Products

The Back Haul Trolley (BHT) is a unique, innovative and revolutionary device specifically designed to allow Rail Vehicle Transport (RVT) wagons to be used for the transportation of appropriate in-bound components, engines and part-assemblies.

The BHT will enable otherwise wasted in-bound rail capacity (pre-paid by the automotive OEMs) to carry significant volumes of in-bound components, engines and part assemblies back into the manufacturing plants on same the 'just in time' basis achieved by the road freight industry. The BHT can be loaded with engines, transmissions and other in-bound components on the return (in-bound) journey. Thus the auto OEMs will save road haulage and in-bound costs on a daily basis, which are the equivalent of over 10,000 lorry (truck) movements annually per daily train.

In addition, the transhipment by container across the European hinterland can be expensive if it is returned empty. If the double-deck wagon is returned to its point of origin, then the BHT's flexibility of carriage enables companies to take up a variety of space, whereas the container space is fixed. BHTs can be stacked for return to the point of origin, such that several BHT's can occupy the same footprint. Thus empty BHTs, which are outbound from the OEM with finished vehicles, only take up a small amount of space.

It is questionable whether the auto-rack container is now the best option for inland distribution, although it provides the ideal solution for the transhipment of new vehicles by sea.

The BHT design favours unloading and towing directly into a factory where manufacturing is the main function; towing reduces the number of forklift movements required, as compared to the management of product in containers or swap-bodies. With every forklift movement there is an associated cost, which is therefore avoided.

There are two types of BHT, labelled 'I' and 'II'.

The BHT I 'euro-pallet'

The 'Euro-Pallet' specification Back Haul Trolley (BHT) is designed to carry European standard pallets and industry wide Folding Logistics Containers (FLC's).

The BHT innovations include specialist wheels that allow unloading issues and problems with obstacles to be addressed:

  • Designed like a 'cog', the wheels when loaded move the teeth of the wheel in slightly opposing directions causing a drag effect.
  • The same cogged wheels are able to climb over obstacles that otherwise would block the path of the wheel.

The trolley's design is the result of trials with Jaguar Land Rover's maintenance and repair engineering division. Through their intervention, the inappropriate designs (faults) of metal trolleys used by them in their UK manufacturing centres at Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood have been alleviated in the BHT products, for example:

  • Towing bars which used to be fixed are now universal joints on the BHT Trolley; in addition, the towing bar now retracts into the chassis of the trolley to offer greater protection from damage.

Applications

The BHT I's primary application is for the transport of parts by road, carrying FLCs to and from the railhead or central warehouse. When loaded on a lorry (truck), BHT I's may be stacked alternately with FLC's for ease of loading/unloading.

When moved around a site (be it a factory, warehouse, or railhead), the BHT I enables tractors to pull rakes of trolleys, rather than individually moving each pallet or FLC by fork lift. Thus handling costs may be significantly reduced.

The BHT I was originally designed to make use of unused in-bound 'backhaul' capacity on Rail Vehicle Transporters (RVTs). In response to feedback from OEMs, the larger BHT II is recommended for the rail element in order to make maximum use of the available capacity, although BHT Is may also be used for this purpose.

The BHT II 'engine-rack'

The BHT II is essentially a scaled-up version of the BHT I, such that it too includes specialist wheels that allow unloading issues and problems with obstacles to be addressed:

  • Designed like a 'cog', the wheels when loaded move the teeth of the wheel in slightly opposing directions causing a drag effect.
  • The same cogged wheels are able to climb over obstacles that otherwise would block the path of the wheel.

As with the BHT I, the trolley's design is the result of trials with Jaguar Land Rover's maintenance and repair engineering division. Through their intervention, the inappropriate designs (faults) of metal trolleys used by them in their UK manufacturing centres at Solihull, Castle Bromwich and Halewood have been alleviated in the BHT products, for example:

  • Towing bars which used to be fixed are now universal joints on the BHT Trolley; in addition, the towing bar now retracts into the chassis of the trolley to offer greater protection from damage.

Within the target market, one specific use of the BHT Solution justified the development of a separate BHT product. The application involves the movement of large numbers of vehicle engines across long distances throughout Europe, providing the perfect 'backhaul' inbound component to use with the BHT Solution. The transportation of engines provides an additional compelling reason to implement the BHT Solution, in that the size, weight and packaging used for the transportation of most engines by road is controlled by weight. This means that a larger sized trolley, in addition to the BHT I, makes sense for the transportation of the heavier so-called 'Tier 1' parts. Thus the BHT II was born.

As previously stated, the original design of the BHT II was to carry engines (and other Tier-1 parts) to fill the unused wasted (empty) space of the double-deck rail wagon used by the automotive manufacturers to distribute new vehicles. In contrast, existing 'Hook and Haul' containers (used across mainland Europe) can carry palletised products, FLCs and/or other boxes which are generally of a euro-pallet dimension, or else they are bubble-wrapped. With bulk however, the container or the 'hopper' provides the best method of transhipment - for this application the BHT would never be entertained.

Although the BHT II was designed initially for the largest engine rack, it is now able to carry 4 x FLCs (Folding Large Containers). This variation offers total flexibility and enhances the benefits to be gained from implementing the BHT Solution.