Built by Alucar

Each year 100 to 150 timber trucks receive a new superstructure at Alucar’s factory situated in Maxmo or Rovaniemi. A sign denoting quality with the inscription ‘Built by Alucar’ is attached to all of the trucks that are outfitted at the factory.

­“We have been marking trucks with the signs since the beginning of 2017, as we want to highlight the importance of the mounting. How well the installation is performed has a major impact on the end result. A high-quality timber truck requires a high-level mounting in addition to good quality components,” says Managing Director Anssi Alasaari.

The importance of the mounting is highlighted by recent developments taking place in the industry. At present, the majority of Alucar’s components are exported, which means that in most cases the mountings are performed abroad. At the same time, truck models are starting to differ more and more.

“Trucks used to be more standardised, but today they show considerably more variation. This places greater demands on the installation, since the components have to be adapted to different chassis and different client needs. Small details can have a large impact on functionality,” says Alasaari.

It is increasingly important that the craftsmen are professionals who are familiar with the requirements of superstructures and also different truck models. Alucar’s craftsmen have a genuine interest in the routines of timber transport and they work in close cooperation with the designers and manufacturers in order to satisfy clients’ wishes.

“Although mounting is performed according to the drawings, it still requires continued adaptation. The professionalism of the staff is absolutely crucial to the end result,” Alasaari stresses.

According to Alasaari, the Built by Alucar concept works as a tool in maintaining the high level of the Alucar brand. In the longer term, it also makes work easier for dealerships in other countries.

“Imitated products keep entering the market continuously and this is one way to maintain the edge over our competitors. You can always try to copy components, but it is much more difficult to copy processes that are based on expertise that has been developed over decades. Our skilled staff are at the core of our quality commitment and how we handle the overall product entity is what differentiates us from the rest.”

Since two thirds of the production is exported, most of the products that are manufactured by Alucar are mounted outside of Maxmo or Rovaniemi. The question then is how to ensure that the ‘Built by Alucar’ quality commitment also applies to these deliveries.

“The concept that we call ASK, the Alucar Support Kit, was developed as a solution to this problem. It allows for the high quality achieved at Maxmo or Rovaniemi to be reproduced at installations performed in exporting countries as well,” says Anssi Alasaari.