Turkish trailer and tipper manufacturer Fesan Makina, situated in Konya, switched to Hardox wear plate and Strenx performance steel to meet customer demand for stronger, lighter equipment.
Being part of a continuously growing market, Fesan also looks for contracts in other countries.
“We’ve made a name for ourselves in Turkey and we now want to be a big name in the rest of the world, and we do that with the help of Hardox and Strenx steels,” says Mehmet Baypınar, who is responsible for domestic sales at Fesan.
The implementation of Hardox 450 wear plate and Strenx performance steel met the company’s expectations and more. Their new multipurpose loads model, Dangal, withstands harsh conditions, and its design incorporates innovative solutions.
By introducing Strenx 700 and Strenx 960 steels in place of the previous thick mild steel, Fesan has shaved off about 800 kilograms in the chassis.
“Fesan was the first company to use Hardox in the side and rear doors,” Baypınar says. “The change to 1.5-millimeter Hardox 450 from 3-millimeter thickness in the doors has made the vehicle another 600 kilos lighter just from the doors.”
No more dents in doors made with Hardox wear plate
Earlier, the doors in the tipper bodies were made out of mild steel, so deformation and severe dents would be a big issue for heavy loads. But in 2015 Fesan decided to test using Hardox 450 steel for the side doors with supporting parts made of Strenx steel, and the result was extremely positive.
“We got remarkable feedback about the quality, and customer satisfaction was exceptionally high,” company founder Selim Selvi says.
“Before Hardox and Strenx entered our lives, our trailers in Turkey would weigh about 9 or 9.5 tons. After we began using Hardox and Strenx we were able to decrease the weight in phases, first to 8,000 kilos, then to 7,000, and now 6,200 kilos.”
Why is less weight important?
“Less weight of the vehicle means the possibility of carrying more product load and this translates into better productivity for the end user,” Selvi explains. “Less fuel consumption saves money, and is positive from a sustainability point of view.”
Fesan became a Hardox In My Body member in 2019 to certify the quality, and membership includes material support from SSAB.
What are Fesan’s plans for the future? Does it have its eyes on Hardox 500 Tuf steel?
“Yes we do,” says Selvi. “We have a new design and we’re going to get technical support from SSAB to start incorporating Hardox 500 Tuf. Fesan is an innovative company and our trademark is producing quality products, and for that you need quality material.”
