The maximum length of a truck has remained unchanged in Finnish road legislation since the 1997 decision to increase the longest permitted length for a modular system from 22 metres to 25.25 metres. During this period, SE Mäkinen, in cooperation with its bodybuilder and trailer suppliers, has succeeded in optimising the fleet structure for these dimensions.
 
Since 2013, the Finnish Transport Safety Agency, Trafi, has granted permits of exception for maximum vehicle lengths and weights. The aim of these so called High Capacity Transport (HCT) pilot projects has been to gather information on the advantages and disadvantages of any potential changes with regards to future legislation amendments.
 
The vehicle transporters are technically complex open structures. The loadability as well as the ability to operate in more confined distribution traffic set limits to the design of the ideal vehicle transporter. The new HCT unit fulfils these requirements expertly.
 
The total loaded length of the HCT combination is 29.5 metres. With the hydraulic extensions and telescopic drawbar, an unloaded vehicle can be shortened to 25.6 metres. With the help of the steering tag axle, the entire combination´s manoeuvrability fulfils the requirements of the current manoeuvrability criteria.
 
The performance of the new HCT unit SE Mäkinen has introduced offers a clear improvement compared to the old ones. The loading capacity is 24 % greater than before. Thus, the environmental impacts are also positive. The emissions per every transported car are 15 % lower.
 
CEO Iiro Mäkinen from SE Mäkinen describes the HCT project as follows:
 
 “Vehicle transportation is all about the equipment – the HCT experiment allows us to reach into the future and form a more structured understanding of the correct production equipment solutions needed to fulfil Finland’s vehicle trade’s requirements in the 2020s.”