Copyright © 2001 FleetWatch magazine and FleetWatch On-Line.

No part of this publication may be reproduced without the prior written permission from the publishers. Views published are not necessarily those of the publishers.

June 2005

In last month's issue of FleetWatch, we carried a story on Nissan Diesel lowering certain parts prices in an attempt to discourage the use of inferior parts. Now comes the news that BPW Axles South Africa has gone the same route on air bags.

Andre Cilliers, MD of BPW Axles, says that in an effort to remain competitive and in the interests of stamping out pirated parts, the company has managed to renegotiate the supply of air bags and related sub-assemblies from its parent company in Germany.

"This has resulted in a fairly significant cost savings which we are now passing onto our customers. The lower prices are now more competitive against imported alternatives and pirate parts alike," says Cilliers.

He adds that the gesture has been made out of concern at the damage that pirated parts are causing the industry in quality standards and even in performance and safety - and to encourage the use of original BPW spare parts as replacement parts.

"We hope the reduction in price will encourage all users of air bags to choose reliable branded names over suspect pirate copies."

BPW offers air bags for any application with total spring travel up to 450mm including:

• 300 mm dia for standard and lightweight vehicles.

• 360 mm dia for greater axle loads and heavy duty applications.

• Long-travel air bags for swap body trailers or mega-trailers.

• Combination air bag for intermodal and ro-ro applications.

The air bag ensures good suspension of the body and makes it possible to adjust the trailer slope using the "lifting" and "lowering" functions. BPW uses U-bellows because of their spring characteristics. They roll over the rolling piston during compression and are firmly rolled into the top plate and are bonded onto the clamping plate at the bottom by vulcanisation, which means they are guaranteed to be air-tight. The rolling piston is made from glass-fibre reinforced plastic with a steel support to give reduced weight and resistance to corrosion. The integrated bump stop protects against damage when the bags are vented.

It all sounds like good stuff to us - especially the lower price for a quality product.