Customer case

Meeting vehicle weight limits, exceeding customer expectations

June 22, 2022

5 min read

A sleek semitrailer tipper body with the Hardox® In My Body sign of quality.

Case details

Product

Hardox® 500 Tuf

Country

Japan

Company

Takahashi Body

Industry

Trailers and body builders

Brand program

Hardox^® In My Body

Higher payload plus tougher vehicle weight limits is an equation that doesn’t seem to add up. But with Hardox® 500 Tuf, Takahashi could lightweight its trailer bodies and take more payload.

No design changes, and easy to cut, bend and weld

Takahashi Body uses the same design as with its dumper bodies in Hardox^® 450. The company had no production issues when switching to Hardox^® 500 Tuf. Cutting, bending and welding could be performed with the same workshop equipment and techniques as for Hardox^® 450.

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More upgrading, more recognition, more business

Takahashi Body plans to upgrade more of its dump trailer bodies and containers to Hardox^® 500 Tuf. To improve the production process, the company is looking to invest in bending equipment capable of handling 12 m (39.4 ft.) long plates. This will reduce the need for welding and result in an even stronger product.

“I feel that Hardox^® 500 Tuf is a promising material for Japanese customers who need to follow stricter road regulations. With the higher hardness of Hardox^® 500 Tuf, we can meet and even exceed our customers’ demands. Hardox^® wear plate is a material that is highly recognized in Japan. And our membership in Hardox^® In My Body really supports our reputation and sales. Customers can trust that we meet their expectations, which creates a very good relationship between us and our customers,”- Takahashi concludes.

Level up with Hardox® In My Body

When building the latest containers for transporting iron scrap, Takahashi Body replaced 6 mm (0.236”) Hardox^® 450 with 5 mm (0.197”) Hardox^® 500 Tuf. This reduction in thickness makes the steel plates used 17% lighter.

Takahashi

For more than 50 years, the Japanese company Takahashi Body has been designing and manufacturing truck bodies. Since 2000 it has been using Hardox^® wear plate for its tipper bodies and containers. In 2010, the company became a qualified member of Hardox^® In My Body, SSAB’s quality program for companies that use Hardox^® wear plate in products that are designed and manufactured according to the strictest quality requirements.