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News Release from: Alcoa Fastening Systems | Subject: Magna-Lok
Edited by the Engineeringtalk Editorial
Team on 07 June 2006
Fasteners fix up long-term relationship
Integral fastening systems introduced to a new refrigerated shipping container in 1995 have led to a decade of successful business between two manufacturing companies in the UK and Denmark.
Integral fastening systems introduced to a new refrigerated shipping container in 1995 have led to a decade of successful business between two manufacturing companies in the UK and Denmark Established in 1990, Maersk Container Industri is part of the Moller - Maersk Group, located in Tinglev, Denmark
This article was originally published on Engineeringtalk on 30 Oct 2006 at 8.00am (UK)
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The company originally manufactured dry containers, but started production on the reefer (refrigerated) design in 1995.
UK manufacturer Alcoa Fastening Systems (AFS), with Huck fasteners as a featured brand, engineer high-quality, high-performance fastening systems serving a variety of applications predominantly in the truck, trailer, commercial vehicle body builder, auto and railcar markets.
Although based in the UK the company has a dedicated commercial sales team and well established distribution network throughout Denmark and Scandinavia.
Searching for a simple but effective means of attaching both the door handles at one end of the container and the refrigeration unit to the other, Maersk's designer at that time drew on his experience of ship repair.
As a solution he turned to Huck's BOM (Blind Oversize Mechanical) fastener which, through its strong clamp force, had been used to secure patch plates on ships' hulls.
In addition, the Huck Magna-Lok, with a liquid seal under the fastener head to prevent moisture passing through the joint was applied to the roof and inside the container.
Eleven years later and the design continues to be put through and pass rigorous rack testing where one in every 1000 containers is subject to compression forces of 150kM or 15 tonnes.
Richard Schmidt, Design Engineer and Product Manager for new designs at Maersk Container Industri since 2001, is confident the relationship between AFS and Maersk will develop well into the future.
He said: "We needed a simple solution and that was provided by the Huck fastening system".
"In short nothing can equal it".
"In addition, technical support from the team at AFS is always excellent".
Anders Fredlund, AFS Customer Manager for Scandinavia said: "The Maersk container application shows how the easiest solution is often the best, as well as highlighting the benefits gained from suppliers and customers developing specific business partnerships". Request a free brochure from Alcoa Fastening Systems ...
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