LOOKS ARE DECEIVING
, as Kim Kemp, Editor of CEN was to find out. Literally located in the
green heart of Germany (40km from Thuringen) in apparent calm, Bell Equipment’s German
factory runs full throttle, on well oiled wheels.
Taking me through the plant was Stephan Giese, Manger Engineering, Bell Equipment
Germany. “Although we are a small engineering team here in Bell Germany, we cover a
variety of engineering work,” he says. “Established exactly a decade ago, with the assembly of
the first ADT truck in 2003, the assembly plant is about 120m long, and 50m wide. The piece
of land is about 100 000m² with enough space for expansion,” he explains. The assembly
plant does not undertake any fabricating, being ideally situated near suppliers and roads for
outsourced components.
The plant comprises one assembly line, on which the ADTs, ranging from the new B25E up to
the B50D, the world’s largest ADT, are assembled by small teams, split into work bays. “Bell
also makes B18s and B20s, but these are manufactured in South Africa as there is no real
market for them in Europe.”
When running at optimum, the plant is able to produce an average of 400 trucks per year, but
Stephan emphasises that this is market dependent and the numbers fluctuate accordingly:
“There have been years where we produced almost 600 trucks for the European market and
Situated in pastoral
surroundings in
Eisenach, with
Wartburg Castle on
the horizon, Bell
Equipment Germany,
nestles at peace in the
countryside…
ADT assembly line
Unlike the Richards Bay plant, where a piece of sheet metal goes in one end and an ADT rolls out
the other end (simplistically put), the plant in Eisenach receives containers of almost complete kits,
comprising cabs and chassis, from South Africa. The high-tech parts, hydraulics, tyres and engines come
from Europe with the bins coming from a supplier a mere half-kilometre away. All the machines are fitted
with Allison transmissions and, according to Stephan, “the new generation of smaller trucks offer better
performance than their predecessors.”
The workforce comprises 50/50 full and half-time workers, dependent on production, with jobs created
within the local community. “When we need to ramp up production, locals are enlisted, and after
training, they are able to be part of a productive team,” says Stephan.
Bay 1:
After being on the water for between six
and eight weeks, the chassis arrives from South
Africa, pre-assembled, with articulated box, steering
cylinders and smaller assemblies.
Bay 2:
The Interim Tier IV engine, with transmisison, hydraulics, cooling pack and central block are
installed. “The US emission standard is stricter than Euro Stage IIIB spec,” says Stephan. He explains that
with the addition of AdBlue to the SCR system, the European engines only give a warning when AdBlue is
finished, whereas the US engines limit torque, initially by 20%, increasing the limit, until the truck is filled.
Bay 3:
Minor adjustments and fitments
are made, while pre-assembly of
cooling packs, pumps and control
blocks takes place alongside the main
assembly line.
Bay 4:
‘Baby gets a
face’ as the cab is
fitted to the chas-
sis, in what the in-
dustry calls the ‘wedding’. The cab arrives
as part of the kit, fitted standard with a
radio and higher-specced seats than those
in SA. The extreme conditions where the
ADTs will be deployed are considered in the
cab design, where comfort is optimum. “For
example, in Russia, some ADTs undergo a
90°C temperature range,” Stephan explains.
RINGING IN
the changes…
