Multimodal transport with Kraker moving floor trailers
With so-called huckepack transport, the trailer is transported by rail, without a towing vehicle and without a driver. This is multimodal transport because different means of transport are used (the trailer is first transported by road and then by rail).
In 2008, Kraker Trailers was the first manufacturer to produce trailers suitable for transport by rail. Huckepack requires appropriate modifications to a vehicle: standard trailers are not suitable because they do not have the lifting facilities for a huckepack crane.
For this form of intermodal transport, the trailer must have adapted air suspension. Grappling points are added to the trailer to allow for a crane to be used. The structure is reinforced at these points. The trailer is hoisted onto a so-called "Taschenwagen", which contains a recess for the wheels of the trailer.
Huckepack transport is becoming increasingly popular due to the advantages it offers:
- the fixed schedule of departure and arrival times allows for transport to be precisely planned
- unexpected delays due to traffic jams, for example, are not an issue
- it is environmentally friendly. CO2 emissions from transport by rail are considerably lower than those from road transport. The European Union is therefore pursuing an incentive policy when it comes to multimodal transport
But it takes good planning and rigorous organisation to maximise the benefits of huckepack transport; trains pass through tunnels on certain routes and not every tunnel is high enough for trailers to pass through. To prevent trains with trailers from getting stuck in tunnels, the trailers are provided with a specific coding. This coding shows which tunnels are suitable for safe passage for trains and trailers.
In many cases, Kraker Trailers can adjust the height of the moving floor trailer accordingly and deliver a custom-made huckepack trailer, complete with type approval.
Huckepack trailers for Leemans
The Leemans Group is one of the companies that Kraker Trailers supplies huckepack trailers to. In 2016, this transport company ordered the first two Kraker huckepack trailers. Another four were ordered in 2017 and an order for a series of four was also placed in 2018. All of the vehicles ordered by Leemans are volume trailers.
The sales process for these special vehicles was run by Rico Koops, who later passed the baton to John Hesselink, who is responsible for sales in Overijssel and a few specific customers outside this region.
Leemans has a long tradition. The company founded in 1928 and has grown steadily to become what it is today: a large, international transport company that offers the whole range of transport options with different types of vehicles, including huckepack.