Albert Ribeiro
Albert Ribeiro, sales and marketing manager for Ontario’s Wilcox Bodies Ltd
While the use of aluminum has become more and more common in areas where steel had previously dominated, some service body producers are looking towards the next step — marine grade aluminum. This particular alloy provides many benefits and can be used for almost any application.
Historically, aluminum has often been seen as being less viable than steel due to a higher cost. Chuck Gros, director of marketing for Oregon-based Highway Products Inc., says that while his company’s products tend to be on the higher end of cost, that’s a reflection of the emphasis on customization rather than the material itself.
“Refining aluminum has come a long way — the price is lower than it was 10n years ago,” Gros says. “And it has so many benefits — it’s lighter than steel; you don’t have to worry about the paint; it’ll last so much longer.”
In an aluminum service truck, spilled paint or soil can simply be rinsed out afterwards without concern for rusting. The alloy also rates higher in terms of safety performance over steel, being able to absorb double the crash energy and thereby causing less injury to passengers. Heavier trucks also require more experienced drivers with higher-class licences, while a lighter truck is easier to handle and will stop quicker.
It bends but won’t crack
“Marine grade aluminum is just another name for the hardness of the aluminum grade,” says Albert Ribeiro, sales and marketing manager for Ontario’s Wilcox Bodies Ltd. “We use it because it’s very bendable but it doesn’t crack. We use it in all our service bodies and utility bodies and crane bodies as well. Probably 90 percent of our bodies are now made out of aluminum instead of steel or fiberglass.”
Ribeiro says that using aluminum presents a roughly 30 percent reduction in fuel consumption over steel or fiberglass. That reduced weight also means lower maintenance costs — less wear and tear on the suspension system, brakes and tires. Aluminum components are also corrosive resistant.
“Another thing that you can do with an aluminum body is you can put it on a lighter truck instead of going to a heavier, more expensive truck,” says Ribeiro. “A lot of companies are trying to keep trucks under a certain gross vehicle weight so you don’t have to use a log book. Once you pass a certain weight, the driver has to keep a log book, which is a lot of work and expense for a company as well.”
Both Wilcox and Highway Products’ businesses are based heavily on customization – building a service body that is exactly to the specifications of the customer.
Ribeiro says that 75 percent of Wilcox’s business comes from custom orders. The company, which has been in existence for more than 50 years, has an engineer on their team who helps to design and to certify items to be installed onto the service bodies, such as cranes or towing packages.
Computer design enables precision
“You have to follow the laws and regulations,” says Ribeiro. “Our design team here uses CAD (computer-aided design) drawings. We recently started doing all 3D models as well — you can really do a lot more with that. Those 3D models are programmed into our laser and presses so they can start producing the products with very precise bins and allowances and hole locations.”
A custom-built marine-grade aluminum service body with an extensive array of drawers and compartments is an example of Highway Products Inc.’s work. Photo courtesy of Highway Products Inc.
Highway Products, Gros says, will entertain any custom job — “it’s a matter of how much you want to spend.” The company has produced everything from one-off service bodies designed for the specific needs of various oil companies to military vehicles and prototypes for other companies. Most of their customers, however, are service truck operators who simply want a very high-end product. Often, they will purchase a new truck and then bring it to Highway Products for customization.
“They pick every option on there and then they get us to bolt on everything that we can possibly find,” says Gros. “LED lights, custom powder coating or paint to match. Custom fuel tanks, water tanks, LED lights inside the compartments, all kinds of custom drawers and things, cameras all the way around. People who work at night have LED lights so they can make it day time any time. Anything you can think of we’ll do it.”
Ribeiro says that aluminum construction has traditionally been more popular in cooler climates such as Canada, due to rusting problems with steel. However, aluminum is becoming more and more accepted in the place of steel.
“If Ford is all of a sudden using aluminum on their pick-ups, they’ve discovered something we knew already,” says Ribeiro. “Aluminum works.”
Matt Jones is a freelance writer based in Fredericton, N.B.
