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MOTORING M2 maltatoday | SUNDAY • 16 SEPTEMBER 2018 Express Trailers completes side-loader built in-house EXPRESS Trailers has just completed works on its brand-new side-loader. The side loader was built in- house by the company's em- ployees, led by three techni- cians who worked on this new side-loader for the past 14 months. After several tri- als, the side-loader is now in service. The Hammar 155 Mega Reach is a unique model not just locally but also interna- tionally. It is the first of its kind because it is capable of stacking three containers on top of each other, can shift containers from one plat- form to another with one assemble and without the use of other equipment and has a safe working load of 36 tons. "The completion of this side-loader continues to confirm the company's re- sourcefulness and versatility together with the talent, the commitment and the passion of our people," said Franco Azzopardi, Chairman and CEO of Express Trailers. "It is thanks to their re- sourcefulness that Express Trailers has been able to ex- pand its operations and ven- ture into the new business opportunity with the Swed- ish company HAMMAR, a global seller of side-loaders with whom we have been working for the past fifteen years," added Franco Azzo- pardi. Engineering and mechani- cal work have always been ingrained in Express Trail- ers' identity of a family busi- ness where the family mem- bers always contributed their own expertise to bring their ideas to fruition. In fact, the completion of this side- loader recalls the roots of a company which always met its engineering requirements in-house as Bastjan Vella, one of the eight Vella broth- ers recalls. "Whatever we could do ourselves, we did. I remem- ber when after completing my three-year City & Guilds course to become a qualified mechanic, my job was in our garage servicing and fixing our vehicles and equipment. Whatever we could build or fix ourselves, we did," he said. "I remember once my brother Żaren had spotted an old Coventry forklifter. Half of its parts were miss- ing and it was an old truck so replacing these parts with new ones was practi- cally impossible. However, we bought it just the same and I managed to re-assem- ble it and we started work- ing with it too." "Eventually, I also built a cart for this forklifter which enabled us to transport this forklifter to where we needed to work. And when increas- ing business required a big- ger truck, we came across an old Leyland Hypo 8 Wheeler which we bought. I fixed it and made it operational again and we built a platform for it so that we could load it with containers." Although retired, Bastjan Vella still visits the yard eve- ryday to help out by lending his experience to his equally able successor Noel Vella supported by his team of tradesmen.