JOST, based in Weiswampach, Luxembourg, has been a Kraker Trailers customer for many years. The long relationship, the variety of vehicles and the recent order for two trailers developed to customer specifications were reason enough to travel to a special location in Vielsalm, right in the Belgian Ardennes.
Variety of vehicles
STS’ (Kraker’s sales and rental division) trailer specialist Jan Platteau has been the contact person for JOST for the purchase of new K-Forces since the turn of the century. Over the years, he has sold a variety of vehicles to JOST, including side-door trailers, series with specialised options, series of standard K-Forces, and, most recently, a second order of trailers with a flexible rear hopper connection. These trailers are used to transport PET granulate, which is blown through a chute attached to the trailer into ± 60 meters high silos. The K-Force design simplifies the construction of these hopper trailers. Using the familiar screw structures, it is possible to build the lock entirely of aluminium, while the rear beam, on which the doors are fixed, is made of a combination of steel and stainless steel. The level indicator on the inside of the rear doors starts and stops unloading automatically, which keeps the pressure on the rear doors relatively low. The hopper has two vibrators. When the driver turns them on, the remaining granules are vibrated loose and fall through the airlock.
Close community
JOST has developed into a large company that operates in various sectors and offers numerous services. One of JOST's hallmarks is that it is one big family, as symbolised in its logo. The recognisable kangaroo was selected for a reason: it protects her young while on the move. The same goes for JOST: they value a safe working environment where everyone feels appreciated.
JOST transports timber in all shapes and forms
The interview did not take place at JOST in Weiswampach, but in Vielsalm, at Industrie du Bois, which is a part of Wood & Energy, one of JOST’s clients. Industrie du Bois Vielsalm processes wood in every conceivable manner, into all types of end products. Local softwood is processed into products such as sawn timber and its by-products become wood pellets that serve as a sustainable heat source for around 50,000 wood-stoking households, as well as being used to generate green electricity.
Kraker vehicles are nothing new for Josef Schmitz
Josef Schmitz, who has literally been responsible for purchasing JOST's fleet of vehicles for years, was on hand to answer questions. Josef is actually eligible for retirement already, but he is still working for JOST one day a week nonetheless. That shows his commitment to the company, and is also good for the business. Because you cannot simply pass on the knowledge of someone who has spent over 38 years buying everything that can be driven.
Josef explains: “We became big by acquiring other companies and thereby strengthened our grip on the market.” The latter is an understatement, because with around 1,700 tractor units across the group, no one in the world of wood processing, biomass and power plants that generate renewable energy can ignore JOST.
Long, intensive cooperation
It is special for a company of that size to have remained loyal to Kraker Trailers for all of these years. What makes Kraker Trailers an important partner for JOST? The answer is clear: “When you work closely together for any length of time, and especially under the harsh conditions under which our vehicles operate, things occasionally go differently than they should. You need to strike a good balance between load capacity, the product and the often harsh conditions under which the trailers operate. A solution-oriented partner who remains involved is essential under those circumstances. I found that in Jan de Kraker. He provided solutions when required. He examined where the problems lay and what adjustments the JOST trailers needed, e.g., a thicker floor, reinforcement plates on the side. That was before the arrival of K-Force.” A remarkable detail is that JOST still operates one Kraker trailer that has been in reliable service for 14 years. That says it all.
That involvement from Jan ensured that JOST ordered from Kraker time and again. The series of trailers, which consist of more or less standard vehicles, are used to transport heavy, sawn timber. This timber is loaded from above, so you can imagine the impact on the trailer, particularly the floor, as the cargo is dumped onto it. The trailer then transports the wood to the processing facility, where it is converted into products such as wood chips.
Price is of secondary importance if quality and the service life are good
“For us, the price of the vehicles is not as important as the quality. JOST is always willing to pay more if we are assured of good service and vehicles that can withstand hard work. You cannot buy a product based on price alone, you also have to consider the quality,” Josef said.
And that certainly applies to the two trailers with hoppers recently produced for JOST. These trailers were manufactured on the K-Force principle, which means they are assembled with screw joints, but they were developed entirely to customer specifications for JOST.
These trailers are used to transport a plastic recycling product: PET.
Josef Schmitz explains the PET they transport with the K-Forces are chipped plastic bottles. While unloading, the chips are blown 60 metres upwards. “We developed these trailers together with Kraker.”
Choffray, a state of the art workshop with a warehouse full of Kraker parts
JOST works with Choffray, an independent workshop located a few kilometres from Industrie du Bois, Vielsalm. Choffray is a state-of-the-art service centre and depot company that is certainly unrivalled in the wider area. The company has a large workshop and an extensive stock of Kraker spare parts, which it uses to provide JOST with local Kraker after-sales services. According to Josef, Choffray is the best service partner around. JOST benefits from good local service, which enables the K-Force trailers to operate smoothly and reliably under the harsh conditions that forestry entails. “The weight of the K-Forces procured by JOST should be as low as possible. We have a heavy product and we want to transport as much as possible at once. Furthermore, we also want to transport the widest possible variety of products with our K-Forces. This cannot be done without proper and scheduled maintenance.”
Built completely new in 2020, this service centre specialises in the maintenance and repair of all kinds of vehicles, including, of course, moving floor trailers. Choffray has enormous capacity, which keeps downtime as short as possible.
The modern workshop is a great addition. Anyone looking to have a vehicle serviced can go to Choffray. JOST, Choffray, and Kraker Trailers form a unified trio driven by the same passion and vision, ensuring that as much wood as possible is transported using robust vehicles that are impeccably maintained.
