This Company Is Making Freight Transportation Cleaner
Events like COP28 in Dubai and the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos are more than just elite gatherings. They offer a platform for entrepreneurs to influence global economic and business policies. They can also be an eye-opener for private sector firms as they realize their own impact on solving global problems such as reducing emissions.
"Attending these events, I felt a collective sense of commitment, like an underlying buzz of determination," said Daniel Randon, in an interview with SAP Voice on Forbes[4]. Randon is the President of Randoncorp, a Brazilian leader in transportation solutions in the trailer and semi-trailer, auto parts and financial services industries. The industry executive attended both events in recent months and came away with a renewed sense of purpose and a feeling of validation.
"I always knew we were on the right path with our sustainability strategy. As a family company, we are in a unique position," said Randon. "Our business strategy has always been developed with future generations in mind, constantly balancing performance against legacy to remain relevant."
Sustainable fuel for road freight
According to the WEF, in 2021 there were 27 million heavy-duty trucks on the road worldwide, emitting 1,183 metric tons of carbon dioxide--41% of total global road freight greenhouse gas emissions. And with 95% of the world's transportation energy coming from petroleum-based fuels like diesel, the need for innovative technology that utilizes alternative fuels has never been greater.
Randoncorp is one of the top ten manufacturers of trailers and semi-trailers in the world and owns one of the largest independent technology centers for the automotive industry in Latin America. The company innovates in areas ranging from industrial processes to biofuels to friction materials for braking systems. One of Randon's messages in his presentation to the WEF audience was about the development of hybrid solutions in the long-haul trucking space.
"There seems to be a misconception about using corn or sugarcane as fuel. People think it's a trade-off between food and fuel. But you don't have to choose; you can have both," he said.
Biofuels are an important part of Brazil's strategy to transition away from fossil fuels. While there are efforts to speed up electrification, it is still not a fully viable alternative for truckers crisscrossing a vast country with limited infrastructure in many remote areas. According to the IEA Bioenergy country report on Brazil[5], biofuels represent 25% of transport fuels, a very high rate compared to other countries.
In Brazil pure ethanol has been used since 1975, and nowadays flex-fuel cars are widely used. The country has taken a number of steps to improve its agro-ecological strategies for bioenergy without jeopardizing food security. "Thanks to agricultural developments that increase crop yield without increasing land use, farmers are now producing 2 or even 3 crops of corn and soy per year.
We see biofuels as a long-term solution for sustainable trucking," Randon explained.
A plethora of innovation
Randoncorp is a leader in other areas as well. Reducing the weight of trucks can increase safety, improve fuel efficiency, and reduce carbon emissions. Manufacturers can reduce the weight of a truck significantly by replacing key load-bearing parts with lighter materials, prompting Randoncorp to become a leading supplier of composites as an alternative to steel.
The company also has a complete portfolio of parts for braking, suspension, transmission and steering systems and friction materials. Suspensys, one of Randoncorp's companies, developed the Hybrid R Line, an exclusive electric traction system that uses an auxiliary system of intelligent algorithms to recover energy generated during braking and descents, enabling the trailer to help the truck to climb uphill more effectively and safely. Depending on the application, the road conditions and the type of cargo transported, the new system generates fuel savings that can reach up to 25%, also providing less wear on the components and less waste in the environment.
Randoncorp also promotes research in materials, nanotechnology and electromobility. Digitalization plays a key role in all these areas. The company is a long-term SAP customer and has recently undergone a major upgrade to SAP S/4HANA[6] to accelerate ERP performance and leverage the system's built-in analytics.
A long-term resolution
"One of my key takeaways from Davos was the realization that the private sector can innovate quickly.
We have the resources, human capital, and an international reach," he commented. "What we gained is a greater network and a huge opportunity to work collaboratively with like-minded partners." The sense of being more powerful as part of group dawned on Randon when he learned about the WEF's First Mover's Coalition for Emerging Climate Technologies[7]. Members of the coalition are helping to drive demand for low carbon products to support global decarbonization efforts.
The concept emerged as a strategy to help decarbonize the world's heavy-emitting sectors, such as transportation, via private sector demand. The First Movers Coalition has set ambitious commitments for trucking[8] owners, operators, retailers and manufacturers, who expect "at least 30% of heavy-duty and 100% of medium-duty new truck purchases to be zero emission trucks by 2030." These ambitious goals are a source of inspiration for Daniel Randon and the entire team at Randoncorp. Thanks to its innovative solutions, the company is already helping its customers increase safety, save costs, reduce fuel consumption and extend component lifecycles.
"We are more committed than ever to helping the industry achieve net zero," said Randon. "Understanding how we can help groups like the First Movers Coalition will help us create even better strategies for a greener, more circular future."
References
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- ^ https://www.forbes.com/sites/sap/ (www.forbes.com)
- ^ https://www.ieabioenergy.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/CountryReport2021_Brazil_final.pdf (www.ieabioenergy.com)
- ^ https://help.sap.com/docs/SAP_S4HANA_ON-PREMISE (help.sap.com)
- ^ https://www.weforum.org/impact/first-movers-coalition-worlds-largest-clean-demand-signal-climate-technologies/ (www.weforum.org)
- ^ https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_FMC_Trucking_2022.pdf (www3.weforum.org)
- ^ https://twitter.com/magyarj (twitter.com)