SAF-Holland offers first service for INTRA suspensions

SAF-Holland is a behemoth in the world of transport. The company boasts a rich history as the product of a merger between two pioneers, German Otto Sauer Achsenfabrik GmbH (SAF) with North American Holland-Hitch, with close to 260 years of combined manufacturing and supplying experience.

Among its extensive international presence, SAF-Holland has spent more than 60 years operating in the Australian market. During this time, it has provided the industry with an extremely extensive range of high-quality truck and trailer components to make its trailer and prime mover combinations safer.

SAF-Holland Product, Engineering and Technical Manager – Australia, Nemanja Miletic, says this has always been a cornerstone of the company’s vision.

“We’re customer-orientated with a specific focus on safety within our parts,” he says. “Our vision is to be the most trustworthy and reliable partner in the industry.”

SAF-Holland’s interest in safety extends far beyond its product line and into aftersales service. Nemanja says this part of the business is just as crucial to maintaining safety industry-wide.

“Servicing trailer parts is critical for so many reasons,” he explains. “It greatly extends the life cycle of the trailers themselves by contributing to their overall safety, reliability and compliance.

“Servicing also controls cost management for operators by ensuring they get a good return on investment for their product. With increasing axle loads, longer service intervals and advanced suspension technologies, the need for structured, component-specific maintenance protocols is more important than ever.”

SAF-Holland delivers these protocols via a first service program for INTRADISC and INTRADRUM suspension systems. This is a complementary offering which the OEM recommends be completed within the first 5,000 to 10,000 kilometres.

“The first service mainly addresses post-installation settling of parts,” Nemanja says. “It also verifies the work of the last person who touched the suspension system. This includes validating different part capabilities, check system integrity and making sure everything has been in working order since its fitment.”

SAF-Holland’s first service tackles these checks through four key objectives. Firstly, air suspension systems are checked for correct ride height setting. Then, pivot and shock absorber bolts are validated and re-torqued to OEM specifications using calibrated tools. This is often necessary due to fasteners being loosened by vibration and cycling in early operations.

SAF-Holland also has specific protocols for the first service of its axle components. The axles’ hubs are inspected for noise and leakage while the brake systems’ brake chambers, slack adjusters and S-cam bushing are checked. The rotor thickness and caliper alignment of disc brakes are also inspected if applicable. Meanwhile, spring bellows are inspected for cracks, abrasions or misalignments.

“We want to encourage people to use our service as soon as they’re eligible for it,” Nemanja says. “They can even organise it with our service providers who just send the invoice directly to us. We cover the bill, so it’s entirely free for the end user.”

When it comes to servicing, SAF-Holland believes it is imperative for operators to be proactive instead of reactive to have the best chance of keeping their equipment healthy.

“Overall downtimes will ultimately be reduced if operators complete the service before they notice any problems,” Nemanja explains. “There’s a higher chance that any mechanical issues will be discovered early when equipment is more regularly serviced, allowing people to prevent them from getting worse in a timely manner.”

Despite the major benefits of SAF-Holland’s first service, Nemanja says there has been a concerning gap in customers that have not taken it up.

“Fifty per cent of the equipment that we’ve sold in Australia hasn’t received its first service,” he says. “We would really like to decrease that figure, because servicing is critical to safety and efficiency.”

SAF-Holland has also developed a registration system for operators to use to easily organise their first service. This comes in the form of QR codes which takes users to an online platform.

“These stickers will get the attention of fleet managers and make sure that someone in their operation registers for our service online,” Nemanja says. “It’s a simple yet effective step to raise awareness for something so important.”

While operators may be concerned with downtimes around receiving this service, SAF-Holland assures that it is worth it in the grand scheme of things.

“People need to take advantage of this service,” Nemanja says. “Some people don’t want to have their gear off the road for too long, which we understand, but they think they can just get their equipment serviced at regular intervals. By then, it may be too late, and that could be a mistake that many people end up paying for.”