INNOVACTION TECHNOLOGIES AND UNICUM JOIN FORCES TO CREATE A UNIQUE TARPING SYSTEM

A couple of years ago, when driving a car in South America behind a mining lorry with its tarpaulin cover removed, an idea for an automatic system for opening and closing tarpaulins came into Srecko Sajnovic's mind.

 

Although regulations make it mandatory, everyone knows that articulated lorries often transport material without fitting the tarpaulin properly into place. Drivers frequently do not bother to install the tarpaulin for a number of reasons, because of the complexity of manipulation and the time needed for installation, or sometimes it is because the cover has been damaged by previous attempts to install it.

 

Which is probably why on that day in 2013, that Srecko Sajnovic, as he drove in Guiana behind a lorry with the tarpaulin off, was feeling rather apprehensive, because of part of its load was blowing off dangerously across the road.

 

"What could be done to prevent this?" he wondered at the time.

 

From that moment on, what made the difference was his early passion for mechanical engineering and the fact that he had started to study design in his native Slovenia. And as the idea started to take shape and the project began to become technically more clearly defined, the years he had served in the Foreign Legion also played their part. How could anyone with a career like that not have acquired the virtues of determination and perseverance?

 

Srecko Sajnovic had been importing beach buggies into Guiana for nearly 25 years and was already familiar with the world of cars and transport. So naturally he could visit all the local transport companies to discuss the tarping of lorries and to confirm his hunch that the existing systems were rarely used because they were far from working as well as they should.

 

The need was defined, what came next should only be routine engineering ...or almost...

After an initial phase spent studying existing solutions and after purchasing an articulated lorry to install prototypes, very quickly the choice favoured a solution based on automated motorised movement of the trailer cover. The movement would be controlled by winding and unwinding cables

driven by a purpose-built geared motor.

 

The corresponding patent was then filed by Innovaction Technologies, whose CEO is Srecko Sajnovic.

 

The solution of co-developing a purpose-built geared motor.

However, after having fruitlessly contacted fifteen engineering companies in the search for a purpose-built geared motor, Srecko Sajnovic would surely have given up were he not so persistent. The next address turned out to be the right one; UNICUM and Samuel Fauriaux, since they were number sixteen, came back to him with the response 

"we're in", and from that point on, they started their usual co-development process, based on one of their standard products.

 

"As as specialist in power transmissions, UNICUM builds tubular geared motors, one of their typical applications is opening and closing pool covers."

explains Samuel Fauriaux, Sales Director of UNICUM. "UNICUM geared motors are designed to be 100% waterproof, powerful and operate at low voltage. Their design is very modular and they are particularly well-suited to developing the first pre-series.

 

"And during the whole qualification process, UNICUM applied changes wherever they were requested, and adapted the product to the technical constraints encountered in practice." adds Marco Smania, CEO of UNICUM. "There were requests to reduce the total length. The motor and reducer had to be 100% maintenance-free, and compatible with non-standard electronics."

 

Finally the automatic tarping system was ready to be publicly announced in November 2017 at the UNITRANS fair in Lyons.

 

During the five days of the trade fair, no less than 750 automatic openings and closings were simulated on a real articulated lorry especially installed for the purpose on the Innovaction Technologies stand. In other words, one movement was performed every two minutes without the slightest hitch.

 

The best is still to come

Fully motorised opening and closing of the tarpaulin is the main function of the system, however it also paves the way for numerous other possible developments in combination with today’s automation and communications technologies.

 

Thanks to its on-board GPS chip, the control system is already capable of triggering the tarpaulin closure completely autonomously (without driver intervention) as soon as the vehicle reaches a speed of over 40 km/h or if it travels more than 2 km from its point of departure.

 

Scheduled to kick-off in 2018, an ambitious R&D programme led by a pool of institutional and technical partners (UNICUM, IMPEDANCA, ELECTRO MAINTENANCE, UNICEF, and INNOVACTION TECHNOLOGIES) plans to optimise the product with a cargo-scanning function, capable of remotely communicating the volume and weight of the remaining free loading capacity. Patented and already tested on a prototype, the goal is to have this exclusive function available on the market by 2020.

 

What is more, recent studies have shown that automatic tarping systems for tipper lorries generate fuel savings of around 10%. A very significant level of savings, which by itself ensures a return on investment in less than three years.

 

It therefore comes as no surprise that this development was aided by the ADEME as part of its participation in improving the fuel economy of this type of transport.

 

And this is without counting the other advantages of the solution. Apart from its positive effects on the environment, its ease of use and reliability allow transport companies to easily conform to the existing regulations. Road safety and driver safety are thus enhanced.

 

After the very positive outcome of the UNITRANS fair, availability of the first "official" product was confirmed by 1 January 2018. More than 15 systems had already been pre-ordered. In parallel, the system was immediately put into testing at a major French manufacturer

of tipper trailers.

 

"With more than 350,000 transport units in Europe equipped with tippers (of which 60,000 are in France) the potential market is enormous" says Srecko Sajnovic enthusiastically. "Our goal in the first year 2018 is to sell more than 1500 systems in kit form, and 400 that we install ourselves."

 

UNICUM, a solid partner

An essential partner in the project, for more than 15 years UNICUM has been designing manufacturing, innovating and constantly perfecting a wide range of low-voltage, geared, tubular and waterproof motors that generate up to 800 Nm torque at low speeds (4, 5 and 8 rpm). Their reduced bulk and their fixed-shaft operation (rotating stator) make them perfect for use in very aggressive environmental conditions such as private and public swimming pools. And it is this level of resistance to harsh conditions, exceptional for such very attractively priced products, which in several instances has allowed them to diversify into automotive and rail applications.

 

UNICUM's manufacturing capacities, based in its La Ricamarie (St Etienne) factory and using the most modern high-performance machine-tools, have been a key factors in the success of the co-development with Innovaction Technologies.

 

The company's ability to respond quickly, thanks to the availability of machining and assembly capacities in its own workshop, allow it to maintain full control of the design costs and delivery times while still preserving maximum flexibility in response to customer demand.