Transport equipment specialist SAF-Holland has unveiled a host of innovative new products at the recent IAA Commercial Vehicle Show in Hanover, Germany – including two new additions to the well-known Intra range.
According to SAF-Holland, the new ‘Intra R’ and ‘Intra S’ series will help the company retain a leading position in Europe’s contested axle and suspension market.
The Intra S series can reportedly save up to 10kg per axle and will compete in the price-sensitive low cost segment, where more and more captive OEM products challenge established suppliers like SAF-Holland.
Meanwhile, the Intra R model will cover the high-end segment of the market and feature SAF-Holland’s new Safe Guard design to protect the brake cylinder.
“The new SAF Intra S features a reduced, but extremely sturdy suspension arm for vehicles like curtain-siders,” Steffen Schewerda, head of SAF-Holland’s Trailer Systems Business Unit, said in Hanover.
“[Meanwhile,] the SAF Intra R has been developed for rigid frame vehicles like tankers and tippers. It was important to SAF-Holland that the new spring we used for this model fits perfectly in the existing dimensions and the vehicle manufacturers make no changes to their chassis.”
In line with the company's new “Inspired by Passion” mantra, SAF-Holland also displayed a prototype of a new carbon fibre axle and a new aluminium composite drum that can reduce the weight per axle by up to 30kg. In addition, SAF-Holland showed a new pneumatic drum brake called SAF-Direct, which could save operators up to 20kg per axle.
According to SAF-Holland, all new products will be gradually rolled out to the transport industry until 2018, with the composite drum and the SAF Direct brake to arrive in 2017 and the carbon fibre axle expected in 2018.
Both Intra R and Intra S will be available in Europe from the second quarter of 2015. A date for the Australian launch has not been confirmed as yet.