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Summer 2019 Truck and Track 13
BUSINESS NEWS
Haulage halves its NOx
output in five years
Harmful NOx emissions from trucks have halved in only five
years, according to new government statistics.
Department for Transport figures show a 52 percent fall between
2013 and 2018 as haulage firms have upgraded to cleaner Euro VI
lorries.
The Road Haulage Association says that the trend is set to continue
and projects that NOx emissions from HGVs will have reduced by
more than 80 percent by the end of 2025.
But the Association, in its NOx Emission Assessment, warns that
many operators face an uncertain future as local authorities press
on with plans which will see hauliers charged up to £100 per day to
enter clean air zones.
RHA chief executive, Richard Burnett says that efforts to improve
air quality will fall short until they proportionately target sources
of emissions.
“The government is signing off poorly conceived measures which
punish hauliers for local authority failures to keep emissions in
check,” he said.
“But we’re leading the way – we’ve more than halved our NOx
emissions in the last five years and this will only continue as firms
upgrade their fleets.”
Lorries and buses account for a small, declining proportion of NOx
emissions according to National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory
data. Figures from2015 show that the sectors were responsible for
only 7.6 percent of NOx, whilst the share from other key sources
such as ‘passenger cars’ and ‘combustion in industry’ were much
higher.
Latest FlexiEdge fast-action doors
Stertil Door Products is attracting unprecedented interest
and orders for its latest generation of FlexiEdge fast-action
doors. Originally introduced to the UK market in 2013, the new
FlexiEdge models continue to provide exceptional safety plus
unrivalled resistance to wind, weather and impact damage.
The latest FlexiEdge models comprise 16 models of different types
and styles including internal and external doors, all-weather
doors, cleanroom and freezer/coldroom doors plus emergency
exit doors incorporating breakthrough curtains. Standard models
are available in widths up to 11 metres and heights of 5.5 metres
whilst bespoke and special sizes may be specified.
Featuring revolutionary design, the new FlexiEdge doors are
manufactured fromtopqualitymaterials including galvanised steel
for structural strength allied to reinforced polyethylene side guides.
The door curtains, whichhave beendeveloped tooffer flexibility and
durability, incorporate no rigid elements. A hi-tech manufacturing
process involves the insertion of reinforced polyester within a
PVC sandwich to produce a high strength yet lightweight door
curtain. These curtains are available in a wide range of standard
RAL colours and various style options that include vision panels
and windows, translucent curtains, insulated versions for chiller/
freezer applications and fly screen curtains. Many of thesemay also
be specified to incorporate company names, logos and other types
of corporate branding.
FlexiEdge fast-action doors have been designed to set new
standards of safety. The door curtain is fully flexible with a soft
bottom edge which not only self-adjusts to seal on an uneven floor
but also avoids any possibility of causing injury to users. In addition,
the incorporation of an infra-red photocell, fitted 300mm above
floor level, supported by a bottom edge wireless detector ensures
instant halting of all door movement in the event of sensing an
obstruction of any kind. Also, the flexible soft-edge curtain provides
maximum resistance to damage caused by a vehicle collision. If the
door edges are knocked out by the collision, they are automatically
re-inserted in the side guides as the door opens.
A wide range of activation systems allows maximum versatility
of FlexiEdge doors in many different applications. Alternatives to
the standard push button pads include wired and wireless pull
cords, key switches, induction loops, photocells, radar, radio or
infra-red transmitters, presence detectors and touchless hand-
wave detectors. Depending on the requirements of individual
applications, the most appropriate activation method may be
specified to ensure that the doors may be used intensively in the
busiest high traffic areas.