New workshops opened in Marseille and Warsaw

GKN workshops provide the construction and delivery of Cardan shafts for industrial and rail applications as well as an immediate repair and exchange service of standard shafts for light and heavy commercial vehicles. These services have been well known for many years under the brand name 'Uni-Cardan Service'.

GKN has been a leading supplier of driveline components to the vehicle manufacturers (VMs) for many years. It has a close understanding of their requirements and is trusted to deliver the correct technical and quality standards. GKN Industrial & Distribution Services (IDS) has a network of service centres across Europe that are quality certified and can service Cardan shafts within three hours, and will provide emergency service 24 hours per day, 7 days per week. The number of service centres in Europe presently amounts to 31. Further  sites are planned for the next few years.

Vehicle manufacturers - Daimler, Volvo and others, and GKN have formed a partnership to deliver this service to the VMs truck dealers with an agreed/guaranteed standard of quality, technical specification and cost – when and where the truck operator needs it.

Development of the business

Logistics

As the truck business has become very competitive, operators now need to keep their vehicles working for the maximum permitted hours. So when there is a breakdown it has to be repaired quickly, at minimum costs. The cost situation has and will further change our truck business considerably. The traditional supply chain for Cardan shafts was that the vehicle suppliers carried a small stock of popular shafts, all others are ordered when needed. The supply time was 4 days from the manufacturer – or, in some cases, up to 30 or more - via the vehicle manufacturers central European parts warehouse, local national warehouse to the local truck service centre. Today truck operators can get an immediate response providing Original specification shafts through a network of service workshops for repairs or exchange within a few hours. GKN Industrial & Distribution Services uniquely operates such a network of workshops in Europe.

Increase of truck leasing

Due to the high investment costs for a truck there is a growing increase in long-term leasing which automatically increases the demand for minimum downtime and transparent up-front service costs – which directly increases the OES market. It now takes about 4 to 6 years before these trucks turn up in the free repair market. To participate in the business from the beginning we need to form partnerships with the OES divisions of the vehicle manufacturers. Thanks to our overall network of workshops together with contractual partner workshops we can deliver this service to the VMs truck dealers with an agreed/guaranteed standard of quality, technical specification and cost – when and where the truck operator needs it. GKN works directly with the truck dealers, for quickest possible service, and this eliminates the need for the VM to carry any stock.

Increase of light trucks and light shafts

There is an increasing success of fast light commercial vehicles, e.g. the DC Sprinter or the IVECO Daily. These light trucks are equipped with light shafts with high rotation speed. In addition modern heavy trucks are equipped with a new generation of shafts that are much lighter than the ones produced 10 years ago. These shafts offer better mechanical performance but increased risk of damage.

Chance and challenge

Quality of shafts

There are two quality aspects. On one hand we have faced a weakening repair/exchange business in central Europe during the last few years due to much better quality of the OE shafts and components which heavy trucks are equipped with. The average life of a vehicle shaft has increased from 300.000 kilometres to one million kilometres during the last 10 to 15 years. On the other hand the increase of light trucks and light shafts in the markets lead to more repairs in our service workshops.

Old vehicles

In connection with the latest enlargement of the European Community many old vehicles, especially heavy trucks, have been sold to the member countries in Eastern Europe. This repair/exchange potential is no longer available to our Western European service workshops.

Cost situation

Repair or exchange costs are influenced by several factors, of which the shortage and subsequently the increased price of steel is only the most recent. Another important factor is the great variety of shafts needed for the various models and production series of trucks. Many shafts have to be made to order since it is impossible to stock them all. As stated before, truck operators can no longer afford waiting for a repair for several days - they rather exchange the defective shaft than wait for its repair. In Germany this has lead to a ratio of 70% exchange to only 30% direct repairs today. Ten years ago the ratio was 60% direct repairs and only 40% exchange.

Poor exchange availability encouraged truck dealers and operators to use local unofficial repair workshops who offer same day service but with inconsistent costs and quality. These unofficial workshops often buy the cheapest available parts – not always the original specification and quality. They also may carry out repairs on equipment that is not dedicated to the task - with consequent risks for driving comfort, safety and also for further downtime. Our service agreements with the VMs service organisations in Europe help to reduce the need for this type of repair.

Outlook

GKN’s Uni-Cardan shaft repair service can become number one throughout Europe building on its number one position in some countries. With our excellent organisation throughout Europe, our know-how and the high qualifications of our staff we put the focus on becoming number one in all European countries within the next few years – a challenge in this demanding business.

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