The Schwarzmüller Group has received the first major contract for its new long haul vehicles. GOTMAR, the Bulgarian manufacturer of plastic containers, has ordered 60 POWER LINE Cargo vehicles. The vehicles will be used in Bulgaria, predominantly to transport drinks. They are currently in production and will be delivered during the first quarter of this year. “The increase in performance has convinced our Bulgarian customer. They are converting their fleet from semitrailers to POWER LINE articulated trucks”, CEO Roland Hartwig announced today, Wednesday, 20 January, at the company site in Freinberg near Schärding.
GOTMAR is a leading producer of beverages containers in Bulgaria and also transports beverages. “This is what we had in mind when we developed the new vehicles”, explained Hartwig. Quick loading and unloading are important in this industry; every extra pallet counts. POWER LINE is great in both these cases. The forklift load of 7.2 tons, which is an increase of a third, makes working with larger factory-floor vehicles easier. In connection with the Quickslider tarpaulin lock, this means: faster handling. In addition, POWER LINE offers around 800 kilograms more payload and more pallet slots due to a 30mm increase in interior height. The result: both increase the transport volume. Faster handling and more transport volume result in significantly better efficiency compared to standard vehicles. At GOTMAR, managing director Ivan Ivanov confirmed that Schwarzmüller's experience in lightweight construction and the specific advantages of the new design were the deciding factor. Schwarzmüller is aiming to deliver all the vehicles by the end of March.
Bulgaria as a promising market
The Bulgarian market is becoming ever more interesting for Schwarzmüller. With a total of 2,000 units per year, it is in the same ballpark as Hungary or Slovakia in terms of quantities. Schwarzmüller has had representatives in this Balkan country for 20 years, but now wants to increase its market share to more than ten percent. Construction and infrastructure vehicles are currently being sold; large-capacity tipper units for grain transport are particularly in demand. With POWER LINE’s positive start, there are now signs of success in the field of long-distance transport too.
International market launch is successful
The Upper Austrian premium manufacturer is currently pushing ahead with introducing its product innovation in a number of EU markets. The POWER LINE family has five different vehicle types in more than 20 designs. They are built on a single platform and geared towards one goal: less weight, more power. “We can go one step further due to our expertise in lightweight construction. Lightweight alone is no longer good enough for us,” promises the CEO. This promise is being very well received on all markets. The additional benefit is the decisive incentive for haulage contractors.
CO2 emissions can be reduced
Due to the high order backlog in this segment, Schwarzmüller’s production will be working at full capacity for several months. With the acceleration of demand for the new long-distance vehicles, demand for standard vehicles is dropping as planned. “We are concentrating fully on making added value possible with complex vehicles. That's how we set ourselves apart from the competition,” said Hartwig. At the same time as the higher productivity, the new POWER LINE reduces emissions for empty runs by about ten percent. When fully loaded, emissions are reduced by saving transport journeys. “The new POWER LINE is yet another one of Schwarzmüller’s contributions to improving the carbon footprint of cargo transport without compromising on productivity”, emphasises Hartwig.
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More information:
Mag. Michael Prock, Prock und Prock Marktkommunikation GmbH, Press Officer
Lasserstraße 13/1, 5020 Salzburg, Austria
Email: mp@prock-prock.at, Tel.: +43 662 821155-0
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The Schwarzmüller group is one of the largest European suppliers for drawn commercial vehicles. The company sets the benchmark for the industry with its premium direction and is a specialist in individual transport solutions in demanding industries, with more than 140 years of experience. With vehicles from the Schwarzmüller and Hüffermann brands, the company supplies the construction trade, infrastructure companies, raw materials and recyclable materials industry, and long haul transport companies.
