‘Road’ was the name of a collaborative project with refrigerated trailer specialist, Jean CHEREAU SAS, four industrial partners and some institutional partners initiated to develop the reefer semi-trailer of the future: It was a three year project representing an investment of EUR5.5m that this has resulted in a four new products or areas of improvement for the Avranches-based company.

SAF-Holland GmbH has opened its new production plant in Yangzhou.

Tata Steel Europe is now manufacturing an abrasion resistant steel called Valast 450 specially developed for the construction industry involving rugged applications such as tipper bodies for trucks and trailers, bodies on refuse collection vehicles and excavator buckets.

Broshuis BV has launched its latest lightweight hydraulically steered and extendible flat trailer, that has two of three steering axles, and has a tare weight of just  8,400kg.

Specialist trailer builder, Van Hool NV, is initiating a new sales push of its container and swap body chassis in France.

Gray & Adams, a supplier of temperature-controlled semi-trailers and rigid vehicle bodywork, has designed an automated loading pod, built inside an extra-long 15.6m refrigerated body, which can hold up to 60 pallets at temperatures as low as -22 degrees C.

Silencio is the name the nitrogen refrigeration system by Frappa Group of Davezieux for its medium and heavy-duty refrigerated rigid trucks and semi-trailers.

Specialist heavy haulage trailer manufacturer, Nooteboom BV, revealed its latest generation of its Longrunner lightweight extendible flatbed trailer at the Solutrans exhibition in Lyon.

Dry van and refrigerated trailer builder, Great Dane, used the North America Commercial Vehicle Show in Atlanta last month to announce a technology partnership with Coretex of San Diego, a fleet management solutions supplier to roll out to the market Great Dane’s new FleetPulse smart trailer system.

In six months’ time,  Hendrickson International plans to start trailer axle and suspension production (April 2020) at a brand new plant in Navarre according to Gary Gerstenslager, president and CEO of Hendrickson speaking at the NACV Show in Atlanta last month.

Suspension, axle, coupling and component specialist, SAF-Holland Inc has moved its aftermarket business into a large warehouse in Aschaffenburg.

In the 2018/19 business year ending March 31, 2019, Europe’s largest trailer builder, Schmitz Cargobull AG built around 63,500 vehicles employing 6,500 people, a record number for the company; this compares with exactly 61,256 units produced in 2017/18 with 6,400 employees and with 57,000 units and 5,700 employees.