Original equipment manufacturer, TransKing, unveiled its fully automatic curtain-locking system, Quickloc Urban, as well as its comprehensive suite of load restraint technologies, at inaugural supply chain event, MEGATRANS2018.

The article originally appeared on trailermag.com.au

TransKing Managing Director, Lindsay King, said the latest Quickloc Urban design is more economical, reducing the number of hooks required to automate the curtain of a curtain-sider. Quickloc Urban is also optimised for vehicle operator industry best practice, highlighting performance gains and OH&S benefits associated with eliminating repetitive manual labour tasks.

“The automated curtain system typically has one lever at the front of the curtain-sider that engages all buckles along one side of the vehicle simultaneously, significantly reducing the manual handling of numerous buckles for each delivery,” said King.

“The system encompasses only one pneumatic cylinder per side which simply locks either two or four curtain hooks into position or unlocks the hooks at the flick of a switch, and a membrane at the rear of the curtain enables it to be tightened, leaving a taut finish when the automatic system is activated,” he said.

Transport businesses such as Direct Freight Express told Trailer Magazine that Quickloc generally save about three-to-four hours of load/unload time per vehicle, per week, and that the automated curtain system will generally pay for itself after two months on the job.

Other TransKing load restraint technologies on show at MEGATRANS2018 included the OH&S spec’d Tightwinder load binders with new bi-fold quickwind handles and the Quickstrap – an innovative setup that carries the winch strap from one side of the truck to the other without requiring ladders and access equipment. The Quickstrap eliminates the need for vehicle operators to throw straps and risk injury.

The Tightwinder uses a 2:1 bevel gear reduction, reducing the manual effort required to tighten straps. It also provides easy access to over-drive, under drop-decks and over-trailer suspensions, making it more efficient, quicker and safer for drivers as fingers, wrists and knuckles are safe from traditional slipping bars.

According to TransKing, the Tightwinder was put through rigorous tests by transport industry consultant, Ian Wright, who was impressed by the invention’s simplicity and ruggedness, and the consistency and ease of gaining high tension with minimal effort. It was also put through extensive fleet trials, with the first prototype Tightwinders installed on the Wickham Freight Lines fleet of curtain-siders in 1999.

As soon as those first units were installed, company Director, Graham Keogh, was sold on the benefits, making the Tightwinder a standard part of his trailer specification for all new purchases since that fateful trial.

“The Tightwinder is chalk and cheese to anything else out there, you just can’t compare how easy it is to achieve maximum downforce with very little effort,” said Keogh. “It’s head and shoulders above anything else on the market and I can’t praise Lindsay highly enough for his invention.”