Container business: Spinelli has 50 new Actros 1845

The container transport business in Italy is booming – this is reflected in the new turnover record at the port of Genoa, which has passed the two million TEU threshold. The Ligurian harbour has become the leading container trans-shipment centre between land and sea, despite the difficulty in negotiating the mountains which seem to press the city against the ocean. The Genoese have always endeavoured to overcome their geographical disadvantage with perseverance and innovation.

The Turin–Genoa railway line was inaugurated in 1848. It was a colossal construction including a tunnel which at the time was the world's longest: it crossed beneath the Giovi Pass at a height of 3260 metres. Genoa was also a pioneer in road transport engineering. The Seravalle motorway, suitable for trucks – now integrated into the Milan–Genoa A7 motorway – opened in 1935 and was once considered the most modern mountain motorway. In the 1970s, when the container business reached Italy, the first haulage companies emerged in Genoa specialising in container transportation services. One of these was Aldo Spinelli.

He began in 1963, transporting wood; however, he soon recognised the significance of containers for the future of the transportation industry. Hence, Spinelli modified his trailers so that they could transport containers, and in the following years he acquired space for container storage and repair, developed combined terminals and obtained port quay concessions. "Today the Spinelli Group assumes the entire container-land transport chain, from the port quay to the recipient," says Valentino Caviglia, transport manager of the haulage company.

For the purchase of the last lot of 50 vehicles, Spinelli tested several tractor units from other brands with similar output, for several weeks under realistic operating conditions, and constantly analysed the consumption values. "We carried out this test on the toughest routes, which are also the most highly frequented ones: the ones between the port of Genoa and La Spezia, and the terminals in the north. For this, the trucks have to cross motorway mountain passes such as Cisa, Giovi or Turchino," says Cavaglia.

Ultimately, Spinelli signed a sales contract for 50 Actros 1845 LS with Euro VI. "This model delivered outstanding results during the test phrase, which were also confirmed in the subsequent months," says Cavaglia. In order to achieve optimum consumption performances, these Actros were equipped with Predictive Powertrain Control (PPC). "PPC combined with Eco Roll is perfect for the mountainous motorway routes that our trucks travel daily. We have discovered that they enable significant consumption reductions."

Using new, technologically advanced vehicles is the most important step in keeping the fleet's operating costs under control, but it is not the only step. Thus Spinelli pursues an overall strategy comprising a complete maintenance package, fleet management by means of FleetBoard, and courses for economical driving offered by the Profit Academy. Cavaglia: "We have been using FleetBoard now for quite some time and are constantly adding new functions to improve fleet control. We have also included the EcoTraining course in our driver training program – the initial evaluation is favourable. Naturally Spinelli pays particular attention to all fuel-consumption-related aspects and offers a monthly bonus to those drivers who achieve the best results."

Photos: Michele Latorre

Valentino Caviglia, Gruppo Spinelli
Tel. no.: +39/01065701
E-Mail: info@gruppospinelli.com

www.gruppospinelli.com