Logmaster leads the way

ABSA Stadium Durban was the location of a launch that is hugely significant in the timber and forestry industry. In partnership with Scania and TOHF Trailers, Mondi Transport Technology launched Project Griffin 500 on 15 April 2009.

The launch of Project Griffin 500 was a successful one as far as the industry is concerned and the project presents what is said to be the new benchmark in pulpwood heavy commercial vehicles (HCVs).

The result of Project Griffin 500 is the new TOHF Trailers LogMaster trailer and Scania 500 bhp V8 combination. Design, safety and economy were the major areas of emphasis for the development of this combination, with the ultimate goal being that of breaking the magic 16 t tare mass barrier.

This goal was indeed achieved and the vehicle combination weighs in at just under 16 t. This translates into the combination boasting a payload efficiency factor (PEF) of 71.6%, and this means that of the legal 56 t limit, 71.6% of the vehicle’s gross combination mass (GCM) is able to be pure payload (approximately 41 t). This represents a tonne more than the average timber truck combination.

“We’ve been sitting at 17 t for a long time,” notes Desmond Armstrong, transport and technology specialist at Mondi. “This is a sub-16 t tare mass vehicle with a 500 bhp engine, with high levels of safety, economy and driver comfort.”

The combination’s secret is the fact that the trailer is made entirely of Domex, a steel imported from Sweden. Domex is a material that, given its lightness and hence the extra payload, will pay itself off quickly and will yield pure profit thereafter.

Furthermore, the LogMaster trailer can be converted into what is known as the CaneMaster in only one day. According to Alan McAslan of TOHF Trailers, all that needs to be done is to add a headboard, tailboard and spiller bars and chains. The combination tare mass of this CaneMaster is approximately 18.7 t, giving the transporter a payload of 38 t inside the legal limit. This is a phenomenal improvement over the cane industry’s average payload of 32 t.

This means that, whether you transport sugar cane or timber, your vehicle need never stand on rubber in the so-called ‘off season’. The LogMaster/CaneMaster gives you the potential to make money all year round.

Given that the vehicle combination is a non-performance-based standards (PBS) model, the launch of the product represents a significant breakthrough for the timber and forestry industry. It is no surprise then that a number of players in the timber industry have already pegged the TOHF LogMaster as premium timber trailer in the country today.