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Dual Use Tractor Trailer

Summary

Today there is enormous pressure to make transportation logistics more efficient and to keep reducing emissions. At the same time transportation companies are faced with fixed constraints regarding vehicles and personnel, etc. and other constraints such as tolls, taxes and rising fuel costs.

We have designed and tested a transportation concept in accordance with guidelines of the EU Commission which improves the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of transports and can reduce CO₂ emissions and highway congestion.

The cost-effectiveness and efficiency of the transportation concept which combines liquid and pallet freight is quite considerable. Depending on its use, the transport costs can be reduced by up to 35 percent per vehicle (EUR 225,000 per year).

We believe there is considerable potential for the dual use tractor trailer for milk transport alone in Europe and that the operation of at least 1,500 vehicles should be examined.

If we succeed in adequately publicizing the dual use tractor trailer transportation system, in encouraging clients to incorporate the trailer into their logistic strategies, the dual use tractor trailer can considerably reduce pollution from heavy goods traffic.

Table of Contents Page

Starting Point 2 Badertscher Transport AG 3

Considerations When Transporting Milk 3 Our Solution 4

Operation 7

Patent Protection 13

Cost-Effectiveness and Efficiency 13

Economic Potential 14

Operation in Europe 15

Environmental Considerations 16

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Dual Use Tractor Trailer

Dear Members of the Jury,

We are pleased to introduce you to our new transportation concept which greatly improves the cost-effectiveness and efficiency of transportation and meets the requirements of the EU Commission1

to improve the logistics and to make transportation more efficient by focussing on two key requirements: more intensive vehicle usage and fewer empty runs.

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Dual use tractor trailer: total permissible weight 40t, trailer loading capacity (incl. equipment) 22t, milk tank volume 24,000 liters, cargo space 13,360 x 2,470 mm, height of cargo space 2,700/interior height if the tank is hoisted 1,800 mm.

Construction: solid plastic container body sandwich light-weight construction. Cooling device: Carrier type Maxima 1,300 Micro. Rear door made of stainless steel, double-winged rear wall doors.

Starting Point

The requirements for transporting milk from the producers (farmers) to the processors (dairies) have been subject to many changes in recent years. The concentration of dairies at a few locations ensures efficient processing but this means that the milk transports to the dairies can, for the most part, no longer be made with the standard milk collecting tankers.

For longer distances of over 100 km to the next dairy, large tankers with a capacity of 25t have to be used for financial reasons, meaning that the milk from the collecting tankers has to be transferred to high volume trailers at a suitable location.

1 Information from the Commission to the Council, the European Parliament, the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions from 31 March 1998: On Transport and CO₂ – Developing a Community Approach.

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Standard milk transport–tanker trailer with a capacity of 25t.

Badertscher Transport AG

For over 40 years Badertscher Transport AG has been collecting milk and supplying the dairies with fresh milk in accordance with requirements. Since there has not been a large dairy operating in Eastern Switzerland since 2003, a region with high milk production, Badi Transport AG has been transporting 75,000 – 100,000 liters of milk every day over a distance of 250 km to the large dairies, (mainly to the large-scale dairy in Estavayer le Lac) in Western Switzerland.

We also transport milk products from the large-scale dairies in Western Switzerland with pallet trailers to the heavily populated metropolitan areas in Eastern Switzerland.

Considerations When Transporting Milk

The transports take the main east-west highways which are already heavily congested. Given discussions on milk prices and the income maintenance of the farmers, the supply chain link for milk transport is under enormous cost pressure.

Parameters such as highway tolls, fuel costs, road traffic law, etc. do not offer much leeway to further improve the efficiency of the transport.

Logistic issues such as delivery times to the large-scale dairies, transport times, hygiene, etc. make transporting milk on trains only possible in exceptional cases.

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Liquid transports (tankers) and pallet transports (tractor trailers) seldom find suitable freight for the return trip to avoid empty runs. In the case of tankers there are empty runs 100 percent of the time; in the case of pallet transports the percentage of empty runs is as high as 90 percent.

But there are large amounts of cargo (like fresh milk) to and (milk products) from the dairies, which could be optimally combined.

In-depth research of the European markets has revealed that a transportation system that combines liquid and pallet transports is not available.

Our Solution

We have independently developed a system that combines liquid and pallet transportation and completely meets the requirements of milk transport (hygiene, cooling, loading and unloading, cleaning, etc.) and of pallet transport (cooling, simple loading with existing equipment and loading ramps, pallet height, etc.).

By using a cubic-shaped tank as opposed to a classic cylindrical tank there is more transport volume.

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Together with Kasag AG in Langnau we developed a tank that

• can be safely transported in a solid plastic container • does not lose much loading capacity (3 tons) compared to a tanker, • has room for 33 standard pallets in the same tractor trailer and has a loading height of 1.8 meters.

Chromium steel tanks V2A with 3 threshold walls. Contents 24,000 liters. Air ventilation system. Cleaning system with high pressure nozzles. Two outflow pipes NW 65.

In order for the pallets to be loaded with the standard equipment, the tank has to be raised to the top with a wire rope hoist and a hydraulic cylinder.

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The tank is positioned and secured on both sides on five supports per side located on the moveable loading tracks.

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Operation

In over three years of operation, the procedures have been tweaked and the necessary improvements and adjustments have been made. The transport system now masters all requirements perfectly.

Loading the dual use tractor trailer from a milk tanker at the reloading point.

Unloading the milk at the dairy using the technical equipment available.

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Easy cleaning of the tank using the technical equipment available.

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Preparing the trailer for transporting pallets. The tank is hoisted using a wire rope hoist and within three minutes the cargo area is available for 33 standard pallets.

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The vehicle can be loaded and unloaded using the standard equipment because the loading height is 1.8 meters.

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Within a short period of time the dual use tractor trailer is ready to take the pallets to the distribution centers.

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After unloading the pallets the tank is lowered and secured and ready to transport milk again.

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Patent Protection

After various test and improvements the system was registered for patent protection in Switzerland. Once the patent office conducted its examination, the invention received the patent number 697 432.

In Germany the dual use tractor trailer system is protected by the utility patent number 20 2006 002 564.2.

Cost – effectiveness and Efficiency

Based on the use of one vehicle which transports milk and pallets the following economic advantage has been accumulated over recent years:

Investment: Investment in two vehicles: CHF 680,000 EUR 504,000 Investment in the dual use tractor trailer: CHF 420,000

Investment advantage dual use tractor trailer: CHF 260,000 EUR 193,000

EUR 311,000

Annual Costs: Based on a detailed cost analysis of carrying out the following transportation jobs:

• Milk reloading point – dairy 250 km (tanker 2x, dual use tractor trailer and pallet trailer 1x) • Pallet transport dairy – distribution centers 350 km (dual use tractor trailer and pallet trailer 1x) • Empty run distribution centers – milk reloading point 15 km (pallet trailer and dual use tractor

trailer 1x) • Tanker 269 rotations / dual use tractor trailer and pallet trailer each 305 rotations per year

the following annual costs were incurred: Operating costs (highway tolls, fuel costs, driver, maintenance, etc.) > 83% total costs Vehicle costs (investment component per km, taxes and insurance etc.) < 17% total costs

Tanker and Pallet Trailer CHF 840,000 / EUR 622,000

Dual Use Tractor Trailer CHF 555,000 / EUR 407,000

Cost advantage Dual Use Tractor Trailer CHF 290,000 / EUR 215,000

The transport costs were reduced by 35 percent, each year 134,200 fewer km were driven, 40,000 liters of fuel were saved and CO₂ emissions were reduced by 106t.

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Economic Potential

Based on operation experiences an exact calculation can be made on how the cost-effectiveness and efficiency changes given various operating factors:

• Distances and rotations • Highway tolls and fuels costs • Empty runs (distance to the loading/unloading points for liquid transports and to the loading

/unloading points for pallet transports)

We have developed a simple calculation to establish the economic benefits of using a dual use tractor trailer. Based on current fuel prices of EUR 1.20/liter and highway tolls of EUR 0.155 per km (category A upward of 4 axles) the dual use tractor trailer has the following economic advantage in Germany:

Transport distances per rotation

Empty runs per rotation

Vehicle rotations

100/150 km

80 km

300 p.a.

250/350 km

60 km

300 p.a.

300/400 km

30 km

340 p.a.

Economic advantage per year

Cost reduction dual use tractor trailer

25%

EUR 60,000

33%

EUR 160,000

35%

EUR 225,000

If highway tolls and fuel prices each increase by 10 percent, the cost-effectiveness and efficiency improve by roughly 4 percent for each factor!

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Operation in Europe

We see considerable potential to use the dual use tractor trailer in Europe.

Milk Transports

Based on milk production in Europe amounting to over 130 million tons per year one can safely assume that there is considerable potential for dual use tractor trailers.

In Germany the numbers are slightly different from our example. The dairy we supply processes 270,000 tons of milk and requires ca. 30 vehicles for transporting milk (25 t) and ca. 35 vehicles for transporting pallets (22 t). The 52 dairies in Germany have a processing capacity that is clearly much greater. To supply the 52 dairies in Germany with an average processing capacity of 375,000 tons of milk, 2,300 vehicles are necessary.

It is expected that at least 10 – 20 percent of the transports can be handled by a dual use tractor trailer at very good economic conditions. So, it is worth exploring a minimal number (250 – 500) of dual use tractor trailers to supply large-scale dairies in Germany.

In the case of cross-border exports from Germany (incl. the milk to be processed), which amount to 2.5 million tons of milk per year, using the dual use tractor trailer is an excellent option. It is certainly worth exploring using ca. 350 vehicles.

Operating ca. 250 dual use tractor trailers should be examined even for milk imports to Germany amounting to 1.9 million tons per year.

For milk transports within Germany and milk imports and exports to/from Germany operating more than 1,000 dual use tractor trailers is certainly worth considering.

Since there are other EU countries which produce large amounts of milk (F, PL, NL, I), amounting to ca. 56 million tons of milk per year, the situation is similar to Germany’s. It is certainly worth exploring operating another 500 dual use tractor trailers.

Wine Transports

Each year 2.9 million tons in table wines are transported in tankers across European borders. It is certainly worth considering operating 350 dual use tractor trailers.

Other Liquid Transports

It is also worth exploring the dual use tractor trailer for transporting other liquids in the food industry (liquid sugar, fruit juice concentrates, etc.) where similar issues have to be considered.

Of course the dual use tractor trailer can also be used for non-food transports. The tank would just have to be adapted accordingly.

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Environmental Considerations

The benefits to the environment must not be underestimated. As a result of the massive drop of empty runs there is less of a burden on the infrastructure, less noise, exhaust gases are reduced as are CO₂ emissions and fuel consumption.

Benefits at a Glance:

Given the above-mentioned calculations, each year 1 vehicle amounts to a reduction of • 100 – 170 t in CO₂ • 40,000 – 60,000 liters of diesel fuel • 130,000 – 180,000 kilometers in heavy goods traffic

If 1,500 vehicles can be used for milk transport,

• CO₂ emissions can be reduced by 225,000 tons per year, which would account for ca. 1.5 percent of the EU’s required reduction of CO₂ emissions in road freight.

• 75 million liters in diesel fuel can be saved • 225 million kilometers in heavy goods traffic will not be driven.

If we succeed in adequately publicizing the dual use tractor trailer transportation system, in encouraging clients to incorporate the concept into their logistic strategies, the dual use tractor trailer can considerably reduce the environmental pollution from heavy goods traffic.

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