allison.jpgAllison partnerships with terminal tractor manufacturers in China and Hong Kong enable port operators to improve fuel economy by up to 25 percent and retain reliability and ease of use. Allison Transmission, the world’s leading supplier of commercial duty fully automatic transmissions is working with truck OEMs in China and Hong Kong to meet the need for greater productivity and better fuel economy in the hard working terminal tractor market. With over 4000 Allison-fitted terminal tractors already operating in the region, and 30,000 worldwide, Allison is a tried and tested choice for many port operators. Through close links with OEMs Allison is offering solutions to the operational and cost challenges in the market.

Allison transmissions have been working in ports for more than 20 years, providing reliability, manoeuvrability and greater productivity in one of the toughest, most relentless haulage environments. With twelve-hour shifts and trucks expected to run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, there is no room for downtime, and very little allowance for maintenance and repair. More recently, the escalating cost of fuel is leading many operators to look for vehicle solutions that can help save money without compromising reliability and performance.
“Partnerships with OEMs enable us to work much more closely with port operators and tackle the very real business issues that they face,” says Gek Heng Tan, commercial director for Allison in the South East Asia region. “This has led us to develop technologies that directly address demands such as productivity and fuel economy, ensuring that we can continue to provide transmissions that meet the tough conditions of the yard tractor environment.” Allison is introducing a new load-based shifting feature which automatically selects an economy shift mode when conditions allow. This means that optimal fuel economy can be achieved without driver intervention while still enabling high productivity during heavily loaded situations. In addition, electronic control features such as auto neutral and RELS (Reduced Engine Load at Stop) help to address fuel economy, reduce wear and tear, and increase productivity.

As well as improving the performance of all its transmission solutions, Allison is increasingly working with OEM partners such as Kalmar to address specific customer demands. “Allison’s application engineers recently enabled us to reduce a customer’s fuel consumption by up to 25 percent by calibrating the company’s terminal tractors to the specific conditions,” explains Thomas Wong, sales and marketing manager for Kalmar Asia Pacific Ltd in Hong Kong. “Likewise, Allison engineers enabled another customer to introduce a speed limit warning on its vehicles, at a much better price than had been quoted by another technology provider. This kind of partnership support really helps us to improve our customer service and provide the tailor-made solutions that port operators often require. Coupled with the benefits that automatic transmissions already provide – reliability, robustness, fuel economy and productivity – this close partnership with Allison is good for us and our customers.” Kalmar has delivered over 2600 Allison-equipped trucks in China, Singapore and Hong Kong. The operating attributes of an Allison fully automatic transmission with torque converter over an automated manual transmission (AMT) with slipping clutch make life easier for the driver too. “Drivers are working for 12 hour shifts,” says Wong. “A fully automatic transmission is easier and smoother to drive and the drivers will be less tired. This is extremely important in such a busy environment.”

Allison Transmission, Inc.
Contact: Eric Dickerson
Tel: +1 317 242 2688
www.allisontransmission.com

Comments are closed.