Truck manufacturer MAN to debut at a major international forestry trade show with logging truck range in an effort to tap into a growing European forestry sector.
Sweden-headed trade event organisers Elmia has revealed that German truck manufacturer MAN will debut as an exhibitor at its upcoming international forestry trade show Elmia Wood 2017. According to a statement, MAN sees Europe’s forestry sector as an increasingly important market and will participate in the new “Load & Transport” section of the trade show, which focuses on the construction and maintenance of forest roads, the transport of forest raw materials, and timber handling at terminals and woodyards.
Showcase innovation
While this is the first time MAN is exhibiting at the fair, the brand is not unknown in the Nordic forests. Back home in Germany the trucks are a common sight. And now the company has decided to focus more on this segment with the ambition to up its share of the timber and forestry truck market in northern and eastern Europe as well as France and Russia.
– Our focus is on better economy for timber hauliers. The big news to be shown at the fair will be improved power-trains and one product we’ll be exhibiting is an engine that meets the very latest environmental demands, Euro 6 C, revealed John-David Schnackenberg, Forestry Business Manager at MAN.
MAN plan to bring three or four vehicles to Elmia Wood, which will be held 7 – 10 June 2017 in Jönköping, Sweden. Another one will be on show at the stand of crane manufacturer Epsilon. There are three models: the heavy trucks TGS and TGX, and the new family member TGE, a van in the 3.5 to 5 tonne category. It is built on a Volkswagen Crafter, which was chosen as Van of the Year 2017, but in a more professional execution with more applications.
GPS-controlled transmission and upgraded engines
MAN will present two improved engines. They are the D26, which now meets the toughest European environmental demands, and the D38, a 15-litre six-cylinder inline with 640 HP and 3,000 Nm torque. The upgrade has given both models an additional 20 HP each.
The trucks come with either manual or automatic transmission, the MAN TipMatic TX. The design aims to reduce the haulier’s costs and improve the work environment. One of the innovations is GPS-controlled transmission.
– The trucks know in advance that a slope is coming and switch to the correct gear for optimal engine speed, explained Schnackenberg as an example of the benefits of GPS-controlled transmission.
Real-wheel, front-wheel or all-axle drive
MAN will also show is a three-axle truck with “HydroDrive” and a controllable tag axle. MAN introduced HydroDrive ten years ago and other brands have recently followed. It involves hydrostatic front-wheel drive, which can be selected as required at speeds up to 28 km/h.
Normally the drive is on one wheel pair, which gives optimal fuel economy, but when accessibility requires, the front-wheel drive and rear-wheel steering can be brought into play. Another innovation is that HydroDrive can be offered in combination with automatic transmission.
