At the official handover of 40 new Krone curtainsider semi-trailers for the transport company STERAC, Managing Director Gerald Rackebrandt and Frank Knuhr (Head of Purchasing/Fleet) visited Krone in Werlte. During a detailed tour of the factory, the guests from Braak in Schleswig-Holstein were impressed by the ultra-modern trailer production in the new Krone surface coating centre.
“At STERAC the satisfaction of our customers, combined with a high quality and reliable performance, is our top priority,” said Knuhr.
“We experience these values also at Krone. In our fleet, we uncompromisingly rely on high-quality, robust and flexible vehicles, which of course also have to convince in terms of load securing and handling.
“For precisely these reasons, we have decided on 30 Krone Profi Liners and ten Krone Mega Liners, whereby all vehicles are equipped with the ‘Safe Curtain’ load securing curtain. Because the Safe Curtain is a really smart solution with several benefits: Load securing, theft protection and easier and safer handling for our drivers.
“And last but not least, the service at Krone is also excellent. We have had very good experiences with the various features offered by Krone Telematics, for example,” he said.
On behalf of the Krone team, the Managing Directors Dr Frank Albers and Ralf Faust as well as the Regional Sales Manager Frank Kosse thanked STERAC for the renewed order and the confidence in Krone.
“We are very pleased to be able to convince STERAC with our vehicles, but also with our trailer services,” said Dr. Albers and Faust. “We are increasingly noticing that many customers are now also very consciously opting for digitisation and services that are tailored to their requirements. In this respect, we are of course constantly expanding our range in this segment, for example with our Fair Care packages.”
Founded in 1979, the STERAC specialises in European land transport, warehousing and management of 25,000 pallet spaces, logistics, customs clearance, packaging and order picking activities. The company’s fleet includes 10 trucks and 150 trailers (130 from Krone). The company is based in Braak (near Hamburg) and employs 135 people.
Profi Liner – Powerful and flexible
German OEM, Krone has redesigned its Profi Liner trailer, emphasising the front wall, superstructure, floor and load securing capabilities.
Krone has opted for a welded ladder frame design with end-to-end longitudinal beams and profiled transverse beams for the trailer’s new, improved chassis concept. This design makes it possible to use smaller base plates, which in turn makes repairs easier.
Plywood base plates transfer forces in all directions better than other floor concepts.
The new Krone Profi Liner can be approved in accordance with EN 283 for forklift axle loads up to eight tonnes (the standard is seven tonnes).
The base plates are attached with permanently elastic high-performance adhesive, which ensures outstanding impermeability.
The Profi Liner is fitted as standard with a raised floor assembly in the front area. The plywood rebound plate screwed to the front wall ensures additional protection and stability. The front wall is firmly screwed to the frame. Reinforced, pre-galvanised, armour-plated corner posts ensure optimum chassis connection, while offering protection against impacting mesh boxes at the same time. The pre- galvanised coupling support with the combination distributor ensure quick and easy handling when hitching and unhitching the vehicle.
Krone has also optimised the bulb plate in the rear of the trailer. Thanks to the use of a special adhesive and bent plate down towards the edge, the floor is provided with maximum protection, even if the vehicle is frequently loaded and unloaded from the rear.
The underrun protection and the lighting brackets, which are manufactured as individual components, also provide practical features. The separate and screwed version can be quickly replaced in case of damage. The new modular rear buffer concept is also impressive. For example, it allows the customer to quickly and easily respond to changing ramp / tour requirements and replace or retrofit the buffers.
The new container doors featuring fully galvanised components and an improved door seal are produced in the fully automated robot production facilities. This also ensures consistently high quality and precision. Krone has also redesigned the rear post connection, which now features holes for cross strapping as standard.
As with all add-on parts, the new roof hood is pre-galvanised and treated with a cathodic dip and powder coating as standard. The roof cover geometry has also been optimised, making it much easier to thread the curtain tension bar. The roof can also be optionally equipped with straps and opened from front to back.
The Profi Liner is equipped with the new Krone canopy as standard. Like the new Edscha Hybrid canopy, it has 30mm wide, welded-on aramid straps. This allows the strength to be increased significantly. Another intelligent solution: with immediate effect, Krone now fits the vehicle with offset curtain rollers which reduce contact with the external beam seal and improve running characteristics. The double curtain with the additional roller makes it possible to quickly and easily thread the curtains at the rear.
Meanwhile, the new Multi Lock external frame with strapping options at 100mm intervals ensures professional load security. The inside of the frame is pre-galvanised and is treated with a cathodic dip and powder coating, which provides outstanding corrosion protection. Its profile has been enlarged to optimise the coating process. Additional slotted holes were also integrated at the bottom of the frame to reduce the accumulation of dirt and moisture. In addition, the closed profile of the Multi Lock external frame offers optimum impermeability towards the cargo area.
The professional equipment also includes the load securing Safe Curtain where the high-strength spring steel strips in vertical PVC tunnel pockets are integrated into the side curtains. With this technology, Krone offers you a load securing system using the side curtain meaning that the classical plug-in laths can be dispensed with. The advantage: this not only makes handling the Safe Curtain easier, safer and faster, but it also reduces the weight by about 100 kg – compared to conventional side curtains with plug-in laths.
Another benefit: the integrated spring steel strips also take over an anti-theft function in the vertical direction: If the curtain is deliberately cut, it is only possible to cut to the next spring steel strip. Repairing the curtain is also just as simple as with a standard side curtain. In addition, work-related accidents caused by falling plug-in laths are a thing of the past.
The Profi Liner also features an impressive chassis. The semitrailer is outfitted with the proven Krone axle. Krone offers a six-year guarantee on the axle without mileage limitation for on-road use within the EU.
With the new Profi Liner, Krone offers a true all-round vehicle which features impressive quality, especially when it comes to forklift axle load and handling. The Profi Liner is equipped with a welded chassis, features a cathodic dip coating and boasts numerous award-winning load securing features, making it an extremely reliable trailer with impressive life cycle costs.
Mega Liner – The perfect solution for all volume transports
Krone has overhauled its Mega Liner range, which is extremely popular with all volume transporters, and further optimised it for a wide variety of applications. The Mega Liner Comfort features a quick-release tarpaulin and hydraulic lifting roof for just-in-sequence delivery in the automotive sector.
The Mega Liner load securing Safe Curtain tarpaulin for high-speed and safe loading and unloading during high- frequency volume transports. The Mega Liner’s redesigned rear width expansion for extra-wide goods is its latest highlight.
The new rear width expansion now offers 1000 mm (500 mm/side) more loading width, increasing the total loading width clearance to approx. 3480 mm. This makes it possible to quickly and easily load and unload the Mega Liner with oversized cargo. The driver starts the rear width expansion by simply opening the side curtains, the roof, the rear doors and the rear wall. The control unit is protected and easily accessible behind the axle assembly.
Stability and robustness for every Mega Liner
Just like with the new Profi Liner, Krone has opted for the welded ladder frame design with end-to-end longitudinal beams and profiled transverse beams for the trailer’s new, improved chassis concept. This design makes it possible to use smaller base plates, which in turn makes repairs easier. The base plates are attached with permanently elastic high-performance adhesive, which ensures outstanding impermeability.
Each Mega Liner is fitted as standard with a raised floor assembly in the front area. The plywood rebound plate screwed to the front wall ensures additional protection and stability. The front wall is firmly screwed to the frame. Reinforced, pre-galvanised, armour-plated corner posts ensure optimum chassis connection, while offering protection against impacting mesh boxes at the same time. The pre-galvanised coupling support with the combination distributor and Duo-Matic air connection ensure quick and easy handling when hitching and unhitching the vehicle. The PVD document box and a fire extinguisher are also practical features.
Similar to the new Profi Liner, the Mega Liner’s underrun protection and lighting bracket are manufactured as individual components. The separate and screwed version can be quickly replaced in case of damage. The new modular rear buffer concept is also impressive. For example, it allows the customer to quickly and easily respond to changing ramp / tour requirements and replace or retrofit the buffers.
The new container doors featuring fully galvanised components and an improved door seal are produced in the fully automated robot production facilities. This also ensures consistently high quality and precision in the new Mega Liner.
And last but not least, the vehicle line also boasts impressive weight performance. The Mega Liner with its Safe Curtain, stable steel front wall and steel rear gantry weighs approx. 6,400kg, making it the leader among its competitors.
The hydraulic lifting roof superstructure, including the welded-on diagonal bracing, the new roof hood as well as the new Edscha Hybrid external beam also offer ideal operating comfort. Krone fitted the vehicle with new offset curtain rollers which reduce contact with the external beam seal and improve running characteristics. As a result, the driver can conveniently and effortlessly open and close the roof. The double curtain with the additional roller makes it possible to quickly and easily thread the curtains at the rear.
The comfort curtain ensures particularly fast and easy handling. The side curtain can be opened all the way in less than 30 seconds. In addition, the microrungs integrated into the curtain eliminate the need for constantly removing and reattaching the centre posts and plug-in laths.
The new Multi Lock external frame with strapping options at 100 mm intervals ensures professional load securing. The inside of the frame is pre-galvanised and is treated with a cathodic dip and powder coating, which provides outstanding corrosion protection. The profile has been enlarged to optimise the coating process. Additional slotted holes were also integrated at the bottom of the frame to reduce the accumulation of dirt and moisture. In addition, the closed profile of the Multi Lock external frame offers the best possible impermeability towards the cargo area.
On request, Krone will fit the Mega Liner with the load securing Safe Curtain. It features high-strength spring steel strips in vertical PVC tunnel pockets integrated into the side curtains. The advantage: as the classic plug-in laths are no longer necessary, not only the handling of the Safe Curtain is easier, safer and faster, but it also reduces the weight by about 100 kg – compared to conventional side curtains with plug-in laths. Of course, the Safe Curtain meets the requirements of Daimler’s load securing directive 9.5 and is certified according to EN 12642 Code XL as well as for transporting beverages.
Another benefit: the integrated spring steel strips also take over an anti-theft function in the vertical direction: If the curtain is deliberately cut, it is only possible to cut to the next spring steel strip. Repairing the curtain is also just as simple as with a standard side curtain. In addition, work-related accidents caused by falling plug-in lathes are a thing of the past.
If the Mega Liner with the Safe Curtain is not completely loaded, a locking bar and a reinforced combination load-securing rail secure the load at the rear. The Mega Liner with Comfort Curtain uses vertical and horizontal aluminium locking bars for this purpose. They are anchored in perforated rails in the floor and canopy.
With the redesigned Mega Liner range, Krone offers a professional vehicle line to meet all the challenges involved in volume transport: from loads over 2480 mm wide to high-frequency and time-critical loading and unloading cycles in automotive logistics. What’s more, the convenient volume semitrailer also significantly reduces the driver’s daily workload thanks to its wide range of practical features.
