Great Dane will be showcasing technologies of today and tomorrow at the 2018 Technology and Maintenance Council Annual Meeting and Transportation Technology Exhibition. The event is being held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta, Georgia, from March 5-8.

Great Dane’s display at Booth #3143 introduces its “Innovation that Moves You” campaign and will feature several pieces of equipment as well as an Innovation Center that highlights current and future technologies Great Dane is researching and testing alongside some of its supplier partners. These innovations look to advancements in trailer technology that increase safety, efficiency, utilization, and weight and energy savings. The booth also showcases Great Dane’s reefer lining exclusive, Microban® technology, and offers an inside look at its newest product innovation, FleetPulse, a trailer telematics system scheduled for market release in Summer 2018.

“At Great Dane, we are driven to deliver innovation that moves our customers’ business forward, helping them achieve new levels of safety and efficiency,” said Chris Hammond, Great Dane’s executive vice president of Sales. “Since TMC is a technology-focused show, we wanted our booth to reflect the many ways we are using technology to move our customers’ business forward day-in and day-out. We are highlighting many of the new technologies we are working on with our supplier partners for future innovations as well as some of the exciting new innovations that are already available to our customers.”

The equipment on display in Great Dane’s booth includes:

A Johnson C-Series Truck Body with an AE Series Refrigeration System that features the latest electric evaporator and solar panel technology. The Johnson C-Series is an innovative, lightweight truck body that delivers maximum payload and the highest thermal performance rating in the industry.  The C-Series serves a variety of markets including beverage, dairy, food service, floral, frozen food, ice, ice cream, meat and seafood, pharmaceutical, produce, and vending. The AE Series refrigeration system requires no diesel fuel, which reduces operating costs and virtually eliminates particulate matter, reducing overall fuel consumption and carbon footprint. It is also exempt from the California Air Resources Board’s (CARB) Transport Refrigeration Unit Air Toxic Control Measure (TRU ATCM). The truck body features an advanced solar panel system mounted on the roof, which converts sunlight into an auxiliary power source for use when the refrigeration unit is in operation. This solar technology combined with a 48 VDC condensing unit and the composite construction of the truck body provides a complete, thermally-efficient solution for distributors and a reliable alternative to diesel-powered units.

A 53’ Champion Composite Dry Freight Trailer that showcases Great Dane’s FleetPulse telematics system. Visitors to the Great Dane booth will get a hands-on look at the system’s planned features through a unique augmented reality (AR) experience that uses sensors strategically placed on the trailer. Booth visitors will be given a tablet to scan over the sensors on the trailer to see how the different FleetPulse sensors work on a real trailer. Some of the sensors include lights out, tire inflation monitoring, door open/closed and more. This trailer also has a corrosion-resistance package featuring several hot dipped galvanized components, including the upper coupler assembly and rolled lip, full-length crossmembers, the rear frame and Great Dane’s RIG30 rear impact guard.

A 53’ Champion Composite Dry Freight Trailer designed and built for PepsiCo that features a special trailer wrap honoring PepsiCo’s “Rolling Remembrance” campaign. This powerful campaign supports the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, an organization that provides children of fallen military members an opportunity for a college education. Great Dane is honored to feature this trailer in its booth in support of the Rolling Remembrance campaign.

This lightweight composite trailer weighs in at 12,580 pounds and features lightweight 6-millimeter panels with a high base rail design for extra interior protection. While maintaining a light weight, the trailer features an extremely strong Prolam Wingolite composite floor to best serve Pepsi’s heavy haul needs. The floor features Prolam Waxin top coating on the rear 8 feet of the trailer for additional protection against the elements. The trailer also features several aerodynamic solutions, including a nose cone with side burns, Transtex Edge side skirts and a Stemco Trident three panel aerodynamic trailer tail.

A 53’ Champion Sheet-and-Post Dry Freight Trailer built and customized for Walmart. The average trailer lifespan is 12 – 15 years, and with this trailer, Walmart sought to create the industry’s first “20-Year Trailer” designed for extreme durability and an extended useful life using exceptionally strong materials and corrosion-prevention techniques.  The interior of the trailer has several components designed to provide maximum strength, including Great Dane’s SSL interior panels, a 12-inch high laminated hardwood side scuffband and steel front scuffband, Great Dane’s exclusive PunctureGuard ceiling liner, and Rockland 1.25-inch Pound Saver composite floor featuring Grip Guard top coat and a 21-inch deep galvanized steel rear grid plate. For additional durability and corrosion-resistance, this trailer also features several hot dipped galvanized components, including the rear impact guard, upper coupler and rolled lip bottom plate and full-length crossmembers.

A 20’6” Sahara C-Series Composite Plate Truck Body built for Southeastern Freight Lines and designed with several unique safety features. Entorno Industrial side underride guards are mounted to the sides of the truck body for enhanced safety for pedestrians and cyclists. An RVS Systems backup camera system featuring a color monitor with sound gives the driver extra awareness of what is happening around the truck body. The truck body also features a Grote 100-percent LED Long Life Lighting System with all-in-one stop, tail, turn and backup lights as well as interior motion sensor dome lighting for additional safety during loading and unloading of cargo.

Great Dane’s “Innovation That Moves You” campaign is centered on the company’s commitment to goods mobility and using the most innovative solutions to move its customer’s products to market safely and efficiently. The Innovation Center in Great Dane’s booth reflects this commitment to innovation by highlighting several new and in-development technologies from Great Dane and its supplier partners to give visitors a chance to explore some of the products that are currently available and what will be coming later this year.

Great Dane’s partner Microban International will showcase some of the odor- and stain-prevention benefits of Great Dane’s exclusive antimicrobial reefer linings with a unique smell bar where visitors will be able to take sniff tests to observe the effectiveness of Microban technology. The booth will also feature eNow’s solar panel technology. Great Dane and eNow teamed up to put solar panels on its Johnson C-Series truck body to help power Great Dane’s Johnson AE Series refrigeration system. The companies are now working with Carrier to mount solar panels on a trailer to help power Carrier’s new all-electric refrigeration unit for trailers.

Great Dane has partnered with ConMet to explore regenerative braking solutions using ConMet’s new PreSet Plus Electric Hub, which is currently in development. Regenerative braking technology uses the electric drive system to capture the energy that is created when the brakes are applied and uses that energy to supplement the drive power. Visitors to Great Dane’s booth can learn more about this exciting technology and ConMet’s electric hub.

Another innovation featured in Great Dane’s booth is Plasma Stream aerodynamic solutions. Plasma Stream and Great Dane are working together to test and further develop a unique system that uses plasma actuators to create an active flow system, allowing a vehicle to be streamlined independent of its actual shape. This system reduces costly drag at the rear of trailers without limiting accessibility.

Great Dane and Arconic have partnered to explore the benefits of using aluminum alloys to reduce weight. The companies worked together to design an aluminum truck body rear frame that weighs 24 percent less than a traditional stainless steel design, providing a savings of 84 pounds.

Since safety is Great Dane’s top priority, the Innovation Center features new technologies that will enhance safety for Great Dane’s customers and those on the road with them. Great Dane and JOST have partnered together to work on building trailers that can automatically couple with tractors, ensuring greater safety and efficiency in modern fleets. Great Dane is also working with Volpe to research and develop side guard devices. Side guards physically cover the exposed space between the front and rear wheels of a vehicle and are designed to keep pedestrians and cyclists from being run over by the rear wheels in a side impact collision.

Finally, the booth will feature information about Great Dane’s AdvantEDGE National Aftermarket Parts & Service Program, which gives members access to its 24/7 Emergency Roadside Service program, controlled ordering and invoicing, competitive labor rates and more. In addition, visitors to the booth can learn about Great Dane’s trailer service technician program, which is accredited by the National Institute for Automotive Service Excellence. Great Dane is the first semi-trailer original equipment manufacturer to receive ASE accreditation.