Reliability is a must

Peter Peisker is beaming about the LED lighting on his articulated truck. “It’s just wonderful how the colours come out,” he shouts as his son-in-law manoeuvres the 14.90-metre-long semi-trailer in the haulier’s car park in Waldbröl (North Rhine-Westphalia). The power of the LED lighting means one thing in particular for the haulier: additional safety for his drivers. The haulage company from the Bergisches Land region has 70 employees, 30 tractor units and 45 semi-trailers – and between them, they cover an average of 100,000 to 120,000 kilometres a year. At the end of last year, Peter Peisker purchased two vehicles which now drive all around Germany on a daily basis. The new trailers are distinguished by the fact that most of their components are made by BPW. The haulier has his reasons, as he explains:

“I want good quality that I can rely on.” Peter Peisker, Peisker Logistik Click To Tweet

Peisker has been working in the haulage industry and in logistics since 1973. As a regional haulier for a major car manufacturer in southern Germany, he is on the road around the clock. He supplies just-in-time components which are then processed immediately on the assembly line. Reliability is a must, he says, “I can’t afford any delays.” For this reason, he opted for BPW running gears from the very beginning. As the company continued to expand its product portfolio over the years, he became increasingly interested in other components and could hardly contain his excitement when he came across the Confi-Go-Mat configurator on the BPW stand at the trade show IAA Commercial Vehicles 2016 in Hanover. It gave visitors the opportunity to put together vehicles using BPW Group components. “To begin with, I could choose the vehicle type I needed. From curtainsiders to box trucks, tippers or tank and silo semi-trailers – everything was available,” remembers Peisker. Then he added the relevant products from BPW Group companies: running gear from BPW, wear and bodywork components from Hestal, lighting technology from Ermax, various mudwing designs from HBN-Teknik and telematics solutions from idem telematics.

He was shown all of the possibilities by BPW sales employee Reinhard Hamm. At the transport logistic fair in Munich, Peisker went ahead and ordered all of the components for two semi-trailers. Every year he adds four to six new trailers to his fleet, and they remain in use for around eight years. To have as much cargo space as possible, the haulier uses extra-long three-axle trucks with an inner length of 14.90 metres, among others. The advantage of semi-trailers over road trains is that the trailer does not have to be un­coupled during loading and unloading at a ramp. In addition, there is only one vehicle to be opened. This makes loading times significantly shorter – a clear advantage in the fast-paced haulage business.

At his company’s yard, the haulier proudly shows which other components he chose in addition to the LED lighting. First, there is the telematics system supplied by idem telematics, which enables Peisker to notify his customers down to the minute when the vehicle will reach their yard. Moreover, at any time and from his office desk, he can locate the vehicles, check the battery status and tyre pressure, and analyse brake pad wear and fuel consumption.

Peter Peisker looks upwards towards the pillars and roof-lifting system made by the BPW subsidiary Hestal, which conveniently raises the roof by 300 millimetres. “It gives us some additional room for manoeuvre when we use a forklift truck to load and unload,” explains the 67-year-old. His son-in-law and logistics manager Zoran Rados particularly appreciates another detail: the landing legs can be wound down easily – the gearing reduces the effort required. The semi-trailers have passed the most important practical test, reports Peisker, “My drivers are very happy. This quality is typical of our home region.” The BPW headquarters in Wiehl are only a few kilometres away from Waldbröl, and the distance to the nearest service workshop is a mere 800 metres. Proximity unites.

The semi-trailers with BPW components are a hit not only with the drivers but with the company’s own workshop too. As the mechanics undertake around 90 percent of all maintenance work themselves, they benefit from the comprehensive support provided by BPW’s customer service department – especially on Saturdays, when the vehicles are in the yard and receive their routine inspections. Furthermore, Peisker and BPW have concluded a maintenance contract for each new vehicle. “If a bulb blows, I can turn to one of the 3,200 service partners worldwide,” says Peisker. He thus benefits from the dense customer network everywhere.