Jost India to market trailer axle built in new Gigant JV

Jost, the leading producer worldwide of fifth wheel couplings, kingpins, and telescopic landing gear for articulated trucks, has entered into a joint venture in India with German axle manufacturer Gigant to build a new trailer axle designed especially for the Indian market.

The new axle, built by the Jost Gigant JV at a new factory on the Jost India premises that is already operational, increases Jost’s competitiveness in the Indian market as the only complete provider of chassis and connection components for trailers, Jost CEO Lars Brorsen said in a release.

The trailer axle specialist, which once explored entering the market in a joint venture with Transport Solutions India (TSI) in Pune, gets to use Jost’s production facility and existing sales company in India, while Jost benefits from Gigant’s decades of experience in the development and manufacture of premium, sturdy axles and suspension systems.

The square-section seam-welded axle beam is a first for Gigant — its axles in Europe are all of the seamless tube type. It is made of premium fine-grained steel, with all the welded stress parts shrink-fitted to reduce stress to the otherwise critical welded seams in these areas, the release said. These stress parts are also made of fine-grained steel, which ensures a very uniform material grain flow within the entire axle beam and higher strength.

“Designed for resistance to bending and torsional strain, the new axle fulfils all the demands of use under the high-stress conditions that we see in India,” Gigant CEO Markus Gehle said. Just as with all Jost fifth wheels and kingpins, the axle too will be e-coated for reliable protection against corrosion in the long term.

Outboarded drum

The axle is also designed for easier serviceability. The wheel heads are designed with the brake drum in front of the wheel hub, which allows the drum to be dismantled without having to open the hub unit or the wheel bearing. This design also prevents dirt from reaching the bearings.

Combined with a mechanical leaf spring suspension, it is available in both dual- and tri-axle assemblies, common configurations in Indian trailers. The spring leaves have a consistent profile and trapezoidal tiered lengths, and can thus easily be replaced individually. The spring ends are supported by rotating swashplates, which maintains a static balance between stresses on the axles during normal vehicle operation.

Above all, the release added, spare parts for both axle and suspension have been standardised to fit existing dimensions readily available in the Indian market.