The famous Dubai archipelago of artificial islands shaped like a palm tree in the Persian Gulf needed more than 200 units of rock tipping semi-trailers. This is just one of countless projects the burgeoning area has undertaken over the last two to three decades.
The need for tippers within the construction sector has allowed GORICA Group, the Middle East and Africa’s leading developer and manufacturer of semi-trailers, to become experts in developing customised solutions in terms of both quality and design.
For example, GORICA is now known for its slanting rear door design, a benchmark and a recognised look on the roads.
What makes GORICA’s efforts stand out when it comes to semi-trailer design and manufacturing comes down to road regulations, or lack thereof, within the Middle East.
As GORICA Group’s General Manager of Sales and Marketing, Domen Bockor explains in mature markets like the EU there are common road regulations so tipping semi-trailers are built similarly with variations made only for special applications.
“Due to non-uniform road regulations in the GCC, technical specifications vary by each market in terms of capacity, volume, axle configuration and axle load capacity along material thicknesses,” he said. “In the Middle East you have extremes like Bahrain where the maximum capacity of a tipping semi-trailer allowed by road regulations is 18 CBM, and United Arab Emirates where the market standard is 48 CBM.”
For this reason, GORICA has developed a full range of tipping semi-trailers conforming to all of the local road regulations, international standards as well as the company’s unique design features.
Currently Gorica is supplying more than 200 tipping semi-trailers on monthly basis thanks to a number of ongoing projects in various industries including aggregate transport, quarries and mining and waste management.
Built to last
Within the entire range, GORICA offers both carbon steel-made tippers as well as wear resistant steel such as Hardox, which is often required for heavy duty rock applications or where regulations ask for lower weight.
GORICA’s standard specifications of tippers for general aggregate transportation would be 12 to 16 tonne, wide track axles – either two- or three-axle configurations. It would also consist of quality carbon steel of grade ST52-3 and a thickness of an 8mm floor and 6mm sides. Alternatively, wear resistant steel would consist of a 4-6mm floor and 3.2 to 4mm sides. For rock applications, the thicknesses would go up to 10mm floor and 8mm sides and the inside body would be upgraded with inverted angles to protect it when rocks are being loaded.
“Our traditional partners in axles for our tipping semi-trailers is BPW from Germany and when it comes to hydraulics, we use HYVA,” Bockor said.
Last year GORICA designed and produced, for first time in the Middle East, a tipping semi-trailer built from aluminium and specifically for grain transportation.
“This is our latest development which brings us in the same league with other world A class body builders,” he said adding that GORICA has also launched a 25 CBM ROCK tipper for mining and quarry applications that can compete against articulated tippers, but with only 20 per cent of the operating cost and maintenance. All above models are available with different axle capacities and configurations, as well as varying front-end mounted hydraulics.
Moving floors in the Middle East
Popular in Europe and North America, moving floor semi-trailers are a relatively new application in the Middle East and Africa region. Leading the way, GORICA has developed two types of models.
• The 90-105 CBM self-compacting semi-trailer is used predominately in waste management industries as transport of waste to land fields. The unit is completely independent of the prime mover, powered by separate diesel driven engine and equipped with hydraulic rear door. It is also enhanced by a remote-control system.
• The 90-105 walking floor semi-trailer is equipped with a Cargo Floor System which is used for waste management, scrap and refuse-derived fuel applications. The unit is versatile and low maintenance, offering the best total cost ownership.