Belgian firm orders 50 curtainsiders from Tiger Trailers

Fast-growing UK manufacturer Tiger Trailers has expanded its international customer base with the delivery of 50 mega trailer curtainsiders to ECS in Zeebrugge – an order in which product quality and open channels of communication played a key role.

ECS’ new EN 12642 XL curtainsider trailers operate with dual 5th wheel ride heights of 1050mm and 1200mm, reflecting the intermodal transport solutions firm’s explicit position as a trade gateway between the EU and UK and a specialist in trade with the latter, as outlined to the press by its co-CEO Pieter Balcaen last month.

Full chassis galvanisation with an 8-year corrosion warranty, five pairs of load-securing restraint straps to suit the roof tracks, and 385/55 premium brand tyres were integral to the solution designed and delivered by Tiger Trailers. Safety was also an important part of the specification, with yellow stripes identifying the 4m line, a reflective rear livery, a blind spot sticker and mega trailer warning decals.

“Following problems with other trailers in the past, relating to tyre sizes and especially quality and durability issues, we turned to Tiger Trailers and were impressed from the outset with their open and transparent style of business, the level of support provided throughout the briefing, production, delivery and aftercare stages, and the high quality of the finished product,” comments ECS’ Technical Fleet Manager, Jonas Van Den Broucke.

ECS operates an asset portfolio of more than 10,000 containers plus 600 dry and 200 refrigerated trailers, and its order from Tiger Trailers is the first in further planned batches over the next four years. The operator’s sizeable and specialised technical team will domestically maintain its new curtainsider assets, which were promptly commissioned into service at ECS’ harbour locations, linking the firm’s continental and UK warehouses with end customers including many leading supermarkets.

In May 2017, ECS acquired supply chain service provider 2XL, forming a one-stop shop European logistics group. Head of Immo Projects & Investments, Didier Moeneclaey, who was instrumental in the contract with Tiger Trailers, comments: “We are very happy with the quality and detail of our new mega trailers. Tiger’s team listened carefully to our brief and delivered a solution that contributes to ECS fulfilling our expansion strategies as we become even stronger as a post-Brexit trade gateway. Tiger’s dedication and timeliness give us confidence.”

Stephen Pollock, Tiger Trailers’ Business Development Director, says: “It was a pleasure to work closely with the ECS team in designing and delivering their first order from Tiger following us visiting their operations in Belgium to understand their requirements first hand.” He adds: “We are delighted that ECS are pleased with their new dual-height curtainsider mega trailers, the production of which wasn’t impeded despite the UK’s second lockdown, and it’s exciting to be supporting a company with strategies as ambitious as ours.”

Tiger Trailers experienced its best-ever set of financial results in the year to 31st December 2020, partly achieved through continuous innovation and increasingly efficient production methods enabling the firm to offer comparatively attractive industry lead times, along with the introduction of new services and products, from Finance and Rentals to temperature-controlled solutions.