Express Trailers to support Malta Robotics Olympiad logistics

More growth envisaged this year for Express Trailers’ side-loader business

“In less than a year since Express Trailers announced its appointment as Hammar's European base for the re-building and customization of Hammar side-loaders for the global market, Express Trailers has already delivered rebuilt side-loaders to clients in the UK, Turkey, Spain, Portugal, the Canary Islands and the US.”

This was stated by Franco Azzopardi, chairman and CEO of Express Trailers during a formal presentation to announce that Express Trailers will be supporting the logistics for the organisation of this year’s Malta Robotics Olympiad 2017 due at the MFCC in Ta’ Qali on 24 and 25 March.

Express Trailers has been trusted to transport and deliver the delicate competing projects to MFCC and will be present throughout the event with its side-loader, giving demonstrations of how it operates.

“We are delighted with this opportunity to partner with the MRO for the first time and to support the logistics of what will be a very large and successful event. The specialization of robotics is in line with our nature as specialists in logistics and transportation of any cargo, no matter how delicate, fragile and large it is. We are professionals in the way we manage the risk involved in this field and this is what makes Express Trailers a trusted logistics partner,” said Mr Azzopardi.

Thanking Express Trailers, James Catania, organiser of the MRO, explained how this year’s event required the support of a professional company like Express Trailers to handle the demanding logistics involved.

“The MRO this year grew into the biggest technology event in Malta. Over 65 exhibitors will be taking part, each having highend, one-of-a-kind hardware. For this, we needed a company with experience which could handle the mass transport involved, especially for handling the transport of our custom-built Wall-E robot which weighs over 100kg. The Malta Drone Nationals also required offshore logistics for bringing official timing and circuit equipment, Express Trailers stepped up to this challenge as well, offering a holistic approach to each unique challenge. We are proud to have Express Trailers as our logistical partners.”

Side-loaders or side-lifters, enable transport companies to load and unload containers and out of gauge cargo onto flat-bed trailer trucks without the use of cranes but instead, with the use of a specially mounted hydraulicpowered mechanism installed on the trailer chassis. These hydraulic structures can also be telescopic, adjusting to varying sizes of containers and can handle weights of up to 33 tons without any counter weight.

Mr Azzopardi explained how Express Trailers will be contributing to this year’s MRO by displaying its side-loader and giving the public the opportunity to see this vehicle in action, to see how it operates and to understand the advantages that side-loaders can bring to their logistical operations.

“Express Trailers has invested a lot in this new collaboration with Hammar to re-build and re-condition side-loaders on behalf of Hammar for its clients round the world. This move effectively saw Express Trailers move into the manufacturing business. The result of this investment is that we have already seen a successful year and this coming year will see us working on an event and a bigger order book because we are committed to produce seven sideloaders throughout this year and we are sure this number will increase.”

“However, availability of capable and talented workers in this field remains an issue and unless we find more tradesmen, we will not be able to meet the demand. We are looking at the MRO also as an opportunity to get in contact with interested people who would like to join our team to work with us in this manufacturing business,” adds Mr Azzopardi.

“We currently have a team of very talented workers who are doing a fantastic job but as we expect business to grow, we know we will need to recruit more workers especially welders. We need people who are passionate, want to learn and are willing to be part of a successful team. From our end, we are ready to offer them all the required training. However, it is proving to be very difficult to find these types of workers,” added Mr Azzopardi.

Express Trailers is seeing a lot of potential growth in this business and to accommodate this growth, the company has recently invested in the installation of a new internal crane system. Besides allowing workers to move the side-loader structures from one place to another at production phase in a faster and more efficient way, this new structure guarantees a safer environment. Over the coming weeks, further investment is envisaged with the replacement of the current roof with a brand new structure.