How aluminium extrusions help enable truck drivers to rest and sleep comfortably
When customers talk about the valuable properties of aluminium, comfort is usually not the one that first comes to mind. Unless the person is a truck driver, clear-headed and wide awake.
Many truck drivers in Europe spend as many as 56 hours per week steering their trucks along roads criss-crossing the continent. It is therefore unsurprising that Europe’s commercial transport industry is highly regulated when it comes to ensuring the health, safety and comfort of drivers. This includes legal requirements for breaks and rest periods when driving.
Drivers cherish comfort during these breaks and rest periods, which makes the ELOISA® adjustable truck bed worth its weight in gold, because the adjustable bed provides them with ultimate comfort.
The German firm Innomotive Safety Systems GmbH & Co KG (Innosafes) manufactures the bed, which is based on an aluminium frame made with extruded profiles from Hydro’s plant in Hungary and Slovakia.
Ergonomically shaped design
ELOISA® combines ergonomics with adjustability and allows the user to position the bed based on individual wants and needs. It can be perfectly adjusted for optimal sleeping as well as for extremely comfortable relaxing, in positions that address the main postural risks associated with driving and sitting for long distances.
The physical benefits can also help improve the driver’s mental functions, to really make a difference.
Lightweighting and design freedom with extruded aluminium
Another aspect of ELOISA® is that it does not affect vehicle performance. Indeed, aluminium and its weight-to-strength ratio has enabled the bed to fit into vehicles without having to adapt parts of the interior or sacrifice familiar functions such as the ability to fold up.
The structural properties of extruded aluminium enable high load-bearing capacities, even for taller drivers, without adding substantial weight due to structural reinforcements. This also fulfils the desire for the lowest possible vehicle weight in order to save fuel or to be able to transport a maximum payload.
In addition, the extrusion process provided ELOISA’s designers with the freedom to create a product that can support a variety of positions and incorporate functional features, while also taking advantage of surface finish applications such as anodizing to produce aesthetically pleasing colors and appearances. The versatility of extrusions combined with the functionality that has been incorporated into the profile design allow for the bed to be used in the truck brands MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Ford and Scania.
