Freighter Focusing on Trailer Safety

April 8, 2015
Australian trailer manufacturer Freighter is highlighting safety at the Brisbane Truck Show May 14-17, displaying its safety innovations via its “AutoHold” model, which making its first appearance at a truck show after being released in June last year.

Australian trailer manufacturer Freighter is highlighting safety at the Brisbane Truck Show May 14-17, displaying its safety innovations via its “AutoHold” model, which making its first appearance at a truck show after being released in June last year.

The AutoHold was released in 2014, offering time savings through automatic fastening and unfastening of curtains. Drivers no longer need to open and close every single buckle when loading and unloading, instead simply pressing a button and watching as the trailer’s pneumatic system does the work for them.

Freighter said at the time that it expected the AutoHold would save operators around 15 minutes per stop, leading to more drops per day and less stress for the driver. What separated Freighter’s design from other similar trailers on the market was the unique sequential fastening system, which ensures the curtains can even fasten automatically in the wind.

Freighter General Manager, Mario Colosimo, said that the company had put a lot of R&D focus on safety in recent years and that while a lot of attention had been on the efficiency gains of the AutoHold model, many customers were also delighted about the health and safety aspects.

One benefit is the removal of the need for the driver to enter the forklift exclusion zone to release the curtains.

 “As a result of one-touch unfastening on the front of the trailer, drivers can be clear of the curtains when they are released, removing the chance of loads which have shifted during travel falling on them,” said Colosimo. “The removal of the need to manually fasten and unfasten buckles when loading and unloading also greatly reduces the chance of repetitive strain injury.”

“As half of the name suggests, the AutoHold curtains are also fitted with Freighter’s proven LoadHold load restraint curtains, which eliminates the need for conventional gates with many load types because the load restraint system is built into the curtains,” Colosimo continued. “By not having to manually handle gates, drivers significantly reduce their Work Health and Safety risk.”

 Freighter’s AutoHold has been certified to meet the NTC Load Restraint Guidelines for a unitised load of at least 1,250kg per pallet space on a straight deck trailer. Higher restraint levels can be specified when ordering.

Installed inside the AutoHold will be another of Freighter’s recent safe operation innovations, its “Auto Mezz Decks”, released in 2013. The Auto Mezz Decks remove the requirement for forklifts when changing deck heights, instead raising and lowering at the push of a button. Mario says that both the AutoHold and Auto Mezz Decks highlight Freighter’s recent focus on safe operation via the removal of manual and repetitive usage requirements.