Grip-Tech has launched its new Auto-Grip GTX Series truck wheel locknut, a product designed to finally call time on the increasingly-commonplace occurrence of wheel/tyre theft from heavy commercial vehicles and trailers.
The latest GTX – for Grip Tech Extreme — incorporates features which make it highly-effective yet user-friendly. Designed and manufactured locally, it represents the culmination of two years of research and development. At R259 per locknut, it is a cost-effective solution to what can be a very expensive problem.
There are two salient features which contribute to the unique design of the GTX:
- Up to 10 000 unique ‘keys’ can be created using a computer algorithm, making the removal of the nut virtually impossible without the matching adapter key. Codes can be allocated exclusively to a specific company or customer, so only they have the ability to order additional locks and keys of that type.
- A nut which is hardened and tempered to meet Original Equipment Manufacturer standards is the starting point for each GTX. The machined nut is fused under extreme pressure with a high-grade stainless-steel collar in a way which makes them inseparable.
Businesses in the transport, freight or logistics sector are the primary target market for the GTX. When wheels are stolen it is not only about a stranded vehicle and the direct replacement of each wheel/tyre, which can cost up to R20 000. The vehicle and its load, which is highly valuable, also becomes compromised, not to mention the damage done to the reputation of the company now unable to deliver on schedule.
Theft inevitably has an insurance-related consequence and the insurance industry is very interested in the GTX as a result. It is an affordable and effective way of reducing risk.
Thanks to its compact design and appealing stainless-steel finish it is also more stylish than traditional wheel locks and appeals to truckers and companies which take pride in the look of their vehicles. They want something to complement that, while obviously appreciating the added security too.
“We have tested the GTX against a multitude of attack methods and are confident that it is virtually impossible to remove,” says Manuel Reis, Managing Director of Grip-Tech. “We’ve created layers of anti-theft measures to counter any form of attack using chisels, hammers, vice-grips and just about any other manual tool you care to name. It is extremely rugged and robust.”
For example, says Reis, the side face of the GTX locknut is tapered – so gripping it becomes extremely difficult. There are a number of closely guarded secrets but suffice to say that overcoming one security feature simply reveals another. The more it is brutalised, the more difficult the GTX becomes to remove.
It’s user-friendly too. The matching adapter key with its five hardened steel pins is in effect a male version of the locknut and will fit closely over it once correctly engaged. Identification marks on both the nut and the key make this process straightforward. It also incorporates a standard hex profile and the nut can be tightened or loosened in the usual way with a standard wheel wrench.
The typical tightening torque of a truck wheel is 550 to 650Nm but Grip Tech has gone way beyond that and stress tests the locknuts to 1 000 Nm to demonstrate just how robustly-engineered the product is. This youtube link demonstrates that fact.
To meet the needs of different truck and trailer operators, Grip-Tech keeps stock of GTX blanks in popular wheel nut types and sizes. The required key-code pattern as determined by the algorithm is then executed by Computer Numerical Control machinery. Moving the position of just one of the pins creates a new ‘key’.
Concludes Reis: “We believe that the GTX is the best product of its kind in the world. The design is unique and we back that up by using materials of superior quality throughout. This contributes not only to the high level of security but will also translate into a long and trouble-free service life.”
For more info contact Grip-Tech (Pty) Ltd
Tel: +27(11) 466 6400 Email: info@grip-tech.com Website: www.auto-grip.co.za
