Customer case

Fesan trailer chassis in Strenx® steel help drive business forward

April 15, 2021

5 min read

A shiny gray and red semitrailer dumper with the Fesan and Hardox® in My Body logos.

Case details

Country

Turkey

Company

Fesan Makina

Industry

Trailers and body builders

Turkish trailer and tipper manufacturer Fesan Makina’s key driver is customer satisfaction. So when customers started asking for stronger and lighter equipment, that is exactly what they got. Fesan switched to Strenx® performance steel in its new tipper trailer chassis to keep customers happy and maintain a market-leading position.

Two men in hardhats at work fabricating a piece of high-strength Strenx® steel.

Less steel, less waste with high-strength steels

Selim Selvi, the company’s founder, is also the production manager and has extensive knowledge of steel materials.
“The reason why we use sheet material is that it leads to less scrap, which is beneficial from the viewpoint of both cost-consciousness and sustainability,” Selvi says. “We can get sheets in the sizes we need from SSAB, and this helps us produce without waste.”

By using high-strength Strenx® steel, companies like Fesan can use thinner dimensions of steel while maintaining or increasing strength. With their winning combination of Strenx® and Hardox® steel in sheet instead of thicker plate, they have saved 150–250 kg (330–550 lbs.) of steel waste per tipper depending on the tipper model, which saves costs significantly.

Selvi is also happy with the workshop performance of Strenx® performance steel. “It doesn’t break during cutting and bending,” he says. “This of course makes production easier for us.”

Hardox® and Strenx® steels a winning combination against wear and tear

For Fesan’s customers who carry heavy loads, the side doors of the tippers must be able to withstand the pressure of the cargo. However, the doors on an earlier model were made from mild steel, eventually causing unacceptable deformation and severe dents. In 2015, Fesan decided to test Hardox® 450 steel in the side doors with supporting parts made of Strenx® steel. The combination of Hardox® wear plate and Strenx® performance steel was a success.

“We got remarkable feedback about the quality, and customer satisfaction was exceptionally high,” Selvi says. “This has made us stand out in the market. And we’ve been able to substantially lightweight our trailers yet increase their strength.” 

“We got remarkable feedback about the quality, and customer satisfaction was exceptionally high.”
Selim Selvi, founder of Fesan

Trailer steadily loses weight, gains performance and other savings

The big advantage is that the company’s 6.8-ton vehicle can provide the same performance as their nearly 10-ton one. It is strong enough to carry the same weight and still meet the 2 percent weight-reduction regulations for road vehicles that have been in force since 2011.

“Before SSAB’s steels entered our lives, trailers in Turkey would weigh about nine tons or just above,” Selvi says. “But after we began using Hardox® and Strenx® high-strength steels, we were able to decrease the weight in phases – first to 8.8 tons, then to 7.7, and now to 6.8 tons.”

“Less trailer weight means the possibility to carry more payload, and this translates into better productivity for the end user,” Selvi explains. “Operators can also save money through less fuel consumption, which is also positive from a sustainability point of view.”

Fesan is a qualified Hardox® In my body program and it will soon apply for the My Inner Strenx® program. 

See how Strenx® 700 steels increase the value of the trailers

Customer benefits

  • Thinner dimensions of stronger high-strength steel cut trailer chassis weight by 800 kg (1,800 lbs.)
  • More flexible, innovative design options that allow for reduced weight while maintaining strength and safety
  • Reduced weight allows them to comply with stricter statutory road weight regulations
  • Less steel used in production

Get a Strenx® upgrading consultation

Find out what upgrading to Strenx® can do for your products and your business.

Contact sales

Strenx® High-performance steel

Strenx® performance steel can make your products stronger, lighter, safer, more competitive and more sustainable. We call it performance steel, because it adds performance beyond ordinary structural steel