English - Nooteboom Giants on the Road Magazine English - Nr. 5 - 2018 | Page 29
SERVICE
located in the central beam. In the end this specific requirement has
been taken on by Nooteboom and introduced as standard on all new
Pendel-X low-loaders.”
MAINTENANCE CONTRACTS
Peter: “We always have to find a balance in the planning of our mainte-
nance work. For a large part we can do it ourselves during the weekend,
but some of it has to be subcontracted. That’s why we have maintenance
contracts for a number of our vehicles, mainly the relatively simple
2-axle and 3-axle tractors. For the he avy 5-axle tractors we carry out the
maintenance ourselves.”
PLANNING WORKSHOP
Peter: “Between Monday morning and Friday afternoon our vehicles
are on the road. Inspections and maintenance are done on Saturday.
Our mechanics have one day off during the week as compensation for
working in the weekend. I have been with Holtrop-van der Vlist for 24
years and during that time I have seen a lot of changes. In 1994 it was
still quite normal for mechanics to work in the weekend. Nowadays it
is increasingly difficult to find mechanics who will work on a Saturday.
We see a similar trend with drivers. Twenty-five years ago many drivers
were able to solve small technical problems themselves. Now they are on
the phone straightaway. We expect our drivers to change the lightbulbs
themselves, but anything more complicated than that seems to be too
much for most drivers.”
DEAD WEIGHT
Peter: “The dead weight of the trucks and trailers is extremely important
for us. With light combinations we can carry out some of our transports
without exemption and during the life of a trailer that can mean saving
tens of thousands of euro’s on exemption costs. Every kilogram extra has
to be dragged along. That costs fuel and restricts the load capacity. Our
last series of semi low-loaders that Nooteboom delivered fully meets
these requirements.”
EQUIPMENT NEW TRUCKS AND TRAILERS
Peter: “If a new truck or trailer sets off to collect its first load, everything
needs to be perfect. Therefore we spend a long time on new vehicles to
equip them. We have many parts made especially for them. The aim is
always a long life and for the driver’s work to be easy and safe. For the
trailers we organise the boxes, width marker plates, ramps and panels
to close the wheel wells ourselves. Quick and efficient work, that’s what
we’re after.”
At the end of the interview one question remains: Have the costs for
repairs and maintenance actually been reduced over the last few years
due to the careful planning?” Peter: “I cannot give a clear answer to that
question. Part of our fleet consists of extremely complex vehicles. The
maintenance of a simple steered Nooteboom Euro low-loader is cheaper
than the version with pendle axles. But we opt for pen-
dle axles anyway due to their big advantages:
higher axle load, more steering angle and
longer suspension stroke. What we’re
really looking for is the impossible: mul-
tifunctional use, low running costs, very
few empty kilometres and user-friend-
liness for the driver. With Nooteboom
we are constantly looking to improve
the details that could influence all
this.” ■
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