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Mantella trailer chassis design in Strenx® 960 Plus steel breaks new ground

May 19, 2021 6 min read

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Case details

Product Strenx® 960 Plus
Country Italy
Company Mantella
Industry Trailers and body builders
Brand Program My Inner Strenx®

Mantella, the Italian trailer manufacturer, recently redesigned its Stratosphere tipper trailer with Strenx® 960 Plus. The company implemented major advances in body and chassis design in the use of high-strength steels from SSAB. As a result, it revolutionized the design of its innovative Stratosphere tipper trailer and saw the benefits skyrocket.

Learn more about Strenx ® high-performance steel

Body and chassis designed to weigh half a ton less

“Our mission is to reduce vehicles’ tare and increase their capacity, thus lowering fuel consumption and contributing to a more sustainable world. In this sense, we have achieved very interesting results, especially thanks to the technical support that SSAB has always provided. We’ve been able to improve design by optimizing all the benefits obtainable from Strenx® 960 Plus,” says Gregorio Mantella, Plant Director at Mantella.

The trailer chassis, made in Strenx® 960 Plus, is 145 kg (320 lbs.) lighter. And the combined weight reduction of using Hardox® 500 Tuf in the body and Strenx® 960 Plus in the chassis is 510 kg (1,124 lbs.) compared to the previous design. All in all, this translates to an increased payload of 510 kg (1,124 lbs.) on every trip for Mantella’s customers.

New chassis design = higher productivity and performance

Mantella challenged conventions when it decided to produce the longitudinal beams of its tipper trailer chassis by advanced bending of a single flat strip of Strenx® 960 Plus. Instead of making a traditional I-beam by welding flanges and web together, the company used press bending to produce a Z-shaped form without welding.

With the new trailer chassis design, the Stratosphere series weighs in on par with aluminium and possesses all the durability, fatigue strength and production advantages of steel. The Z-beams take about 50% less time to produce compared to welded I-beams. In addition, lateral stiffness is increased by 10% and torsional stiffness by 12%.

In fact, the Z-beams were designed by Mantella engineers together with SSAB’s technical development manager. This type of collaboration is one of the benefits customers like Mantella gain from being a qualified My Inner Strenx® member.

See how Strenx ® 960 Plus steels increase the value of the trailers
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Case details

Product Strenx® 960 Plus
Country Italy
Company Mantella
Industry Trailers and body builders
Brand Program My Inner Strenx®
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Strong yet lightweight chassis designed for improved fatigue strength

Mantella now not only offers its customers a tipper trailer chassis that is 510 kg (1,124 lbs.) lighter. It also possesses superior mechanical properties and improved road handling.

Tipper trailers typically operate off-road under extremely demanding conditions. They are subjected to a variety of severe load cases that are difficult to predict. Fatigue usually sets the design limits. Mantella had invested a great deal of development work in weld technology and the placement of welds to optimize fatigue strength. By eliminating the welded I-beams and by leaving the flanges untouched by welds, the chassis’ fatigue strength greatly increases. It also provides an increase in load capacity while maintaining a low weight.

“End users of the Stratosphere 3.0 point out that with the same workload as previous models, they can achieve a greater payload, more on-road stability with a full load and a significant reduction in fuel and tire consumption,” Mantella says. And they appreciate seeing the My Inner Strenx® decal on the trailer, indicating that the chassis is certified to provide them with the highest performance possible.

“By lowering fuel consumption and carbon dioxide emissions per ton kilometer, we’re contributing to a more sustainable world.”

Gregorio Mantella, plant director at Mantella

Trailer chassis design wins prize

This innovative trailer chassis design for the Stratosphere 3.0 rear-tipping semitrailer helped Mantella win the international Swedish Steel Prize 2018.

The jury’s motivation? “Mantella has come up with a unique design that represents an entirely new generation in tipper and body solutions. Skilled design work, smart production methods and fully utilizing the advantages of high-strength steel made it possible.”

Reduced weight improves sustainability of semitrailers

Mantella, a family business located in Lamezia Terme in southern Italy, has set ambitious goals to design stronger and lighter semitrailers that will carry larger payloads while still saving on fuel and reducing CO2 emissions.

Reducing emissions is important since road transport accounts for 17.5% of overall gas emissions in Europe, according to the European Environment Agency. By 2050, these emissions will need to be at least 60% lower than in 1990 and be firmly on the road towards zero.

“By lowering fuel consumption and CO2 emissions per ton kilometer we are contributing to a more sustainable world. To successfully develop this lightweight tipper trailer, the entire company has been involved – design engineers, production, management and purchasers. The Stratosphere trailers make use of all the benefits obtainable from SSAB’s high-strength steel grades like Strenx® 960 Plus. Naturally, we are also in the process of implementing stronger and lighter tipper design solutions for our other trailer series,” says Gregorio Mantella, plant director at Mantella.

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Customer benefits

  • Trailer chassis weighs the same as aluminum frame yet offers the benefits of steel regarding high durability, fatigue strength and production advantages.
  • Greater payload achieved – A tipper trailer has a 365 kg (805 lbs.) lighter body and a 145 kg (320 lbs.) lighter chassis, allowing for an extra 510 kg (1,124 lbs.) of payload for every trip.
  • Significant fuel reduction – can save 12,000 liters (3,170 gallons) of fuel during 12 years of service (120,000 km/year, 75% full load, 47 l/100 km-25 l/100 km).
  • Less fuel use translates to improved environmental profile – trailers can save 30 tons (60,000 lbs.) of CO2.
  • The vehicle can earn € 0.07 extra for every km, or € 8,400 per year, and pays for itself in 4-5 years (COMPETE Report, European commission).

 

Learn more about SSAB’s EcoUpgraded for lower fuel and emissions.

Get a Strenx® upgrading consultation

Find out what upgrading to Strenx® can do for your products and your business.

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Strenx® 960 for next generation chassis solutions
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Hardox® 500 Tuf saves 365 kg (805 lbs.) of body weight

Stratosphere trailers from Mantella have long lasting tipper trailer bodies made of Hardox® 500 Tuf wear plate. This new Hardox® grade is the ideal tipper body steel and delivers longer wear life while having the same toughness as the previously used Hardox® 450 grade.

Thanks to the higher wear resistance of Hardox® 500 Tuf, Mantella could reduce plate thickness by 1 mm (0.039"). This saves on average 365 kg (805 lbs.) of body weight.

Discover all the benefits of Hardox® 500 Tuf

Strenx® High-performance steel

Strenx® performance steel can make your products stronger, lighter, safer, more competitive and more sustainable. We call it performance steel, because it adds performance beyond ordinary structural steel.

Find out more

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