ALE goes for the ADDRIVE Additional drive for the heavy haul giant

Since it was founded in 1983 in Hixon, Staffordshire, ALE has grown into one of the world’s leading heavy haulage companies with numerous operating centers on all five continents.  

For many years, the industry giant’s road success has been supported by Goldhofer Transport Systems, with more than 850 of the German company’s heavy-duty axle lines in service in the ALE fleets around the world. This includes widening trailers designed specifically for the Australian, UK and South African markets, various self-propelled transporters, plus flatbed semi-trailers for moving wind turbine blades, and a wide range of accessories including vessel bridges and drop decks.  

More recently, ALE took delivery of two 6-axle ADDRIVE heavy-duty modules for its business in Kazakhstan plus twenty modular THP/SL axle lines for the Argentinian market.  

David Purslow (General Manager – Global Operations at ALE): “Goldhofer’s ADDRIVE technology is the ideal solution for our transport operations in Kazakhstan. For us, the big attraction of the heavy-duty modules is their versatility: The combination of a self-propelled transporter and a towed trailer in a single vehicle gives us the flexibility we need to deal with a wide range of transportation requirements.”  

In addition to the all-rounder qualities of the two 6-axle vehicles, the transport professionals at ALE particularly appreciate the innovative hydro-mechanical drive system. The ability to completely disconnect the drive while towing at speeds of up to 80 kph reduces drive component wear to a minimum even at maximum load. Mechanical disconnection avoids overheating in the drive components and effectively reduces maintenance requirements. 

As soon as they arrive in Kazakhstan, the ADDRIVEs will be on the road on their first projects. Once they have proven their advantages there, ALE intends to acquire more modules for various other ALE regional branches. As Ronald Hoefmans (Group Technical Director at ALE) puts it: “We decided to go for the ADDRIVE system because of its flexibility and the combination of cutting-edge technology and high-grade materials for the components.”