the two companies that has set itself the goal of using the scale of the two massive firms to push forwards hydrogen fuel cell technology as a viable alternative to fossil fuels and fill in the long-haul and heavy-duty gaps that electric vehicles have yet to overcome. After decades of fighting each other, they have finally realised that collaboration and not conflict can bring huge changes to their industry and beyond. Of course, there are a lot of technological and financial challenges yet to be solved but if they can work together, then surely so can the rest of us? That brings me neatly to this year’s Truck&Fleet Conference, where once again long-standing market rivals stood on the stage together to discuss their own shared challenges. We live in a tumultuous era of change and uncertainty where even the most thorough financial plan or business strategy can be made obsolete overnight.
Within the sector, we have two clear choices: fight alone or fight together and I think it is only the latter that produces winners. It would be easy to bemoan how financing is becoming harder or how you could be left behind in the race to digitalisation. It can also be easy to assume that only the largest fleets are able to traverse these problems but it doesn’t have to be that way. The conference explored many of the big ideas and trends in the market but was at its best when it dug into the little details, the small changes, that we can all implement. And most importantly, the discussions in and around the conference room and exhibition proved that we have a lot more in common than we do differences in this sector. Many of the pain points are the same, no matter the size of your fleet operation and sharing your successes and your failures is an essential part of the collaborative process. Ultimately though this is only one part of what can be achieved through working together. As we face the challenges of now and yet to come, the time is now for the industry to be working together, whenever it can. We can all be a success.
DEPUTY EDITOR PAUL GODFREY paul.godfrey@cpitrademedia.com ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER BRIAN FERNANDES brian.fernandes@cpitrademedia.com +971 4 375 5479 SALES EXECUTIVE MINARA SALAKHI minara.s@cpitrademedia.com +971 4 375 5470 DESIGN ART DIRECTOR SIMON COBON simon.cobon@cpitrademedia.com DESIGNER PERCIVAL MANALAYSAY percival.manalaysay@cpitrademedia.com PHOTOGRAPHY MAKSYM PORIECHKIN maksym.poriechkin@cpitrademedia.com CIRCULATION & PRODUCTION PRODUCTION MANAGER VIPIN V. VIJAY vipin.vijay@cpitrademedia.com +971 4 375 5713 DISTRIBUTION MANAGER PHINSON MATHEW GEORGE phinson.george@cpitrademedia.com +971 4 375 5476 WEB DEVELOPMENT SADIQ SIDDIQUI ABDUL BAEIS FINANCE ACCOUNTS SHIYAS KAREEM shiyas.kareem@cpitrademedia.com +971 4 375 5474 CREDIT CONTROL EXECUTIVE CAMERON CARDOZO cameron.cardozo@cpitrademedia.com +971 4 375 5499 FOUNDER DOMINIC DE SOUSA (1959-2015)
The publisher of this magazine has made every effort to ensure the content is accurate on the date of publication. The opinions and views expressed in the articles do not necessarily reflect the publisher and editor. The published material, adverts, editorials and all other content are published in good faith. No part of this publication or any part of the contents thereof may be reproduced, stored or transmitted in any form without the permission of the publisher in writing. Publication licensed by Dubai Development Authority
STEPHEN WHITE EDITOR, TRUCK&FLEET ME STEPHEN.WHITE@CPITRADEMEDIA.COM 02 JUNE 2021
to CPI Trade Publishing FZ LLC. Printed by Printwell Printing Press LLC. CPI Trade Media. PO Box 13700, Dubai, UAE. +971 4 375 5470 cpitrademedia.com © Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.
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READERS’ COMMENTS
SIEMENS ENERGY TO
Buro Happold appoints James Bruce as new CEO
REBUILD 400KV SUPER GRID STATION IN IRAQ’S WEST MOSUL REGION
It is easy to take turning on a light switch or being able to wash your children’s clothing for school but this (Siemens
CONSULTANT
Energy to rebuild 400kV
KSA to allow Tadawul-listed firms to buy Makkah and Madinah real estate
super grid station in Iraq’s West Mosul region) story is a reminder that the region still has
EXPERTS: Five key trends for net-zero cities in the MENA region
areas where power is not always available. It is almost tragic that the Nineveh Governorate
CONSULTANT
region of Iraq is still
AESG appoints Siebrandus Wichers as global director of Facades
recovering from years of war. It is absolutely right that strengthening the national grid is a major priority for Iraq as it continues to rebuild its ravaged infrastructure. Energy security is a hugely
CONSTRUCTION
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Wasl properties launches 777-unit residential development in Al Qusais
puzzle when it comes to not only improving the standard of living in the country but also ensuring that Iraq can build a future where businesses can thrive and developments be
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Diyar Al Muharraq unveils new mosque and hall in flagship residential project
04 JUNE 2021
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NETWORK
VOLTA POWERS UP NEW EV RANGE/ RAFED DC PLAYS CRITICAL COVID-19 ROLE AGILITY HAILS IMPACT OF GIS MERGER / AL DHAFRA SELECTED FOR NEW DRIVING SCHOOL
NETWORK
Volta planning to add three new variants to EV range VOLTA TRUCKS HAS REVEALED THAT IT PLANS TO EXPAND ITS PRODUCT PORTFOLIO WITH THREE ADDITIONAL VARIANTS WITHIN THE MEDIUM- TO LOWER END OF THE HEAVY-DUTY CLASS ELECTRIC VEHICLES With the 16t Volta Zero model expected to begin its fleet pilot by the end of the year ahead of full series production in 2022, the start-up says it is adding 7.5-tonne, 12-tonne and 19-tonne weight categories. “The Company will offer a comprehensive range of fullelectric commercial vehicles that have been reimagined and redesigned thanks to their innovative, compact electric
powertrains by logistics people for the logistics industry,” it said in a statement. The 16-tonne Volta Zero is currently in the engineering development phase, with early prototype testing due to start shortly. Production of the 16-tonne vehicle will be closely followed by the largest 19-tonne and mid-size 12-tonne variants in 2023. A Pilot Fleet of the smaller 7.5-tonne vehicles is expected to
be launched for customer trials in the same year, with production commencing in late 2024. These later vehicles are currently in the early design development phase. With the company’s clear focus on best-in-class vehicle safety with features for the driver and the surrounding ecosystem, all trucks will adopt the innovative low-seat central driving position with a glasshouse-style cab This offers 220-degrees of visibility to maximise visual
communication between the driver and vulnerable road users around the vehicle. Also, like the 16-tonne vehicle, all variants will be designed with optimised payloads, thus offering fleet managers the opportunity of using a reduced number of larger Volta Zero vehicles, and removing several smaller vans from their operations, thereby also having a positive effect on inner-city traffic congestion,” said Volta.
BEE’AH WILL INVEST $180MN AS IT BUILDS THE REGION’S FIRST-EVER WASTE-TO-HYDROGEN FACILITY WITH UK PARTNER CHINOOK SERVICES
06 JUNE 2021
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NETWORK
AGILITY: GIS MERGER ONE OF THE LARGEST PRIVATE M&A DEALS MADE IN THE GCC
MILLIONS VAXED VIA ABU DHABI’S RAFED DC LOGISTICS
Rafed, Abu Dhabi’s group purchasing organization (GPO) for healthcare supplies and equipment, has celebrated a new operational milestone after successfully overseeing the storage and supply of millions of COVID-19 vaccines doses via its dedicated Rafed Distribution Center in the UAE capital. The dedicated pharmaceutical facility, which measures 19,000 square meters and incorporates eight stateof-the-art cold chambers with the capacity to store up to 120 million vaccine vials, caters to all temperature bands ranging from 2-8ºC for PPE and medical equipment, to -80ºC deep freezer capabilities for vaccine storage. Rashed Saif Al Qubaisi, Chief Executive Officer of Rafed, said: “What the Rafed team has been able to achieve over the past seven months is incredible and our facilities continue to play a critical role in enabling the UAE’s immunization initiatives. We are still a relatively young company and the ability to process over three million vaccine doses each month is proof that Rafed is providing a key link in the nation’s logistics chain and enabling centralized procurement services across the Emirates.” In addition to essential cold storage facilities for COVID-19 vaccines, the Rafed Distribution Center also houses cutting-edge radio frequency scanning for dispatch and inventory control systems, as well as advanced building monitoring. “This is a critical milestone for Rafed and the entire healthcare supply chain,” added Al Qubaisi. “While our priority has been the rapid supply of COVID-19 vaccines, our aim is to build on the facility’s success in coming months and expand our ability to reduce operational costs.” meconstructionnews.com
TRUCKS The sale of Agility’s Global Integrated Logistics (GIL) business to DSV Panalpina A/S (“DSV”) is one of the largest ever private M&A deals made in the GCC. In a statement, the two firms agreed that the combination is expected to create a topthree global freight forwarder based on revenues. Under the terms of the deal, Agility will become the second largest shareholder in DSV with an approximate 8% stake in the combined company. The combination of DSV and GIL is intended to “fortify DSV’s position as a leading global transport and logistics compan”y with a combined pro forma revenue of approximately USD 22 billion and a combined workforce of more than 70,000 employees. “This deal creates significant shareholder value and marks a new milestone in Agility’s journey. Agility remains committed to the supply chain industry, and will become the second largest shareholder
in one of the fastest-growing and most profitable logistics companies in the world,” said Tarek Sultan, Agility’s Vice-Chairman. “I want to thank GIL’s leadership and employees for profitably growing the company and steering it through one of the most challenging periods the industry has ever seen during the global pandemic. Agility is proud of what GIL has achieved.” He added: “Agility will be exploring opportunities between DSV and its other businesses, with promising areas of future cooperation potentially including Agility’s Logistics Parks business, Shipa group of companies, and technology ventures. Agility will remain an emerging markets leader, investor in emerging technologies, and champion of sustainable business.” “Agility’s Global Integrated Logistics business and DSV are an excellent match, and we are proud that we can announce our agreement
to unite,” said Jens Bjørn Andersen, Group CEO of DSV. The combination of our two global networks will provide us with the opportunity to offer our customers an even higher service level. GIL’s global network, industry competencies and strong market position in APAC and the Middle East complement DSV’s network well and will support our long-term value creation ambitions. Our two groups of companies already share a culture of entrepreneurship and local ownership, and we look forward to welcoming GIL’s talented staff to DSV.” Sultan concluded: “This deal is one of the largest private M&A deals made in the GCC to date. We expect that this transaction will have a positive impact on shareholder’s equity and the company’s market value. “It will give Agility the resources and flexibility to explore new opportunities and reposition the company for the next phase of growth.”
JUNE 2021 07
NETWORK
EMIRATES DRIVING CO BUILDING $6MN SCHOOL TRAINING
Emirates Driving Company PJSC has revealed it is investing $6 million in developing a state-ofthe-art branch office and associated facilities “to help future motorists seeking driving classes in Madinat Zayed City, Al Dhafra region.” Emirates Driving Co is the only licensed motor driving training institute to provide professional motor driving training to customers and prepare them for driving tests in Abu Dhabi. It has successfully trained 55,853 drivers in the COVID-19 pandemic-hit 2020, a figure which is
narrowly up from 55,832 in 2019. Its new branch will accommodate a large number of customers on an area of 115,223 square metres. The project is set to be executed over a period
of 16 months, and estimated to be completed by the end of 2022. The company said the move is in line with its own vision to improve the services provided to its customers in the Al Dhafra region and the surrounding areas, and to improve the customer’s journey to obtain a driver’s license. “This step has been initiated following the company’s strategy which is aiming to expand locally and internationally by delivering an integrated group of services which involves training services and safe driving awareness to cover large sector of customers,” it added.
DHL BOOSTING LOGISTICS OPS WITH TOYOTA LOGISTICS Al-Futtaim Toyota Material Handling and DHL have signed a long-term contract under which the exclusive distributor of for Toyota Material Handling equipment in the UAE will supply and maintain 32 Toyota electric forklifts for the global logistics major. Al-Futtaim Toyota Material Handling said the machines range from 2-3t and come equipped with Toyota’s patented System of Active Stability (SAS) technology. It has already supplied 26 light-duty electric forklifts to DHL, a first-time customer, and the remaining units will be delivered before the end of this
year. The forklifts are deployed across DHL’s warehouses in the UAE. The SAS technology they are equipped with works by continually monitoring the forklift’s operations and automatically taking protective action when needed. The system takes over 3,000 readings per second to detect unsafe operating conditions and if a safety hazard is detected, the SAS activates one of its two main features – Active Control Rear Stabiliser System and Active Mast Function Control System, improving lateral and longitudinal stability of the forklift. Ramez Hamdan, managing director – Industrial Equipment
(FAMCO, HINO, Toyota Material Handling), Al-Futtaim Automotive, said: “We are extremely delighted that DHL has chosen the Toyota electric forklifts for their material handling needs. “This deal further reaffirms our leading position in the material handling industry in the UAE. These electric forklifts provide substantial fuel savings and reduced carbon footprint, also contributing to the UAE’s Vision 2021 to create and maintain a sustainable environment. “Toyota forklifts are known for their solid build quality, reliability and durability that is second to none.”
BEE’AH AND PEPSICO BEGIN WASTE COLLECTION WASTE MANAGEMENT
Bee’ah and PepsiCo have pledged to to collect and recycle the equivalent of 100% Aquafina plastic packaging produced in the UAE in 2021. The pledge is in line with the UAE’s goal to divert 75% of total waste from the landfill and is part of PepsiCo’s ongoing goals to reduce, recycle and reinvent for a more sustainable food system. PepsiCo’s local bottling partner, Dubai Refreshment Company will support this ambitious goal, said the firms in a statement. As part of the partnership, Bee’ah will oversee the collection, transportation and recycling at their Material Recovery Facility (MRF) of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastics. Bee’ah’s MRF is one of the largest and top producers of plastic recyclables in the Middle East with an annual capacity of over 600,000 tonnes. The mass collection project will utilise Bee’ah’s far-reaching network of recyclables collection systems in strategic locations, communities, malls and more across Sharjah, Abu Dhabi, and Dubai, to improve waste segregation and collection. Additionally, to ensure traceability, Bee’ah will leverage digital data capturing, weighing system, and GPS monitoring to track and report the progress of PepsiCo’s recyclables. “As the Middle East’s sustainability pioneer, Bee’ah is leading the charge for a circular economy and zero-waste targets in the UAE and wider region,” said HE Khaled Al Huraimel, Group CEO of Bee’ah.
INSIDE THIS ISSUE: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE 2021 TRUCK BOOK PRO, INDUSTRY GIANTS TALK CELLCENTRIC, AND MUCH MORE!
08 JUNE 2021
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NETWORK
AFTE TAKES JEEP TO UAE AUTO FEST DISTRIBUTORS
Al-Futtaim’s Trading Enterprises presented Jeep’s “world of adventure and customisation” at Auto Fest 2021 – UAE’s unique shopping mall automotive exhibition. Four exclusive Jeep SUVs powered the brand’s stand at Dubai Festival City Mall (DFCM) including a special Gladiator Rubicon Launch Edition, a Jeep’s first-ever desert-rated vehicle - the Gladiator Sand Runner – in addition to the 80th Anniversary editions of the iconic Wrangler in twodoor and four-door variants. A collaborative effort between Al-Futtaim’s Trading Enterprises and Stellantis, the global parent company of the Jeep brand, the focus of this year’s Jeep Auto Fest activation was the 2021 modified Jeep Gladiator that holds several exciting customisations from Mopar - a Stellantis-owned, leading parts and service division that specialises in authentic Jeep customisations. For drivers who are looking for individuality, the Gladiator, the only trail-rated pick-up to ever exist was represented by the Gladiator Rubicon Launch Edition – a special model modified by Mopar for the Auto Fest pop up. From the outside, the exclusive Gladiator Rubicon Launch Edition is equipped with FOX hydraulic jounce bumper, FOX 2.5” internal bypass shocks with remote reservoir both front and rear, in addition to unique attributes such as heavy-duty Dana 44 axles, removable roof and doors, and functional truck beds. The first “Desert Rated” Jeep ever, Gladiator Sand Runner was also on show. The vehicle is powered by the 3.6L Pentastar® V6 engine, and provides 285hp and features high-flow intake and exhaust ports, Variable Valve Timing (VVT) and Electronic Throttle Control. meconstructionnews.com
GM MIDDLE EAST HAS BEST QUARTER SINCE 2018 OEMS General Motors (GM) Middle East says it has successfully delivered its highest first quarter sales results since 2018, with total growth of 15% year-onyear (YoY). The firm reported that it had achieved a strong first quarter performance, “further delivering on its’ ambidextrous regional business and growth strategy.” It says the 15% sales growth for its core petrol-powered vehicle portfolio was driven by the automaker’s 2021 Trucks and SUVs, including the Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon, Cadillac Escalade and Chevrolet Captiva.
“Since the beginning of the year, we’ve made remarkable headway delivering on our ambidextrous business and growth strategy for the region: continuing to our drive towards GM’s global vision of Zero Crashes, Zero Emissions and Zero Congestion, while growing our Truck and SUVs franchises,” said Luay Al Shurafa, President and Managing Director, General Motors Africa and Middle East. “We are off to a very strong start for 2021, with the highest first quarter sales for GM since 2018. The 15 percent growth for our core vehicle business is testament to the great
teamwork and the support of our dealers, who have gone above and beyond to exceed our customers’ needs and expectations as demand for GM products continues to rise.” “With a winning position spearheaded by our all-new 2021 line-up, we have an incredibly exciting future as we revolutionise mobility. With the recently confirmed Chevrolet Bolt EUV and GMC Hummer EV SUV, alongside the pending launch of OnStar technology and the autonomous mobility project happening right here on our doorstep thanks to Cruise and RTA.”
ZOE STOPS FOR EV LAB COFFEE SOCIAL ELECTRIC VEHICLES
Arabian Automobiles brought the Renault Zoe during its participation in the inaugural EV Cars & Coffee community meet by EV Lab, a first-
of-its-kind omnichannel, multi-brand electric vehicle platform. The event brought together EV owners and enthusiasts from across the country to discuss and debate
the future of electric vehicles. The Renault Zoe, a modern, 5-seater electric model with advanced technology, was on display. “It is an innovative solution to greener transport, contributing to the city’s overall mobility agenda,” said the firm. “Arabian Automobiles is proud to be associated with events that prioritise sustainable initiatives. The UAE currently hosts the largest number of EV charging stations across the globe with Dubai boasting the highest concentration. The successful event at City Walk hosted over 100 individuals and is one step forward in the long march towards raising awareness on the benefits of electric vehicles for the environment and overall economic progress.” JUNE 2021 09
LAUNCHES
RENAULT TRUCKS BOLSTERS USED OFFERING WITH REFURBED T X-64 / VOLVO LIMOUSINE GAINS DTC APPROVAL FOR LAUNCH
LAUNCHES TRUE RE-MAKE 50% ORIGINAL PARTS
T X-64: Out with the old, in with the new RENAULT TRUCKS LOGISTICS AND LIGHT CONSTRUCTION WORKHORSE T X-64 NOW AVAILABLE IN THE REGION Renault Trucks is expanding its “re-made in France” truck range in the Middle East and Africa which the launch of the new custom-built model, the Renault Trucks T X-64. The new model is set to appeal to customers looking for cost-efficient trucks that feature European quality, and deliver an optimised total cost of ownership and standard warranty, the firm said in a statement. It added: “The Renault Trucks T X-64, is produced in a specialised conversion workshop at the Bourgen-Bresse manufacturing site in France”. The vehicle is converted using rigorous industrial processes and is specifically intended for customers operating in Africa and
10 JUNE 2021
the Middle East. Its high ground clearance makes it ideal for light construction, logistic or petroleum transportation, while its T cab maximises the driver’s comfort” The launch follows the recent successful introductions of other custom-built models the X-Road and the X-Port to the region. Alex Vosselman, Used Trucks Director of Renault Trucks Middle East, added: “These models enjoyed exceptionally high demand in GCC markets. Our Used Trucks are now well established, so we are very confident that the new T X-64 will follow in these footsteps and reinforce the brand’s growing reputation across the region.
“We are also simultaneously launching a 24 months warranty combined with a 24 months service contract on the X-Port, X-Road and X-64 to emphasise on the Total Cost of Ownership and quality of our Used Renault trucks.” Used Trucks Factory conversions use recently used trucks that have been rigorously selected and subjected to over 200-point inspections. Each conversion has been specifically studied by design and quality engineers. The industrial manufacturing and quality control processes meet a level of requirements comparable to those applied in the manufacture of new vehicles.
Renault Trucks’ Export models have been in high demand in the GCC – the T X-64 has explicitly been prepared for the region’s markets, with its reinforced chassis and other specifications. The option of hub reduction allows drivers to operate either on-road on rough conditions, making the T X-64 ideal for tackling the region’s most challenging terrain. With a change of stringers, suspensions, axles and conversion of the power train, the Renault Trucks T X-64 includes over 50% of new original parts. It is fitted with a new ultra-robust reinforced 6x4 300 mm chassis with a three-axle profile, allowing a load of 8 tons on the front axle and
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LAUNCHES
HEADING INTO HIGH CLASS
2021 VOLVO V60 GAINS DTC FLEET APPROVAL AHEAD OF OFFICIAL LAUNCH
EXTENSIVE WARRANTY The Renault Trucks T X-64 comes with a manufacturer’s warranty of 18 months or 180,000 km, which covers all components of the powertrain and is valid throughout all Renault Trucks sales and service outlets.
REINFORCED ROBUSTNESS The air and diesel filters are reinforced, enabling the vehicle to adapt to its new environment (topography and the characteristics of locally-available fuel). Ground clearance is increased to ensure the protection of the underbody on rough terrain.
26 tons on the rear. For optimum driving comfort and perfect control of the vehicle in any situation, the Renault Trucks T X-64 is fitted with an Optidriver robotised gearbox with off-road mode and manual acceleration. Based on a Renault Trucks T Euro VI converted into Euro III, the Renault Trucks T X-64 guarantees the highest pollution
control level as applied in Africa and the Middle East. The Used Trucks Factory operators begin the conversion by dismantling and recycling the Euro VI components (silencers and AdBlue components) before installing the Euro III parts. As with new engines, this conversion is certified by an external body and guarantees the original power and torque.
SPECIFICATIONS Engine
Euro III
Configuration
6x4
Front axle load
8t
Rear axle load
25t
Frame thickness
300mm
meconstructionnews.com
Al-Futtaim’s Trading Enterprises reached a major milestone last month with the certification of the 2021 Volvo V60 - the Swedish brand’s five-door, mid-size premium estate – by the Dubai Taxi Corporation. Offering Volvo’s premium credentials of design, safety, innovation, and luxury, the 2021 V60 model sits at the heart of Volvo’s exclusive fleet line up that also includes the seven-seater SUV XC90 and the large premium sedan S90. The luxurious interior, increased levels of space, advanced connectivity, and premium safety technology of the Volvo fleet range ensures a superior driving and travel experience of ultimate comfort and luxury. Volvo Cars Fleet are designed to support drivers with features like Pilot Assist and Cross Traffic Alert, prevent accidents with technologies such as City Safety with Full Auto Brake and Run-off Mitigation, and protect passengers from serious injuries – thanks to safety features including Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), Seat Structure and Sophisticated Safety Cage. In the UAE, Volvo’s premium fleet of V60, XC90 and S90 models have now been recognised for their performance, comfort, and safety by DTC following a six-month pilot. During the period, Volvo fleet have operated as part of DTC’s limo pick-up fleet, and Al-Futtaim claims the cars have “receiving high accolades”. Oscar Rivoli, managing director of Trading Enterprises, said: “From costefficient cars with premium-quality equipment, to high-performance hybrids,
and innovative, connected vehicles, Volvo’s premium range offers the comfort and luxury UAE executives would expect from a limo fleet. Our activation with DTC also gave commuters in Dubai the opportunity to taste the flavour of our premium Volvo range of XC90, S90 and V60 models. We take pride in the DTC certification that has helped substantiate our claims of ultimate safety, luxury and durability for our Volvo models.” The Volvo premium fleet of V60 estate, XC90 SUV and S90 luxury sedan include the iconic “Thor’s Hammer” LED headlight design, Volvo Iron Mark, and the Volvo word mark on the rear. Certificated for DTC Limousine services, the Volvo V60 offers high standards in design, safety and technologies within a starting price of AED 135,000. All models of the Volvo fleet are available across the UAE. Ensuring an advanced overall cost of ownership, Trading Enterprises also provide an optional exclusive offer of 300,000KM service and maintenance contract at competitive rates on the Volvo premium limousine fleet, with service appointments scheduled every 20,000KM to ensure minimum downtime. SPECIFICATIONS Engine
4cyl turbocharged
Power
190hp
Torque
300Nm
Transmission
8-speed Geartronic
Consumption
6.4 - 7.3l/100km
AED 135,000 STARTING PRICE
JUNE 2021 11
FEATURE
FASTER, HIGHER, FURTHER
To celebrate this month’s launch of Truck&Fleet’s Truck Book Pro, we look at the featured companies helping fleets modernise, revamp and renew 12 JUNE 2021
meconstructionnews.com
FEATURE
T
he COVID-19 pandemic will re-shape the way fleets operate for years to come but fortunately the release of this month’s Truck Book Pro is an opportunity for businesses to find the trucks, products and services to side-step the challenges they now face. Arguably there has never been a greater choice of vehicles in the market for a start and we are seeing many of the features for improved safety and efficiency that would have once been unavailable in the region. The past few years have seen most of the major OEMs release major upgrades or even new generations of their biggest models. Years in the planning and shaped by a decade of economic uncertainty, these are vehicles that arrive here targeting maximised uptime and fuel economy. Daimler now incorporates both the Mercedes-Benz Trucks range of familiar heavyweight names such as the recently refreshed Actros, Arocs and Atego, as well as the light and medium ranges of the Japanese Fuso brand. Both product line-ups are fully in line with the National Agenda of the UAE with the target to reach the goal of a better air quality as set out by the government’s Vision 2021 programme by offering trucks complying to Euro 5 emission standard from LDT to HDT and low fuel consumption throughout the range. With many of the trucks on offer at the premium-end of the market, they also focus on Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). “When it comes to investing in a truck, it is important to consider the TCO to ensure that you are looking at the total picture,” says Daimler Commercial Vehicles MENA “Whether it is buying a new truck, having your truck serviced, or buying new parts, it is important to think beyond immediate price, and consider all of the factors that will affect your profitability. Factors like fuel efficiency, uptime, telematics, safety, quality, and resale value all of these contribute to your TCO. TCO goes further than simply the price of a truck. Always speak to the sales representative about the TCO prior to investing in a truck. State-of-the-art safety systems, to mention only the Lane Keeping Assist and Active Brake Assist not only save lives but less accidents help minimise repair costs and downtime.” Scania, meanwhile, is leaning into its extensive experience in modular solutions to demonstrate its ability to take local meconstructionnews.com
A NEW NORMAL, NEW MODELS The past few years have seen most of the major OEMs release major upgrades or even new generations of their biggest models.
fleet requirements to create vehicles that are specific the customer: “With Scania’s modular system we offer great possibilities for the customer to get the right specification for his operation.” Scania can offer everything from 2-5 axle vehicles, small-large cabs (L, P, G, R and S cabs), crew cabs and engines ranging from 9-16L. A formidable engine producer in its own right, it is able to cope with a large variety of applications from power generation, industrial and marine
Consider TCO to ensure that you are looking at the total picture”
but it is looking to explore the possibility of CNG-fueled vehicles in the region: “By using CNG vehicles, Scania achieves Euro 6 emission regulations while reducing the total operating cost. 2020 started with the delivery of 29 Euro 6 coaches to one of our prestigious customers in Abu Dhabi and the delivery of 30 R460 A6x6 Tractor Units to Saudi. It was also the year when we accelerated our efforts to provide more comprehensive service solutions to our customers by bundling vehicles with service contracts and customised financial solutions. Despite the pandemic, we managed to deliver more or less the same number of vehicles in 2020 as in 2019.” Traton Group stablemate MAN Truck & Bus has enjoyed a ‘significant’ year in the region; delivering 80 units of the New Lion’s Coach in Saudi Arabia; a ‘very special order’ from Morocco for 100 city buses; and recently gave the New TG Range of trucks following its 2020 global launch. MAN Truck & Bus Middle East has told T&FME that orders have now opened on the new range trucks which it says has been developed based on customer feedback: “Our trucks have always been considered as highly reliable and able to withstand rugged use over the product’s typical operating life, while delivering best-inclass performance. The new vehicles also impart best-in-class safety and comfort.” The company is also celebrating 15 years of operations in Dubai. “Completing 15 years is truly a momentous occasion. We offer to customers our complete range of trucks, buses, genuine parts, service and training. The Dubai office is also a regional training hub providing support to importers in MEA region. Our assurance is the best-in-class TCO (Total Cost of Ownership), which makes MAN a preferred choice for many customers. Over the years, we have worked towards building strong relationships with our customers with a commitment to simplify their business. “Our vehicle park in these markets comprise trucks that have clocked millions of kilometres, yet are still in operation, and buses that continue to provide sustainable public mobility to many cities. The common factor across all the markets are satisfied and happy customers.” Few brands enjoy the customer base of Renault Trucks in North Africa and the company continues to build on its track record in the region while JUNE 2021 13
FEATURE
bolstering its market share in the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Egypt. Renault Trucks is upgrading its T, T High, C and K ranges in 2021, bringing major improvements in terms of driving comfort, on-board comfort, safety and productivity. Sleek and modern in design, the new trucks promise reduced fuel consumption (fuel savings are expected to be at least 3%), and optimised maintenance, this is the most important evolution since the total renewal of the ranges in 2013. Its vehicles are adopting a more assertive style, particularly in terms of the headlights, which have been reduced in size in order to increase the painted surface of the lower body section. The cab’s aerodynamics have also been improved around its new honeycomb grille and wheel arch extensions which have been added to improve airflow. The vehicles have been fitted with new technology to further reduce fuel consumption. Renault also wants to prove that one part is not equal to the other and buying genuine parts will make a difference. “Customers can trust that it is selling the right product for their vehicles. To launch this two-year warranty worldwide at the same time was a strong message to our customers that it believes in the quality of its parts,” says the company. Its Used Truck operation has very quickly established itself as an alternative for regional customers wanting the newest T generation of trucks with Euro 3 engines as well as the ruggedised versions set-up via refurbished used units from Europe. Renault Trucks’ factory in Bourg-enBresse has been converted to handle the refurbishment of used trucks for markets such as the Middle East and it is now running at full speed with 500 trucks transformed in 2020. The last two years have seen the introduction of both the X-Road and X-Port haulers into the region. A third truck, the T X-Road 64 launched last year with the French truck-maker recently openly declaring it wants to compete with Chinese players in Africa. While UD Trucks officially moved from Volvo Group at the start of 2021 to Isuzu, its trucks still share a lot of the DNA of its former sister companies, including Renault. In the MEENA (Middle East, East and North Africa) region UD Trucks focuses on heavy and medium duty trucks and both the heavy Quester and medium 14 JUNE 2021
TRYING TO LOWER TCO This year’s edition of the Truck Book Pro features a vast array of products and services to lower fleet TCO.
The new vehicles impart bestin-class safety and comfort”
Croner have had major revamps in recent years. And both ranges were put through their paces in the region ahead of launch. The Quester range has been purposelydesigned with a combination of robust chassis, a true heavy duty cabin and an optimised drive-line in terms of performance and durability. Productivity is also increased, with a higher payload capacity – you’ll find a wide variety of specifications on wheelbase and axles that can help maximise payload. Available in both Manual and
Automated manual transmission options, the Quester, in particular, is designed for handling heavier loads in tough conditions. Through the Croner, UD Trucks is the first Japanese manufacturer to offer the automatic Allison transmission on its trucks. The automatic transmission makes it perfect for stop and go operations such as waste management and city distribution. UD Trucks has created a reliable and versatile 4x2 truck range built with robust and quality components to deliver extra productivity and superior uptime: “Rated for the all-important 10.4–19T segment, it has been designed with customers’ demands and business needs in mind. Croner was tested extensively in the region during development and is engineered to help customers stay ahead of competition through the simple concept of saving time.” Most of the world’s OEMs rely on their dealer importers in the region to keep them close to market demand and changing fleet requirements. DAF and Ashok Leyland partner Swaidan Trading, Al Naboodah Commercial Group’s commercial vehicle and equipmentarm, found itself rapidly adapting to the shift in market demands created by the global health crisis in 2020. With a strong focus on specialised projects, itts fully equipped, state-of-the-art workshops have in-house fabrication facilities for customising vehicles to meet the specific requirements of the end user, from mobile clinics to wheelchair access vehicles and more. In 2020, it also Trading modified 110 Peugeot Expert vans into Mobile Service Centres for the Tawseel initiative delivering door-to-door government services by the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation. It also supported the Dubai Taxi Co. and Union Coop during the COVID-19 pandemic by converting Ashok Leyland Falcon buses into mobile grocery outlets as part of community initiatives to bring supplies to families during the lockdown periods. This year, it converted a further two Ashok Leyland Falcon buses into mobile grocery stores for the Al-Ain Co-op society, including shelving, chiller and freezer units, generators, air curtains and cashier counters, enabling the business to reach out to remote areas or small communities where shops aren’t located nearby. This highly specialised modification contract was the first of its kind in Abu Dhabi, and meconstructionnews.com
FEATURE
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE DEALER OEM PARTNERSHIP Al Naboodah’s Swaidan Trading’s partnership with companies like DAF Trucks is a demonstration of how fleets need the local partner to maximise their investment in new vehicles.
required a special ‘Supermarket Bus’ code to be created in the Abu Dhabi Department of Transport’s vehicle registration system. Al Naboodah Commercial Group’s COO Ajit Kumar says the company’s resilience during the pandemic was due to its ability to respond to unique demands created by the health crisis. “Our high levels of technical expertise and our versatile and agile scope of operations allowed us to offer specialised services to our customers without any major changes
Customers can trust that it is selling the right product”
to our infrastructure. We were able to capitalise on our existing resources and skillsets to deliver unique projects that set us apart in a competitive industry.” Fleets and contractors are turning to rental outfits to help cover gaps in the roster. The company has used its experience with UNIC Spider Cranes to partner with the trucking professionals to introduce the UNIC Truck Mounted Cranes line. According to the company, UNIC Cranes are renowned for their
THE LUBRICANTS AND TYRE BRANDS THAT ARE ON TRACK As ever, tyres and lubricants are crucial to minimising servicing downtimes and keeping vehicles on the road longer. JASPA, the sole representative of world-renowned brands like Longmarch, Alliance (Yokohama off-highway tyres), Boto, RoadX, Nexen Solid Tyres, OKO Tyre Sealant and Roadwest, is asking its in-house technical team to conduct rigorous product and performance testing to check its suitability for the application with stringent standards: “Over time, the team has gained immense knowledge about the region and its requirements; and JASPA is looked up to as a solution provider for the problems faced by the customers. Its on-field expertise ensures trust among customers and it has been rewarded with turnkey contracts from major fleets and government entities in the UAE.”
meconstructionnews.com
Within the region, global lubricant brand Valvoline is focused on extending its footprint by increasing the local production and the logistic capacity. It remains dedicated to providing its customers with a complete range of lubricants, chemicals and parts, backed by quality, a dedicated sales teams, broad distribution and technical support. It can provide customers with equipment, training and selling support. As the company says: “Downtime is the last word operators want to hear. Any bus or truck off the road costs money. We know that you want to keep your vehicles working as efficiently and productively as possible. We also know that you would like to reduce your maintenance costs as well as total vehicle ownership costs. Valvoline has the products and technology to help you extend
service intervals, extend the working life of equipment and improve residual values. Put Valvoline expertise, innovation and solutions to work for you.” German giant Continental says it wants to improve the safety and sustainability of fleets across the region: “Continental is one of the world’s leading manufacturers for commercial vehicle tyres. In our plants throughout the world, we produce tyres for a variety of applications, characterised by different vehicles, road conditions and customer requirements as well as driver behaviour. Our product portfolio comprises truck and bus tyres as well as commercial specialty tyres. The business unit is developing from a mere tyre manufacturer to a solution provider, also offering services and solutions which help our customers.”
mobility, rugged reliability and high productivity. Mounted on heavy, medium and light duty trucks, these compact straight boom telescopic cranes are the crane of choice in Japan. Manufactured to the highest standard in design, durability and safety, the cranes ensure optimum performance on the worksite. Since separating from parent company Orientals Specialist Lifting minicrane and lift specialist Spider Plus says it has gone from strength to strength: “Drawing on a decade of vacuum lifter and mini crane experience has allowed for a rapid growth. The company philosophy of safety, integrity and customer satisfaction has quickly fed spider Plus to become the leading solutions provider within the glass lifting mini cranes and equipment training market. Our fleet is one of the largest of its kind in the Middle East.” Creation Heavy Equipment Trading has been in operation since 2007; serving a wide range of clients in a sector, such as construction, Oil & Gas, transportation and heavy equipment while fulfilling the needs of both the private and government sectors. Creation is a leader in the GCC market providing integration solutions, telematics, IA products, IoT through sales, and telematics fleet management to deliver up to date fleet information. It is also highly active further afield in the Middle East, including Jordan, and is branching out into Africa. According to managing director Mohammed Hasan Al Qrinawi, safety concerns on the road or at construction sites are at a high demand in the region and accidents remain costly: “We could eliminate many of these through our latest IA technology that protect against driver fatigue, provide collision mitigation and camera streaming systems that monitor driver behaviour.” JUNE 2021 15
INTERVIEW
A MAMMOTH TASK
Mammoet’s CEO Paul van Gelder, COO Jan Kleijn and Group Commercial Officer Darren Adams discuss focussing on projects for the renewables sector, and its future collaboration with freight forwarding companies
W
hat was the thought process behind Mammoet’s current
focus on renewable projects? Paul van Gelder: In 2018 we formulated
the strategy ‘Reshape to Win’. At that point in time, it was already a strategic imperative for us to diversify our portfolio into other sectors next to petrochemical - which will always be a substantial part of the work we do. We saw the developing renewable energy market as an interesting sector, and a market where we could do more. Over the last five years we have gained more experience working in the sector – learning some key lessons along the way. During 2020 16 JUNE 2021
we saw a significant acceleration in renewables projects in Western Europe, and also in the US with the change of government. If you take a step back and look at what is happening in the world, you can’t deny that there is a clear push to come out of the coronavirus crisis with a stronger focus on sustainability and renewable energy. Jan Kleijn: From an operational perspective, if you look to offshore wind, the turbines are getting bigger and bigger, so more and more clients will need the expertise of a company like Mammoet to deal with the increasing size of heavy components involved. Darren Adams: There’s also a clear overlap with offshore wind. These projects share many key features of the work we are used to doing in the oil and gas fabrication
During 2020 we saw a significant acceleration in renewables projects”
yards from an operational perspective and are taking place in similar locations – making us well placed to serve them. What challenges is the renewable energy market facing over the next few years? PvG: The foremost challenge is of capacity.
After the acceleration in demand for renewables projects experienced during 2020, there is a huge need for capacity in the market. So, the large OEMs will have to deliver to the market the required number of turbines - but the supporting industries should also be ready. This is an area where the market needs some further maturity. We’ve seen in the onshore wind market that the setup of contracts was not allowing efficient meconstructionnews.com
INTERVIEW
operations, and for the respective contractors and sub-contractors involved to concentrate on their key areas of expertise. So, to a certain extent the structure of the contracts, their risk balance, needs to standardise and mature; most likely to follow the model laid down for a number of decades in other sectors. JK: In onshore wind, I think what we will see is a renewed definition of the roles of the players. Due to the relative youth of the market, manufacturers have also been playing the role of installer, where this is not their core area of expertise. However, they have been forced by a lack of capacity in the market to take this role. In offshore wind up to now, farms have been either monopile or jacket-based; so shallow water. As floating offshore wind develops, we will see floating foundations of tens of thousands of tonnes – creating an entirely new ball game once again. DA: The size and weights of components could cause a bottleneck in the market, particularly for offshore wind. The traditional way of doing things - where tower sections are assembled one by one then go offshore - is unlikely to ultimately be the preferred assembly method. We’re looking to innovate in the offshore wind market with regard to the handling onshore, and as the industry leader we want to be a partner in this process. We’re looking into innovations that will deliver huge efficiencies and therefore substantial changes in the way the market works. PvG: A requirement will develop for heavy lift and transport companies to move into larger weights, because these floating structures can become massive, massive beasts - demanding a lot of lifting capacity. There will be a lot of work in the shipyards but also on land. Moving back to onshore wind, to manage projects most efficiently the market needs to develop and mature, and to recognize that it doesn’t make sense to give certain tasks to certain subcontractors. A heavy lift and transport company is specialised in these functions transport and lifting - so it is not efficient to also put installation & commissioning under the responsibility of the same sub-contractor. That is a different area of expertise and mixing those will result in all kinds of discussions and potential conflicts, which is in the end not good for the development of larger renewable energy projects. With offshore floating foundations so massive in size, will this mean changes to the way Mammoet approaches operations? JK: I don’t see that at the moment, though there
may be a renewed requirement for mobilization meconstructionnews.com
MOVING INTO LARGER WEIGHTS A requirement will develop for heavy lift and transport companies to move into larger weights, as these floating structures can become massive, massive beasts – demanding a lot of lifting capacity.
of large cranes to ports. Also, through our Conbit operation, we are researching how to perform maintenance offshore in a smart way. This will help our customers to avoid bringing the floater back to the port and then needing to have a large crane in place just for maintenance activity, and also help them to avoid having to disconnect anchor cables and re-connect the turbines to the electrical grid again. PvG: Because we are still in the infancy phase of this industry – especially with the floating wind turbines – we will see new developments in how to perform much of its scope. The industry has a long way to go and as the market leader in heavy lifting and transport we are looking to play an important role in leading this.
to the Mammoet organisation to refocus on renewables customers?
We would like to work more closely with freight forwarding companies, from the very early stages of projects”
PvG: We have decided to set up a global
onshore wind group; a group of specialists that will develop our wind portfolio. This will not change the present setup of the regional structure in Mammoet - we will continue to undertake projects through our regions - but this group will oversee all the wind projects in the regions, capture lessons learned, optimize wind-specific assets and also liaise with the Innovations department to find the right innovations to serve this key market. Will this affect the way wind projects are sold in any other way? PvG: I’m not ashamed to say that we have
What changes are you making
certainly learned our lessons in the past. It should not be a secret to the industry that there are challenges coming with lump sum projects - both for the developers but also the sub-contractors in heavy lifting and transport. The lesson that we have experienced is that combining transport, craneage and installation (TCI) is not the ideal approach. In onshore wind, work takes place in an area that can by definition cause delays, thanks to windy conditions, geographic remoteness or other factors., This makes lines of responsibility blurry if the entire TCI scope is undertaken by one sub-contractor. We are promoting a model where the scope is divided with transport and craneage in one hand and installation on the other hand, whereby it’s clear for the developers who holds the responsibility and it’s clear in which direction they need to turn if things are not running as they should be. We feel comfortable and have undoubted capability in transport and craneage, but installation and commissioning are not part of our core services, so it is better that these scopes are undertaken by specialists in these disciplines. The key here is to have focus and clarity of roles. If you have that, JUNE 2021 17
INTERVIEW
this ultimately gives the developer a platform to have clear contracts in place, and also a better way to assess performance. If you take out this blurring, you also remove much of the risk of a project. It’s like building a house: whenever you have a delay with the carpenters, the carpenters will start to complain and point at the bricklayers, and the bricklayers will potentially blame the team that laid the foundations. Making sure there is clarity in the roles will help developers or EPCs to manage projects better. Installation, commissioning, controlling the full logistics supply chain – these are activities that require completely different expertise. JK: There’s a comparison to be made with oil and gas here, too. There, you have an owner who hires an EPC contractor for the total package, who then has knowledge of the total scope of work and can request heavy lifting and transport through a freight forwarding company, or from a company like Mammoet. How does Mammoet intend to work alongside freight forwarding companies in the future? DA: We would like to work more closely with
freight forwarding companies, from the very early stages of projects. This will help us to provide guidance from the very start of projects on what is possible in terms of transportation, and hence allow our customers to realize significant whole-project efficiencies. We recognise that owner/operators of large facilities work with freight
WORKING WITH FREIGHT FORWARDERS If Mammoet talks to freight forwarding companies early on during projects it can present the toolbox that it has available to see what efficiencies are possible.
The JV between AD Ports and Allianz Logistics positions Mammoet strongly”
IN-HOUSE EXPERTISE, IN PLACE Mammoet’s in-house department ensures sure that the right equipment is at the right place at the right time.
18 JUNE 2021
forwarders to streamline the shipment of both smaller project cargo and larger items, and that it can be more efficient to package these transportations together. PvG: This forms the next step of a strategy that we initiated in 2018, which was to bring focus to the services we provide to the market. We have been doing that in several areas, but we decided not to refocus in this area until now because of the acquisition of ALE. ALE was a strong partner for freight forwarders – we decided to follow this strategy and concentrate on optimising the service we provide to freight forwarders. This is what we are doing, and we’ve had initial successes: for example, we have
teamed up with OFCO; a joint venture between Abu Dhabi Ports and Allianz Logistics, which positions Mammoet strongly to supply our services to all major projects carried out during the coming years in the Middle East and Africa. DA: This is about growth, and about focusing our expertise where it will create the value – and this will vary on a project-by-project basis. Sometimes we’ll be working with freight forwarders, but there will be some occasions when freight forwarders will be working for us. For example, if we receive a request to bid for a project with a majority breakbulk cargo, Mammoet might be invited to take the lead on its transportation, due to the size of the loads. However, we will align the specific work scopes accordingly, and this will have the positive sideeffect of de-risking the project for all involved. We are not saying that we’re never going to take on the shipping – we will if needed - but we’ll do it in partnership with a forwarder. So, does this change the time at which Mammoet will become involved in projects involving large-scale freight forwarding? DA: I think we would like to be involved earlier
in the sales process. From an operational point of view this will allow us to deploy the assets to where they need to be on a global perspective, and it will allow our customers greater clarity on what is possible, earlier on during projects. PvG: When certain key decisions are made early on during projects, it can be difficult to adjust them later, and then the opportunity for greater efficiencies - either in the supply chain or in production output at the end facility - are sadly lost. So, to provide the best service to freight forwarders we need to be involved early in the process. This early involvement allows us to sit down with customers and look at the engineering that is needed for each project and provide guidance on what we can lift, what we can transport, what the sizes of the modules should be, and so on. That way, the customer will also benefit. JK: Our customer can expect from us a transparent conversation about what it is possible for us to do, so that we can help them to succeed. DA: This extends across the whole project scope. If we talk to freight forwarding companies early on during projects we can present the toolbox that we have available to us as a business to see what efficiencies are possible. For example, we have the MTC 15 crane, which is a modular crane that is easily assembled and disassembled. This crane could be positioned in the middle of the jungle, theoretically meconstructionnews.com
INTERVIEW
creating a heavy lift terminal in the middle of nowhere, perhaps meaning our customer wouldn’t need to charter heavy lift ships, saving time and money over the project cycle. Moving on, how has Mammoet worked with freight forwarding companies in the past? JK: Since we are a market leader and every
day we undertake projects all around the world, we have focused on the transportation of our own equipment. We have an in-house department that achieves this in the most economical way for us, making sure that the right equipment is at the right place at the right time. At the same time, upon request of certain customers we have in the past utilised these structures to provide logistics as a service to our customers for third-party cargo. What is Mammoet doing to make itself more sustainable? PvG: It’s my personal belief that in our industry
there will be no silver bullet on sustainability; change will take place due to a combination of factors. So, we already adapted at a quite early stage the gas to liquids or GTL fuel, which resulted in increased air quality. We’re now looking at electrical cranes and power packs for the SPMT fleet. We’re also looking at hydrogen as an option, as it is quite a strong energy carrier and will allow us to operate in remote locations and still do so in a sustainable way. Besides these measures, we are using our Trailer Power Assist system to reduce the number of trucks needed for transportations; our Enviro-Mat additive to provide a solid lifting surface that can be crushed into the ground after projects without environmental impact, and we have also switched from hardwood timbers to sustainable bamboo across all operations. So, there are many developments – we are not betting on one horse. We are following all opportunities and are tapping into what we think are the best solutions. JK: We are using our role as market leader to push our traditional suppliers to come up with better alternatives. We are putting a lot of work into making our own fleet more energy and fuel-efficient, with smaller power packs to avoid idling engine time. We are also looking into the transition of power packs and powertrains to electrify them. Why has Mammoet chosen to review its geographical footprint at this time? PvG: When we were progressing with the
integration of ALE, at the same time we were hit by the coronavirus crisis, just like every other meconstructionnews.com
LEVERAGING ALE’S EXPERTISE ALE was a strong partner for freight forwarders and Mammoet is wisely following this strategy and concentrating on optimising the service it provides to freight forwarders.
A requirement will develop for transport companies to move into larger weights, because these floating structures can become massive beasts”
company in our industry. It was a challenging year – maybe that’s an understatement – but we wanted to come up with the right approach. We wanted to come out of the coronavirus crisis as a stronger company. So, we engaged with a consultant to review our geographic locations, our performance, the economic outlook. We ran scenarios about how regions would develop, following the pandemic. Based on that process, we are making changes across our business; in Australia, in South America, in Europe - and it’s all around optimising our portfolio of locations, clusters and countries, to continue to serve the customer in the best way possible during the upcoming period of recovery and growth.
portfolio in nuclear. This was always a capability, a strength within Mammoet, and we want to build upon that on a global scale. We already touched upon the renewables sector. Eastern Europe is strategically a very interesting part of the world for us that we can further grow. We are developing a plan of how to grow rapidly in Germany and use that as a springboard to serve Eastern Europe. In Australia we’re building up an organisation that could be used to expand further into Southeast Asia. DA: We are refocusing, reshaping and ramping up where we see opportunities. The coming years will be a period of growth for Mammoet. How is Mammoet positioned to meet the challenges of the next five years?
What is the strategy
PvG: Looking back, it was good that we
behind this change?
decided to start with this strategy in 2018, so the year 2020 - while it has been dreadful for the whole world with the coronavirus – has allowed us to test our strategy to see how resilient we were as a company. The positive outcome of this is that we are a resilient company and we were able to deliver a good result, during the past year. With the integration of ALE, which went well and was completed ahead of schedule delivering all synergies, we came out of the crisis as a strong, resilient company with a proven business model, and at a size that allows us to deliver what our customers would like from us. We are now well-positioned to support our client base in the recovery after the coronavirus crisis. We will see a surge of new projects, and with the investments we have made over the last few years and the strategy that we adopted, we feel very confident to be able to supply the best service to our customers. Our Q1 2021 order intake was strong. Based on this, the outlook for the coming three years is very positive; and the best it has been in a number of years.
PvG: It’s all about achieving clarity and focus.
For example, we have always had a strong
JUNE 2021 19
FEATURE
NUCLEAR FUSION
Two of the industry’s biggest heavyweights discuss why they are working together on fuels using the lightest element
C
ellcentric, a company formed by two of the undisputed heavyweights of the commercial vehicles industry – Daimler Truck AG and Volvo Group – finally received its global launch last month. Fusing together the two fierce competitors to focus on hydrogen-based fuel cells for long-haul trucks is no small undertaking. However, with the legal and structural work now behind them, Martin Daum, CEO of Daimler Truck AG, and Martin Lundstedt, CEO of Volvo Group are ready to talk on why Cellcentric will become a leading global manufacturer 20 JUNE 2021
of fuel-cell systems, starting with the construction of one of Europe’s largest planned series production of fuel-cell systems. That plant’s operation is planned to start production in 2025 but both men agree that to accelerate the rollout of hydrogen-based fuel-cells there needs to be a harmonised EU hydrogen policy framework to support the technology in becoming a viable commercial solution.In short, they want the bloc to help put 300 high-performance hydrogen refuelling stations suitable for heavy-duty vehicles on highways by 2025 with that number ramping up to around 1,000 hydrogen refuelling stations “no later
Our united ambition is to meet the targets in the Paris agreement”
than 2030” across Europe. Their argument is that by using hydrogen as a carrier of green electricity to power electric trucks in long-haul operations, is one important part of decarbonising of road transport. “Hydrogen-powered fuel-cell electric trucks will be key for enabling CO2-neutral transportation in the future. In combination with pure battery-electric drives, it enables us to offer our customers the best genuinely locally CO2-neutral vehicle options, depending on the application. Battery-electric trucks alone will not make this possible,” says Daum. “Together with our partner Volvo Group, we are therefore fully committed meconstructionnews.com
FEATURE
to our fuel-cell joint venture cellcentric and we are both pushing forward the development of the technology as well as the series production preparations. Regarding the necessary hydrogen infrastructure, it is clear that green hydrogen is the only sensible way forward in the long term. For decades, the European truck manufacturers have had been set targets by the EU on its emissions. This is in turn has loaded on development costs and skewed planning for the new truck generations. They have also seen initiatives, such as biodiesel, wax and wane in that time as policies and politicians change. Even if it is designed to steer discussion at the very highest levels while leaning on their status of huge employers and industrial engines in the EU, Cellcentric’s focus on the state-of-the-art technology to get the fuel into the market is about as near to a disrupter as the two giant organisations can get. “Our united ambition is to meet the targets in the Paris agreement of becoming CO2-neutral by 2050 at the latest,” says Lundstedt. “We are convinced that hydrogen fuel-cell technology plays an essential role in helping us reach that milestone. But we know there is so much more to achieve than just the electrification of machines and vehicles. There needs to be greater cooperation between public and private stakeholders to develop the necessary technology and infrastructure, which is why we are calling for united action from policymakers and governments around the world in helping us make hydrogen fuel-cell technology a success. Partnerships like cellcentric are vital to our commitment to decarbonising road transport.” Daum adds: “When you start working together you have discussions about solutions and who should do what. You start to talk about what you should do together with your capabilities. We have a fantastic set of people competences to really develop a fuel cell stacks that are competitive. We are up and running and we are building on a lot of work that has already been done.” While hydrogen fuel-cell technology remains further in the distance than say, the hybrid and electric vehicles that are emerging on the market, they share the commercial challenge of proving they can be affordable for fleets. “We are reducing the cost as we speak; step-by-step in a very concrete roadmap so we can see the cost parity with both the scaling of volumes and engineering. We are also working on pre-series production in meconstructionnews.com
COMMON GROUND Both Daum and Lundstedt want their companies to share the commercial challenge of proving hydrogen can be affordable for fleets.
Essling and Stuttgart,” explains Lundstedt before revealing that Daimler, Volvo and Renault fleet customers will be approached for trials in the next three years as the production plant comes on-stream. “It will be a large, Gigafactory. Serial production will be in 2025. The location to be announced in 2022.” Daum and Lundstedt frequently mention the word investment and the plant represents a bold and risky pay out for a technology that remains someway behind the electric, ion-based battery drives in both political and public minds. Lundstedt argues that there is a place for both and stresses
This is not a silver bullet, but it is part of our portfolio mix with synthetic fuels”
that it will be essential if the EU and other governments are serious about reaching the climate goals set out in the Paris agreement. Lundstedt says that it is not enough to continue to only invest in more research in developing lighter, smaller electric vehicle batteries and fast charging systems. “We are seeing the two tracks obviously with two different contents. Of course, fast charging (for instance) is very important, and we will continue to drive in the eco-system. But in the long run to get these millions of tonnes kilometres every year, all over the place and in all applications, we are going to need hydrogen. It is a contender for renewable energy generation and our conviction is that we need the two of them. Fuel cells have an advantage in certain applications and electric battery vehicles have advantages in others. Both will play a very important role.” “In the next two or three years, clearly it will be battery electric (leading the way),” adds Daum. “But then we are talking 10,000 trucks on the road. In this small volume battery electric is certainly more viable. When we are looking at the end of the decade and especially the time after 2030 and going up to 2035 we need a second source. We don’t have a revolutionary breakthrough on battery technology. We don’t have an idea of what a green power network grid is going to look like. “I also absolutely see the price of the fuel cell being lower than today’s battery packs. Or even tomorrow’s battery packs will be the same price.”
BRIDGING THE GAP Hydrogen could help countries reach their green transport targets with electric battery technology still in its long-haul infancy.
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He pauses and firmly strikes a finger downwards: “The majority of our energy comes from carbon burning plants. When everything you do has to come from green energy, that’s everything the entire population does, whether that’s heating our homes or running our industries, you will have to transport your energy from a place that has enough sun or wind power. The most efficient way to do that is by transporting hydrogen energy in a truck. I see things running parallel with most of the truck applications being hydrogen.” Current targets set by the EU state that vehicle emissions must be reduced by 90% by 2050. Both Daimler and Volvo agree that a policy framework is needed to ensure demand and affordability. They argue this should include incentives for CO2-neutral technologies and a taxation system based on carbon and energy content. An emissions trading system could be an additional option. “For me, the road to zero-emissions is like a multiplication, we need an attractive vehicle offering by, the latest, 2027. Then we need an infrastructure,” says Daum. “This is a huge undertaking, much bigger even than we need on the vehicle side. It’s very demanding. It requires a huge amount of investment: a classic chicken and egg problem. If we were to have the infrastructure, it would be extremely easy to sell 100,000 trucks. And if we were to have a 100,000 fuel cell trucks, it would be very supply them with the infrastructure. “We need the support of the energy
MEETING AFFORDABILITY Both Daimler and Volvo agree that a policy framework is needed to ensure demand and affordability.
H2 fuel-cell electric trucks will be key for enabling CO2 -neutral transport”
companies and we need the support of the politicians to get that first initial investment up and going. Otherwise, it doesn’t matter how good our product offering is. We had fuel cells in buses 10 or 15 years ago, the biggest problem so far is a lack of infrastructure.” At the highest levels the message appears to be getting through. The EU Commission which sets out the laws that will be implemented by member states has vocally supportive of the progress being made in hydrogen fuel cell technology – even if individual governments are still not matching the cellcentric partner’s ambitions for a continent-crossing network
of infrastructure. However this could be set to change over the coming months. Adina Valean, European Commissioner for Transport, says that currently transport represents almost a quarter of all emissions in the bloc with road transport contributing a staggering 70%. She remains positive that the technology can be a major asset in reaching the EU’s climate goals, particularly in long-haul applications: “But we are not there yet,” she says. “Work is still needed before hydrogenpowered lorries are ready for the market. At the European level we want to ensure that the right conditions are in place to help the sector. This requires a holistic approach looking at both the demand and supply sides for vehicles and fuels,” she explains. “We need our European transport infrastructure to be ready to accommodate a new generation of lorries and we have set ourselves shortened goals. Valean says the EU commission wants to have 500 hydrogen stations set up in 20 countries by 2025 ahead of fulfilling cellcentric’s ambitions of a 1,000 by 2030. The next step will be the release of a proposal to individual member states in the summer which will place binding agreements for rolling out hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. She adds that financial support will be made available “where needed” as well as direct help to industry to build a hydrogen value chain. “We can and will accelerate the production of clean hydrogen – which we urgently need,” she says. WORKING TOWARDS 2027 Cellcentric is aiming for series producton to begin in 2027 – it is a huge undertaking, says Daum.
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WORK IS STILL NEEDED EU Commissioner Adina Valean says work is still needed to get hydrogen heavy vehicles on the road, with fueling infrastructure a major challenge.
In 2019, The European Commission presented the European Green Deal which outlined the main policy initiatives for reaching net-zero global warming emissions by 2050. Within its pages, Hydrogen is described as a key instrument for meeting the document’s policy objectives. French MEP Pascal Canfin was a long-standing advocate for the introduction of the EU Green Deal and he says that a total of 50 laws will be put forward to individual states to approve over the next 18 months. This in turn will help the commercial vehicle makers and the transport industry fund a move to hydrogen. “We are going to change the rules of the game 50 times,” he affirms. “The laws will set new standards on pricing, a new battery framework and new technology. When you do that you have a systemic change. We are going to move 2,5 times faster up to 2030 than we did in the last decade. This is a generational journey up and until 2050. Hydrogen is the key element. The stars are aligned at the European, national, technical and for public and private financing.” Professor Dr Johan Rockstrom, director of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, placing the role of hydrogen into context, says the EU is now part of a G3 group alongside the US and China of large economies that are driving progress in reducing global emissions. While he agrees that the EU is now set on the right path for attracting financing as it decarbonises transport he also adds some caveating. “Yes there is a very important plan set in motion but we are not seeing the implementation at scale or at the right pace yet.” Professor Rockstrom adds that the return of the US to the climate table following the turbulent departure of Donald Trump means meconstructionnews.com
We need support of politicians to get that first investment up and going”
that the EU is no longer leading the way when it comes to tackling climate change. “When you look at the numbers, the world’s largest single economy has set the net zero target to 2050 and they have put 2005 as the reference year. This means 40% reductions between 2021 and 2030 while the European Union is slightly lower [the EU is targeting 55% by 2030, but the reduction compares with the earlier date of 1990 - ed]. “This is not a silver bullet, but it is part of our portfolio mix with synthetic fuels, some biofuels in transitions and direct electrification. But as Martin Daum rightly points out direct electrification will be running the exponential
demand curve for personal mobility and will be in such large demand that hydrogen for heavy mobility must be part of the solution.” With hydrogen made from renewable sources only representing 1% of total production today, Rockstrom says scale is needed to meet future demand: “The challenge now is how do we get enough green hydrogen. We also need the price of carbon to rise and the provision of hydrogen to be operationalised at scale,” he stops to talk directly to Daum and Lundstedt. “It is so valuable that you (Volvo and Daimler) have now stepped up said ‘we are moving ahead”. That will pull the whole society with you.”
THE NEED FOR SCALE With hydrogen made from renewable sources only representing 1% of total fuel production today, scale is needed to meet future demand.
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BOSCH LAUNCHES ADVANCED ODOMETER / JLR AND GOOGLE MAPS PARTNER / BAUMA DELAYED BY SIX MONTHS / VOLVO SETS AMBITIOUS EMISSIONS TARGET
WORKSHOP
Bosch debuts odometer fraud beater in UAE
THE DEVICE ENABLES READING OF MILEAGE DATA STORED AT A VEHICLE’S DIFFERENT CONTROL UNITS TO AVOID POSSIBLE MANIPULATIONS TECHNOLOGY
Bosch has launched its most advanced ECU multifunctional tester – Bosch KTS 250 in the UAE. The device enables reading of mileage data stored at a vehicle’s different control units to avoid possible odometer manipulations. According to Bosch, it allows automotive businesses and experts to comparing the data with the mileage shown on the odometer, “they can easily determine whether the odometer
mileage is plausible or if it differs from the other values. This can have a significant influence on the vehicle’s current value in cases of used vehicle valuations, leasing return or even for expert reports concerning the vehicle value. It allows insurance companies to include this test into their damage assessment or even to ensure compliance with the contractually agreed annual mileage.” In most cases, a vehicle’s mileage is
not only stored at the odometer on the instrument cluster at the vehicle’s dashboard, but also at a large variety of different electronic control units the vehicle is equipped with, explained Bosch. “Even the seat memory or the park assist control unit can store information on the vehicle mileage. Throughout the last years, modern vehicles have been equipped with a continuously growing number of control units. As a result, the actual mileage of today’s vehicles is often stored at different sources simultaneously. “Once the Bosch KTS 250 diagnostic tester has been connected to the vehicle by means of the OBD cable, it allows reading out the actual values of the control units and the fault memory. The new KTS 250 mileage readout function creates a list of the individual mileage values stored at the different control units. Afterwards, wireless network connection can be used to print the diagnostic protocol sending it to the workshop network printer or to send it by e-mail – as an attachment and right from KTS 250.”
I-PACE TAGGED WITH GOOGLE AIR QUALITY TECHNOLOGY TECHNOLOGY
Jaguar Land Rover has partnered with Google to integrate the allelectric Jaguar I-PACE with air quality measuring sensors and Street View mapping technology. The I-PACE is the first all-electric Google vehicle and will be used to measure street-by-street air quality in Dublin – including nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, and fine particles (PM2.5). It will also help update Google Maps. The green car offers zerotailpipeemissions driving, and has been equipped with specialised mobile air sensors developed by Aclima and has launched in Dublin to capture data over the next 12 months. Google’s scientific research partners will analyse the data and develop maps of street-level air pollution.
INSIDE THIS MONTH’S WORKSHOP: THE TYRES THAT MADE THE DIFFERENCE FOR LIGHTYEAR ONE, HOW BOSCH IS SHAPING INDUSTRY 4.0
24 JUNE 2021
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WORKSHOP
VOLVO CARS TARGETS 2.5MN EMISSIONS DROP
BAUMA POSTPONED TO OCTOBER 2022
EVENTS
The organisers of Bauma, the world’s biggest trade fair for the construction equipment sector, have announced that the next edition of the event has been postponed to October 24, 2022, from its earlier announced date of April 4-10. Organisers Messe München said in a statement that the new date for the event is October 24–30, 2022, and that the decision, taken in view of the Covid-19 situation, is the result of many discussions it had with top industry representatives as well as its Advisory Board. “Considering the particularly long planning times for exhibitors and organisers at the world’s largest trade show, the decision had to be made now. This provides exhibitors and visitors a secure planning basis for preparing the upcoming Bauma,” added a statement from the organisers. It added that initially, Bauma was to be held from April 04 to 10, 2022 and “despite the pandemic, both the industry’s response and the booking level were very high”. However, in numerous discussions with customers, there was a growing recognition that the April date involved too many uncertainties in view of the global pandemic. “The prevailing opinion was that it is currently difficult to assess whether worldwide travel — which is crucial for the success of the trade show — will be largely unhindered again in a year’s time,” said Messe München in its statement. The postponement was especially advocated by global exhibitors, who expect customers from all over the world to attend the event and make correspondingly high investments in stand construction, logistics and hotel capacity.
meconstructionnews.com
ENGINES Volvo Cars is aiming for annual savings of SEK 1 billion (over USD $119m) and reductions of 2.5 million tonnes in carbon emissions from 2025 using circular business principles. Supporting the company’s long-term goal of becoming a circular business by 2040, Volvo Cars will create closed material loops for emission-heavy materials such as steel and aluminium, as well as remanufacture, repair, reuse and refurbish parts. “Volvo Cars has one of the most ambitious climate plans in the car industry, and if we are to reach our goals, we need to embrace the circular economy,” said Anders Kärrberg, Head of Global Sustainability at Volvo Cars. “This requires us to rethink everything we do and how we do it.” To become a circular business by 2040, Volvo Cars
FINANCIAL SAVINGS Volvo Cars is looking at the complete lifecycle for for cost savings and is even remanufacturing parts as gears and engines.
is convinced that every part in its cars should be designed, developed and manufactured to be used and re-used, either by the company or its suppliers. By focusing on resource efficiency and retaining the value created in materials and components for as long as possible during the lifecycle, the company wants to optimise the use of materials, components and
cars and eliminate waste in the process. In 2020, around 40,000 parts were remanufactured, saving nearly 3,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions. By 2025, Volvo Cars aim to more than double its remanufacturing business. The company recycled 95% of its production waste last year, including176,000 tonnes of steel, avoiding the generation of nearly 640,000 tonnes of CO2.
ABU DHABI HOSTS FIRST EV TRACK DAY POPULARISING EVS EV Lab says a strong community is needed to popularise electric vehicles as sustainable mode of transport.
ELECTRIC VEHICLES
EV Lab has hosted the first-ever electric vehicle Track Day event in Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina F1 Circuit. The first event of its kind in the UAE, Track Day fosters conversation and active engagement among electric vehicle owners and enthusiasts, and serves to underline the value that EVs lend to the nation as the UAE moves towards reinforcing its resolve to fight climate change.
The Track Day event at Yas Marina recorded over 120 attendees between EV owners and enthusiasts from across the seven Emirates, and also shone the spotlight on the EV models available in the UAE. On show were EVs by Mercedes Benz Abu Dhabi, Porsche Abu Dhabi, MG Motors, and Audi, all through Ali & Sons, Chevy by Bin Hamoodah, Renault by Al Rostamani, Tesla, and Chevrolet Dubai through Al Ghandi.
Participants had the opportunity to test drive their vehicles at the legendary Yas Marina F1 circuit and to take hot laps with professional drivers in exclusive vehicles such as the Porsche Taycan, Mercedes EQC, MG, Audi Etron, Tesla, Chevrolet. The Audi E-tron GT also made its first public appearance during the event. Kevin Chalhoub, Founder & CEO at EV Lab, said: “The Track Day in Abu Dhabi follows the overwhelming success of the first Cars & Coffee event we hosted in Dubai. “The event served as a window for EV owners and enthusiasts to network and learn more about the trends and advances in the electric vehicle sector. We are honoured that our event series has gained such popularity among the UAE community, especially as it followed the recent resolution by the national leadership to reduce emissions and build a greener environment. JUNE 2021 25
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LIGHTYEAR’S AHEAD
Collaborators Lightyear and Bridgestone talk about turning solar power cars from science fiction to automotive fact
26 JUNE 2021
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T
he Lightyear One may have a name that sounds like the title of a Netflix blink-and-you-missit-sci-fi B-movie but the team behind it believe that the solar technology that powers the sporty-looking car is a realistic alternative to plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles in the market. Boasting a range of 725km – even at night where it is powered purely by batteries – the vehicle is the first long range solar car produced. Five square metres of solar panels are placed across the roof and they provide 75% of the vehicle’s total energy needs, meaning even heavy users need only charge from the grid once a month. The Lightyear team is a mix of young talent and experience from the automotive industry, including former employees of Tesla, Audi, McLaren and Ferrari. Collectively they are ripping up the EV blueprint to create a unique vehicle architecture and technology which has been developed with high efficiency in mind. In effect, this means, Lightyear One consumes only 83 Wh/km which they estimate is in a range of two to three times less energy than any other EV on the market today. They claim the car has the lowest charging frequency yet created which means 7,000 to 20,000 kilometres of “free, effortless and clean” solar range every year. Lightyear was founded in 2016 by alumni of Solar Team Eindhoven, which had won the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge in 2013, 2015 and 2017. The 3,000km race across the Australian Outback from Darwin to Adelaide tests the limits of automotive technology, materials and solar-powered mobility. “During the competition you drive against other solar powered-vehicles but combustion powered cars as well,” recalls Lex Hoefsloot, CEO, Lightyear. “But most of them have to stop to tank while solar cars can keep driving, so it is a nice demonstration of what electric driving can be. This isn’t just about sustainability but also convenience.” He continues: “We started the company in 2016 because we realised that there is so much potential in this concept.” With the creation of the company, came interest from investors and awards; helping to advance the one-time student project onto the cusp of being a force in the automotive industry. Hoefsloot believes that the car can fill in where electric cars fall short: he says that tackling the challenges of range anxiety and the lack of charging options meconstructionnews.com
THE TYRES HAVE BEEN KEY TO SUCCESS The tyres supplied by Bridgestone are designed for extremely low rolling resistance – the difference in endurance and weight has helped Lightyear go on to further racing success.
can convert electric vehicle sceptics into true believers. The soon to be commercially launched vehicle also solves a long-time design flaw in solar vehicles: namely you can fit more than one person in them. It is a challenge that Hoefsloot says that they have faced up to since the early days of racing: “As you know, solar powered cars are normally for one person. These cars are extremely light, so 150 kilos and add one person to that,” he says. “The occupant is the first thing you think about and the second is the tyres as they are the main contact you have with the ground. It is not only about comfort and grip, but it is also for efficiency because if you can select the right tyre you can reduce the energy consumption.
These were extremely low rolling resistance tyres, and that really helped us to win that competition that year”
He continues: “If you can reduce the energy consumption, you can build a car with less batteries to get the same range. The car can be lighter and the powertrain can be lighter.” Right from the start of Solar Team Eindhoven to Lightyear One, Hoefsloot explains they have worked with Bridgestone to get the right balance of metal and rubber. “The tyres for solar powered vehicles were closer to bicycle tyres than they were to car tyres. Back then we had the challenge that we had to build a solar car in basically nine months while designing from scratch. We had no time to find a partner for tyres.” “When we started in 2012, we didn’t expect we could even have a shot at winning the Solar Challenge, so we were super happy JUNE 2021 27
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that we managed it in the end. And from that level of learning - we made a lot of mistakes – we learned a lot about how tyres can really contribute to building a great car.” Despite their tyre problems, the team subsequently continued its winning streak over the next few years with the turning point from talented amateurs to industry disrupters coming at one of the awards ceremonies and a nervy meeting with head of the Solar Challenge’s sponsors. “We heard that the CEO of Bridgestone wanted to talk with us. I was a student anymore but it was still very close, so having the privilege (to meet him) was extraordinary…,” he pauses to remember being nervous about his Japanese etiquette.
We started in 2016 because we realised that there is so much potential in this concept”
“I was a bit afraid I was doing things wrong but in the end we managed. And we still have a partnership, so I think we were ok!” He adds that Bridgestone was probably the missing link for the company. “We found that Bridgestone had very good tyres that would suit our needs. These were extremely low rolling resistance tyres, and that really helped us to win that competition that year.” Taking his point further, Hoefsloot says that the tyres had become so intrinsic to the design of Lightyear One, that the car has been design for the tyres and not the other way around. “It may sound strange, but most development is like that. The Bridgestone
partnership has taken us to the point where we can present Lightyear One in its full form.” Emilio Tiberio, COO and CTO, Bridgestone EMIA, calls the two firms relationships as unique as well as exciting as they ready Lightyear One for launch. “This is a fantastic story. The reason why Bridgestone has been sponsoring for many years is to promote sustainable mobility. A second is to get in touch with young engineers and, I would say even more, to get in touch with young innovators. They are futurists, they know where they will push the next technology envelope.” Bridgestone developed customengineered Turanza Eco tyres for Lightyear One, combining its revolutionary lightweight
GETTING UP TO LIGHTSPEED Lightyear One is an ultra energy efficient long range solar car and will be available later this year for purchase at a cost of $220,000.
TAKING A STEP BACK Lightyear’s CEO Lex Hoefsloot, says he wants to take on the preconceptions of electric vehicles head on. “At any birthday party, you would will be talking about electric cars and why people are not driving them. Then you mostly get to two or three core arguments. One is that they don’t provide enough range. The second one is charging. So if there are not enough charging points, I can’t charge my car. Thirdly it is about affordability. “There are plenty of people that are happy with the kind of range and charging that is out there today, but there are a lot of those that still need to be convinced. So we’re very focused on those three basics of building a great electric car. And if you look at these three points, that means basically building cars with a small battery because batteries are expensive and getting from that small battery a large range. And the only way to do that is efficiency from the car. If you can find that efficiency you can implement a solar power and get enough power from the sun every day.”
28 JUNE 2021
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FEATURE
EXTENDING EV RANGE If you can reduce the energy consumption, you can build a car with less batteries to get the same range.
ENLITEN and ologic technologies for the very first time. The technologies reduce weight through the use of fewer raw materials throughout the manufacturing process, while cutting rolling resistance through innovative tread, larger diameters, high inflation pressures and slim design. The very low rolling resistance of the tyres also means Lightyear One can benefit from a lighter battery. As a result, the Turanza Eco tyres are designed to boost range when compared to alternative Bridgestone EV-specific tyres, equivalent to more than a 90kg reduction in weight. In addition to helping Lightyear One to travel further between charges, the tyre’s silica dispersion has been improved by meconstructionnews.com
applying a new mixing technology, there is a 3.6kg (around 10%) overall reduction in the tyre’s weight per vehicle , without any compromise on wear mileage and grip. For the first time, the Turanza Eco tyres also bear the new Bridgestone EV Marking on the sidewalls. The Bridgestone EV Marking is applied to tyres that are tailor-made for electric vehicles and indicates the tyres underwent a rigorous testing process to receive approval from car manufacturers. As a result, these tyres support the unique features of electric vehicles and meet the car manufacturer requirements for battery range, vehicle control and tyre wear life. Bridgestone also utilised its Virtual Tyre
If you can reduce the energy consumption, you can build a car with less batteries to get the same range”
Development technology which enables accurate modelling of a tyre’s performance without having to physically produce and test it, saving up to 40,000 kilometres in real-life outdoor and fleet testing. It can also cut product development time and outdoor and fleet tyre tests by up to 50%. “Lightyear have impressed with their approach to sustainable mobility ever since we saw the team take on the Bridgestone World Solar Challenge, and so we’re excited to play a part in the Lightyear One project. Bridgestone is committed to a 50% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 and 100% sustainable materials by 2050 and strategic partnerships are fundamental to achieving these goals.” JUNE 2021 29
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TEN YEARS OF INDUSTRY 4.0
Bosch sales reach four billion euros as it looks back on Germany’s pioneering project
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ndustry 4.0 is coming of age. What began at Hannover Messe in 2011 as a “pioneering German project” has now gained global traction – thanks in part to groundbreaking work by Bosch. The aim is for connected manufacturing to optimize itself automatically, making it economical to produce customized products in batch sizes even as small as one. Since 2012, Bosch has been systematically leading factories – both its own and those of its customers – into this new industrial age. This commitment is paying off: over the past ten years, the company has generated more than four billion euros in sales with Industry 4.0. In 2020 alone, Bosch generated sales of more than 700 million euros with connected manufacturing solutions. “We 30 JUNE 2021
recognized the potential of Industry 4.0 early on and are pioneers in this field. Now we’re reaping the rewards,” says Rolf Najork, the member of the Bosch board of management, responsible for industrial technology. The use of Industry 4.0 in the company’s own plants is also paying off. Bosch is combining intelligent software for production control, monitoring, and logistics planning into a manufacturing platform of its own. This connects to a larger database that simplifies and improves tasks such as AI analyses for fault detection. The roll-out of the new Bosch manufacturing and logistics platform will start at the end of 2021. “We offer our roughly 240 plants a standardised ‘Industry 4.0 toolbox,’ which can be expanded and deployed as needed,” Najork says.
We recognised the potential of Industry 4.0 early on and are pioneers in the field. Now we’re reaping the rewards”
Bosch believes this will save it almost one billion euros over the next five years, following an investment of around 400 million euros. At the digital Hannover Messe (April 12 –16, 2021), Bosch will chart the development of “ten years of Industry 4.0” and showcase the factory of the future: technologically flexible, intelligently connected, ecologically sustainable – and economically successful. Back in 2011 at Hannover Messe, scientists presented an idea that broke with convention. Rather than have people adapt to machines, they turned things around. The vision here was of products that actively involve themselves in their manufacturing, navigate themselves through the production process, and communicate with humans and machines. It was the birth of Industry 4.0 – Bosch is one meconstructionnews.com
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of its founding fathers. In 2012, the company took over the chairmanship of the newly established Industry 4.0 working group to further develop the German government’s high-tech strategy. Bosch became a leading provider and a leading user of Industry 4.0, not only testing this modern form of manufacturing in its own plants, but also bringing proven solutions to the market. The Bosch plants in Blaichach in Germany, Anderson in the US, and Wuxi and Suzhou in China were pioneers in this domain and have been the recipient of multiple awards for their innovative concepts, including the designation of “lighthouse factories” by the World Economic Forum. At the same time, one thing soon became apparent: “The only way to tap the full potential of Industry 4.0 is collectively and globally. Humans and machines need to ‘speak the same language.’ This requires international, cross-company standards,” Najork says. Bosch worked together with other companies to develop OPC Unified Architecture (OPC UA), a machine language for Industry 4.0 that standardises access to devices and systems and enables manufacturer-independent data exchange. There was also increased collaboration between organisations such as Plattform Industrie 4.0 and the Industrial Internet Consortium, with Bosch an active leader in both. Alliances became an integral part of Industry 4.0. And today? Interest is still high, but too few companies are consistently gearing up for Industry 4.0: “Pilot projects are a good approach for trying things out and getting ideas out there. Now it’s time to up the tempo: we need to make Industry 4.0 the norm,” Najork says. Bosch uses its own academies and training courses to train associates for Industry 4.0 and also makes this offering available to customers. Najork is convinced that “Industry 4.0 is not an end in itself. It’s a way to maintain competitiveness. In the future, nothing will be possible without digitalisation.” Bosch projects deliver measurable benefit: connected solutions increase productivity by as much as 25%, boost machine availability by up to 15%, and reduce maintenance costs by as much as 25%. “If we want to exploit the potential of Industry 4.0, we have to move away from isolated solutions. Technical systems that work only within their own boundaries inhibit progress,” Najork says. In Bosch plants, there are now over 120,000 machines and over 250,000 devices such as integrated cameras or robots connected. Some 22,000 machine controllers alone are connected via the Nexeed software for meconstructionnews.com
Industry 4.0 developed by Bosch Connected Industry. Founded in 2018, this operating unit has already supplied software to more than half of Bosch’s plants and more than 2,000 production lines. In addition, around 100 international customers rely on Nexeed – including BMW, Sick, and Trumpf. Hardware and software are growing ever closer together. Based on app technology and web engineering, its ctrlX Automation platform is a 5G-enabled control technology that lets users either use apps provided by Bosch Rexroth and third-party providers, or develop apps themselves: “By making developments participatory,” Najork says, “we can create network effects and let ideas take wing.”
The only way to tap the full potential of Industry 4.0 is collectively and globally”
“Our focus is on harnessing and combining the power of different technologies. Bosch is becoming an AIoT company. We’re bringing artificial intelligence and the internet of things together,” Najork says. At Hannover Messe, Bosch is presenting the Balancing Energy Network, an AI-based energy management system that employs intelligent software to control and optimise energy flows in factories. Originally developed for manufacturing facilities, the software has the potential to help all types of larger building complexes reduce their environmental footprint, including hospitals, shopping malls, and sports arenas. Technology and knowledge are fundamental stepping stones on the path to climate-neutral manufacturing. Bosch has set up a new unit to advise manufacturing companies on how to reduce their carbon emissions. Combining flexible robotics with learning image processing software helps save resources in manufacturing: the APAS inspector takes over the visual inspection of workpieces, inspecting them fully automatically. Meanwhile, smart item picking demonstrates impressive flexibility and precision. The robotic system picks various products delivered by transport vehicles. Using intelligent image recognition, the system picks up different components with no need for prior training and reliably sorts them for further processing or shipping. Thanks to new technologies interactions between humans and machines will be even safer and more efficient in the future: 5G promises reliable wireless data exchange in near real time.
PROGRESSING NEW IDEAS AT REXROTH Bosch Rexroth’s new Innovation Center in Ulm is where the company will work on progressive approaches and business ideas as well as on developments with customers and partners; the site extension is planned for summer 2021.
JUNE 2021 31
PARTING SHOT
HEADING INTO HIGH CLASS
2021 Volvo V60 gains DTC fleet approval ahead of official launch
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l-Futtaim’s Trading Enterprises reached a major milestone last month with the certification of the 2021 Volvo V60 - the Swedish brand’s five-door, mid-size premium estate – by the Dubai Taxi Corporation. Offering Volvo’s premium credentials of design, safety, innovation, and luxury, the 2021 V60 model sits at the heart of Volvo’s exclusive fleet line up that also includes the seven-seater SUV XC90 and the large premium sedan S90. The luxurious interior, increased levels of space, advanced connectivity, and premium safety technology of the Volvo fleet range ensures a superior driving and travel experience of ultimate comfort and luxury. According to a study by limousine operator Tristar Worldwide, Volvo Cars Fleet recorded 28% reduction in crashes, cementing the brand’s vehicles to be on top of the safe car list. Volvo Cars Fleet are designed to support drivers with features like Pilot Assist and Cross Traffic Alert, prevent accidents with technologies such as City Safety with Full Auto Brake and Run-off Mitigation, and protect passengers from serious
injuries – thanks to safety features including Whiplash Protection System (WHIPS), Seat Structure and Sophisticated Safety Cage. In the UAE, Volvo’s premium fleet of V60, XC90 and S90 models have now been recognised for their performance, comfort, and safety by DTC following a six-month pilot. During the period, Volvo fleet have operated as part of DTC’s limo pick-up fleet, and Al-Futtaim claims the cars have “receiving high accolades”. Oscar Rivoli, managing sirector of Trading Enterprises, said: “From cost-efficient cars with premium-quality equipment, to high-performance hybrids, and innovative, connected vehicles, Volvo’s premium range offers the comfort and luxury UAE executives would expect from a limo fleet. Our activation with DTC also gave commuters in Dubai the opportunity to taste the flavour of our premium Volvo range of XC90, S90 and V60 models. We take pride in the DTC certification that has helped substantiate our claims of ultimate safety, luxury and durability for our Volvo models. Our aim is to ensure a safe and luxurious travel experience to all Dubai passengers and broaden the use of Volvo’s luxury fleet among
corporate and VIP customers in the UAE.” The Volvo premium fleet of V60 estate, XC90 SUV and S90 luxury sedan include the iconic “Thor’s Hammer” LED headlight design, Volvo Iron Mark, and the Volvo word mark on the rear. Both XC90 and S90 models are powered by Volvo’s Drive-E powertrain - a T8 Twin Engine AWD petrol plug-in hybrid that delivers as much as 407hp. The V60 ensures excellent engine performance powered with a four-cylinder turbocharged engine with an output of 190hp and a torque of 300Nm. Mated to an 8-speed Geartronic™ automatic transmission, the V60 engine also offers competitive fuel consumption levels between 6.4 - 7.3 l/100km. Certificated for DTC Limousine services, the Volvo V60 offers high standards in design, safety and technologies within a starting price of AED 135,000. All models of the Volvo fleet, including the V60, XC90 and the S90, are available across all Trading Enterprises Volvo showrooms in the UAE. AFTE also provides an optional exclusive offer of 300,000KM service and maintenance contract on the premium fleet, with service appointments scheduled every 20,000KM to ensure minimum downtime.
NEXT ISSUE: FULL COVERAGE FROM THIS YEAR’S TRUCK&FLEET MIDDLE EAST CONFERENCE IN DUBAI, AND MUCH MORE!
32 JUNE 2021
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