Hendrickson Truck Commercial Vehicle Systems is celebrating the 10-year anniversary launch of PRIMAAX, a family of severe-service air suspensions for the commercial trucking industry. The original PRIMAAX system was launched in December 2001 followed by an enhanced version of the product, PRIMAAX EX in 2008, which was designed to increase roll stability and improve durability above and beyond the original PRIMAAX’s severe-duty design for even more extreme environments and applications.
Doug Sanford, vice president and general manager of Hendrickson Truck Commercial Vehicle Systems commented, “PRIMAAX EX has revolutionized the severe-service industry by providing a highly durable, highly stable platform with all of the benefits of an air ride system. Not only does PRIMAAX EX provide stability characteristics similar to a mechanical suspension, but the premium ride quality of the system also helps comfort the driver and protects expensive equipment from premature wear.”
Prior to PRIMAAX EX, significant trade-offs existed between premium ride quality and high stability. To achieve superior ride quality, manufacturers had to sacrifice stability and vice versa. With the introduction of PRIMAAX EX, Hendrickson was able to achieve both of these suspension characteristics through an unprecedented, technologically-advanced design.
“By changing the geometry of the system to a more optimized configuration, PRIMAAX EX was developed to achieve higher levels of roll stiffness compared to the original PRIMAAX suspensions and over two times the roll stiffness of other industry air suspensions. This allows PRIMAAX EX to thrive in high center-of gravity applications where air suspensions had previously not been considered,” said Ashley Dudding, director of engineering for Hendrickson Truck Commercial Vehicle Systems. “In addition, numerous advancements were made to improve the durability of the system through modified designs, advanced materials and manufacturing processes,” stated Dudding.
Higher levels of roll stiffness and more rugged components allowed PRIMAAX EX to proliferate into numerous vocational and severe applications where other air suspensions are unable to go. The suspension has made a significant impact on the oil field industry, the refuse segment, concrete mixers and the logging business. It is spec’d by heavy-haulers, municipalities and general construction fleets, in addition to numerous additional applications. As the vocational market starts its recovery, PRIMAAX EX is poised for growth.
Mike Englund operates a logging company (Englund Trucking Inc.) in Escanaba, MI and began using the PRIMAAX EX suspension system in 2009. Based on his experience in rough off-road and on-road terrains in the Upper Peninsula, Mike commented, “If you take a good sweeping turn at a pretty decent pace, being as tall as the truck is, you would expect it to lean or sway. But with the PRIMAAX EX, it doesn’t – the truck just stays level. It’s extremely stable and holds the road great. It doesn’t want to give. It’s pretty awesome. The ride quality is excellent – smooth over washboard roads, bumps and holes. It’s unbelievable.”
PRIMAAX EX is now available at all major Class 8 truck OEMs in various offerings including both drum and disc-brake configurations.
