Customer case

Özmen Damper increases market share with Hardox® 500 Tuf

May 13, 2022 6 min read

Hero image: An orange crane loading scrap into a box-type tipper made in Hardox® 500 Tuf steel.

Case details

Product Hardox® 500 Tuf

Country Turkey

Company Özmen Damper Trailer

Industry Trailers and body builders

Brand program Hardox^® In My Body

Özmen Damper uses thinner dimensions of steel to shed 1,000 kg (2,205 lbs.) off its trailers, while boosting exports and market share. The hero of this success story? Extra-tough Hardox® 500 Tuf.

As the founder of a leading Turkish semitrailer and trailer body manufacturer, Musa Belgemen knows where to keep his focus for business success: a respected brand, long-lasting partnerships, and the drive to innovate and increase market share. Özmen Damper has redesigned its recycling tippers and dumpers using thinner dimensions of Hardox^® wear plate, and has seen its export market share grow over the years.

“We dominate almost 70% of the market for recycling tippers in Turkey,” Belgemen says. “In particular, we export to countries such as France, England, Norway, Finland, Belgium, Serbia and Ukraine in Europe. Our export share across all products is 85%.”

Case details

Product Hardox® 500 Tuf

Country Turkey

Company Özmen Damper Trailer

Industry Trailers and body builders

Brand program Hardox^® In My Body

Close-up of a certified Hardox® In My Body tipper body made by Turkish manufacturer Özmen Damper.

HOW ÖZMEN DAMPER BENEFITS

1,000 kg (2,205 lbs.) lighter trailers that can carry more payload
Extended service life
Increased market share
Can comply with stricter road vehicle weight limits
Lighter design means less fuel consumption and tire wear

Comply with strict vehicle weight limits

The company started to use SSAB’s steels after tougher tonnage limits were imposed by Turkish highway traffic regulators back in the 2000s. This compelled dump trailer manufacturers to build lighter products, and Belgemen took note.

“We started using Hardox^® wear plate in our products to address this development, and we haven’t had any issues since then,” he says. “Both we and our customers were satisfied with the results achieved.”

A long history of trust – and more durable, lighter tippers

Özmen Damper uses Hardox^® and Strenx^® steels for almost all of its production and has been collaborating with SSAB for nearly 20 years. They recently added Hardox^® 500 Tuf to their production processes to reduce tipper weight, increase service life and, most importantly, ensure that the tippers better resist abrasion and wear.

The company’s trailers achieved a weight reduction of 1.000 kg (2,205 lbs.) using 3 mm (0.118”) Hardox^® 500 Tuf where it previously used 4 mm (0.157”) Hardox^® 450, and a number of design improvements.

“We have used many SSAB products and tested their quality over and over. So, we have full trust.”

- Belgemen says.

Mr. Musa Belgemen, general manager of Turkish tipper body builder Özmen Damper, at his desk.

The benefits, quantified

So, where exactly could Belgemen achieve the savings in production?

“We used 3 mm (0.118”) Hardox^® 500 Tuf for the side walls and the front and rear covers, where we previously used 4 mm (0.157”) Hardox^® 450. Thus, we managed to produce a 1.000 kg (2,205 lbs.) lighter product and to increase both its service life and durability. A 70 m³ (2,472 cu.ft.) trailer weighed 10.500 kg (23,149 lbs.) before Hardox^® 500 Tuf was used – but now it weighs in at just 9.500 kg (20,944 lbs.). These results will make the end user’s business more profitable by enabling their equipment to increase load capacity, consume less fuel, and get a longer service life. We also use 4 mm (0.157”) Strenx^® 700 MC in the trailer chassis so that we can prevent bending and cracking due to vertical forces on the sheet metal.”

Their next goal? To reduce the total tipper weight by 1.400 kg (3,087 lbs.), by taking an additional 400 kg (882 lbs.) off using 4 mm (0.157”) Hardox^® 500 Tuf, where 5 mm (0.197”) Hardox^® 450 is currently used. And to increase market share even more.

Welding an enormous, extra tough and strong scrap tipper body made in Hardox® 500 Tuf.

Easy to process in the workshop

Belgemen admits that they expected to struggle working the Hardox^® 500 Tuf steel due to its hardness. But the exact opposite happened. According to Belgemen, Hardox^® 500 Tuf can be processed easily and shows no signs of cracking, particularly in the pressing machine.

“On the contrary, we didn’t have any difficulty in welding operations. We were already in contact with the SSAB technical team throughout the entire production process.”

A reliable product and partner for flawless production and loyal customers

Besides the biggest advantages of lightweighting and improved durability, Belgemen points out that Hardox^® 500 Tuf can help to increase service life, too. “And when the vehicle returns empty, the new lighter design will provide both lower fuel consumption and less tire wear.”

He is also impressed by the responsive and comprehensive support they get from SSAB on both technical and commercial issues throughout the production process.

“We can get very fast responses when we need them. Especially for technical issues, their team of engineers is quite attentive and guides us.We’re always in contact about how to proceed and the results we’ll achieve. And that enables our production to be faultless. I can say that the most satisfying thing in this entire process has been reliability. We established confidence from our customers – they have more confidence in us when they find out we’re using Hardox^®, and they start to place more orders.”

The new Özmen Damper recycling trailer is being loaded with metal scrap by a grapple.

“Hardox^® In My Body boosted our image and increased our market share”

Mustafa Belgemen, the second-generation manager of Özmen Damper, predominantly deals with the export business. Their top exports focusing on the European market include half-pipe tippers for the recycling industry. He says that the product’s quality standards must be at the highest level in order to compete in the European market.

“SSAB provided massive support for our foreign export initiative. We boosted our image and prestige particularly in the global market thanks to the Hardox^® In My Body quality certification. This is because being a Hardox^® In My Body member proves that the steel we use in our products is genuine Hardox^®. And the guarantee of Hardox^® In My Body increased our market share.”

With robust sales in the Middle East and steadily growing sales to Europe, Özmen Damper is increasing its European market share day by day with the help of its membership in Hardox^® In My Body.

Mr. Mustafa Belgemen, second-generation manager of the family-run business Özmen Damper, in front of one of their extra tough and strong scrap tippers.

The hardhat crew at tipper bodybuilder Özmen Damper, next to a bright-white tipper made in extra tough Hardox® 500 Tuf steel.

About Özmen Damper

Özmen Damper Trailer, based in Konya, Turkey, is a family-run OEM business founded by Musa Belgemen in 1986. The company serves all logistics and transportation sectors, mainly within metal recycling, construction, mining, concrete and cement, heavy haulage and agriculture. It originally focused on dump truck production and began to produce dump trailers in 1997. Today, their top product is the half-pipe tipper. They are a qualified Hardox^® In My Body member and have collaborated with SSAB for more than 20 years.