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VW chooses the HUBTEX SFX 65
Reliable, safe heavy-load transport – tailored to requirements
Moving press tools and coils weighing up to 65 tonnes is part of everyday operations for the automotive manufacturer in Wolfsburg. In future, transport of these bulky loads will be handled by the compact HUBTEX SFX 65 heavy-load platform transporter. With its two-way steering, the SFX can be used both indoors and outdoors – and thanks to its small turning radius, it performs even where space is limited.
Around 180 double-deck rail wagons and approximately 185 car transporters leave the Wolfsburg plant every day. At the same time, about 1,600 suppliers deliver their products daily – including raw materials such as coils – arriving with around 100 rail wagons and roughly 750 lorries. To ensure smooth material flow for these mostly very heavy items, the materials handling equipment must match the exact on-site conditions as well as customer requirements. “We needed an alternative to rail-bound equipment – something that can travel in all directions without requiring a lot of space,” says Carsten Meissner, Technical Planning, Press Shop at VW in Wolfsburg.
The vehicle needed a suitable load platform to transport both tools and heavy coils – from which blanks for, among other things, side panels, doors, and tailgates and bonnets are pressed – reliably within the press shop. Material flow must always be ensured, whether coils are being taken to press lines, tools are being moved to or from machines, or tool changes are required.
In the search for the optimal solution in the form of an industrial truck, HUBTEX came into play. The specialist materials handling equipment manufacturer was already known from previous projects. The HUBTEX experts assigned a heavy-load platform transporter to the specific Wolfsburg requirement. However, the base model did not fully meet the task. On the one hand, VW required a transporter with a flat load surface for tools weighing up to 50 tonnes; on the other, the vehicle also had to feature a recessed bed for coils up to 32 tonnes. HUBTEX successfully met these requirements.
“At first, we discussed a removable coil attachment for the SFX 65 heavy-load platform transporter. However, in our consultations we were able to convince the user of a more efficient solution,” says Stephan Rückert, Sales – Materials Handling Technology at HUBTEX.
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Implemented in close cooperation
This new solution is a customer-specific enhancement of the SFX 65 base vehicle via a raised frame. Alongside a flat surface for supporting the tools, the centre of the SFX also features a dedicated recess designed for safe coil transport. The truck’s modular design allows this equipment to be implemented without major changes to the vehicle. Thanks to PU tyres, the SFX 65 is ideally suited to the required indoor use. With two-way steering and small turning radii, users benefit from the vehicle’s minimal space requirement. Standard operation is straightforward via both wired and radio remote control. Functions for integrating the platform truck into automated processes can also be incorporated into the SFX series using the general HUBTEX automation toolkit.
With the SFX 65 for tools up to 65 tonnes and coils up to 32 tonnes, the automotive manufacturer benefits from safe, flexible transport – and HUBTEX proved a valuable partner in the process.
“We are completely satisfied with the solution HUBTEX has tailored to our processes. Throughout the cooperation, the company always took our structures and specifications into account and made implementation as transparent and efficient as possible,” Meissner concludes.
“In particular, the training of our employees showed that we chose a reliable, future-proof vehicle that not only meets all requirements but is also intuitive to operate. Overall, the partnership has proven to be very positive.”
Photos of the HUBTEX SFX 65
