Volvo tractors for PAX

PAX Group’s new 8 x 4 Volvo FH tractor with three axle Nooteboom low loader

PAX Bouw- en Industrieservice (PAX Construction and Industry Service) has added a pair of Volvo FH tractor units to its specialized transport fleet in the Netherlands.

The heavy transport tractors were delivered ex-works in the specification PAX required. Volvo Trucks said this and being able to deliver quickly, via dealer LVS Trucks, were decisive factors for PAX.

Both the new tractors have 540 hp engines, the I-Shift gearbox with crawler gears (no hub reduction) and 10 tonne capacity front axles. One is an 8 x 4 and the other is 6 x 4.

Commenting on the deal Edwin Veltman, business unit manager transport at PAX, said, “Volvo is not an unknown brand to us and the relationship already existed. We value relationships with customers and with suppliers but, ultimately, it is about the product. After we had drawn up all the criteria for the new tractors, Volvo turned out to offer tailor-made solutions ex-works.”

The company wanted an 8 x 4 tractor with 10 tonne front axles and Dynamic Steering that was as compact as possible. “Volvo was able to deliver that and thanks to the I-Shift with crawler gears, we could opt for axles without hub reduction. This combination gives us a lot of power at low speed and keeps the revs nice and low at cruising speed,” Veltman explained.

Higher mileage

A 5 percent fuel saving is one benefit of the single reduction axles over hub reduction types, Volvo said. Both tractors were fitted with full air suspension. Each truck has a maximum gross combination weight of 130 tonnes. The 6 x 4 can have up to 19 tonnes of fifth wheel load and the 8 x 4 is good for almost 25 tonnes on the fifth wheel load.

PAX specializes in transporting large tanks and boilers and other large loads more than heavy ones. Jan Postma, workshop manager at PAX, explained, “We use both tractors for the same job, but when it gets heavier we use the 8 x 4. We used to work with a dolly, but that is no longer necessary. The result is a more manoeuvrable and compact combination, even with heavy loads.”

Using the company’s boiler-bed trailer it can transport tanks up to 32 metres long in the cockpit – a specialism in exceptional transport, said Postma.

PAX Bouw-en Industrieservice (PAX Construction and Industry Service) works in construction and industry. In addition to specialized transport, it has truck-mounted cranes, its own assembly teams and a machine transport and industrial removals department.

The PAX Group operates from Heerenveen, Alphen aan de Rijn and Hoogezand in the Netherlands