Customer case

Fesan trailer chassis in Strenx® steel help drive business forward

April 15, 2021 6 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.

“Seeing our customers smile makes us happy,” says Mehmet Baypınar, head of domestic sales at Fesan. “We’ve made a name for ourselves in Turkey and now we want to get more attention in the rest of the world. We’re doing this with the help of Hardox® and Strenx® steels.”

The Turkish company builds tipper trailers and semi-trailers, trailer chassis, container carriers and low-bed semi-trailers and other products in its vast facilities in the city of Konya. As part of a continuously growing market, Fesan also looks for contracts outside the country. To reach its export goals, Fesan turned to SSAB for new solutions. When they started to use Hardox® wear plate and Strenx® performance steel their products met – and exceeded – the company’s expectations.

New model cuts nearly 800 kg (1,800 lbs.) off trailer chassis

“We have a semi-tipper model called Dangal used for multi-purpose loads, such as bulk cargo, pallet loads and scrap,” Baypınar explains. “It can withstand really harsh conditions. By introducing Strenx® 700 and Strenx® 960 instead of the previous thick mild steel, we’ve shaved off close to 800 kilos (1,800 lbs.) from the trailer chassis.” The new design, which features three side doors, has been revolutionary. First, it offers flexibility since customers can transport logs in one direction and, thanks to the automated top cover, carry chipboards or sawdust on the way back. Second, it saves time when opening the doors. Before, users had to open 12 covers using hammer and pins, and the process of opening and closing took 90 minutes. The new design’s easy grip-open system takes only five minutes, which also improves safety. Finally, Dangal was designed for easy and fast on- and off-loading, and it loads twice or three times as fast.

In an ordinary month, the factory produces around 80 different trailers, semi-trailers and tippers. For Dangal, Fesan uses 100 percent Strenx® performance steel to produce the structural parts, as well as Hardox® wear plate in the tipper bodies.

Back view of a shiny gray semitrailer dumper from Turkish company Fesan.

About Fesan Makina

  • Founded in 1996. Located in Konya in the interior of Turkey.
  • Produces and sells trailers and tippers.
  • The main market is Turkey, but it is launching into the world marketplace.
  • It contains a 12,000-square-meter factory built on an area of 20,000 square meters

SSAB steel used in Fesan’s trailers and tipper trucks

  • Strenx® 700 and Strenx® 960 in trailer chassis and supporting parts of the tipper bodies.
  • Hardox® 450 wear plate and wear sheet in the tipper bodies.
  • Hardox® 500 Tuf will be incorporated in a new design.

Case details

Country Turkey
Company Fesan Makina
Industry Trailers and body builders
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. 

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

 

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