Fesan trailer chassis in Strenx® steel help drive business forward

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.”

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.” 

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.