BUSINESS UPDATE
FULLY LOADED
It has been several years since GHI visited the Trepel manufacturing
facility. The Editor brings an update from Germany.
It might be interesting to commence this
update with a simple statistic: some 20
years back, Trepel’s hi-li output totalled
around 40 units. Today, that gure has hit
500.
Whilst this is a striking example of how
a company can ourish over a period a
time, it’s also a gauge of how busy the
aviation sector in general (and that of
cargo in particular) has been during that
same period. As in the past, virtually
all Trepel’s work is done in house, with
only a tiny percentage of items bought in
to complete a build. e premises have,
needless to say, expanded during the
last two decades, and any visitor cannot
fail to notice the large crane outside that
loads the nished products on to waiting
transport. e Tauberbischofsheim
site sees all the company’s hi-li s
manufactured although it also has
facilities for the nal construction of the
Challenger 430, 550 and 700 models; the
150 and 280 tractors are manufactured
at another factory, some 40 kilometres
distant. Trepel also has o ces in the US
and Hong Kong for parts and servicing.
State-of-the-art: a sneak
preview of Trepel’s latest
electric loader
helpful function indeed.
An air of quality is certainly apparent
within the factory, as the various elements
come together in the process that will see
them work harmoniously in the nished
loader. In fact, according to Veit Janik,
the company’s Manager - Research and
Development, anything up to 15 years’
operation is to be expected from a smaller
loader whilst the heavier duty versions
should see 20 or more years’ service on the
ramp. Of course, lifespan depends upon
usage and maintenance and whilst Trepel
does not get involved in refurbishment
programmes, it does o er spare parts
and advice for anyone utilising one of its
loaders.
Once the paint booth has nished
with the parts, it’s the time to marry up
the chassis with the scissors and bridge.
Here, a precise t is everything; unless
the sections t perfectly, then it’s a case of
going back down the line to re-engineer
where necessary. As for the loader’s
electrical system, that is preassembled in
a separate area, and again largely done in
house.
Around the factory
Any tour at Trepel starts with the chassis:
in the main, it’s constructed on site
although Trepel can, on occasion, buy
in this article: circumstances such as a
heavy order book would necessitate this
action. Plasma cutting machinery and
shot blasting machinery are early sightings
on the tour, as the raw material is shaped
and nished prior to the assembly process.
A sta of 400 occupies the company
headquarters today and in a typical week,
several shi s are entertained, with the
working week commencing on the Sunday
evening.
Key product at the site is that of the 7
tonne loader, although its smaller and
bigger siblings (Trepel manufactures all
the way up to a 35 tonne example) are
also produced here. ere are two welding
stations and indeed a welding robot was
working at the time of the visit. State-ofthe
art, it makes light (and skilful) work
of a job that would have traditionally been
done by a practised hand. Usefully, when
a chassis is laid out, it can be rotated about
its axis to ease the welder’s access – a
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