PROJECTS

The rediscovery of the wheel; a completed case of Thetford and Timmerije
Thetford Europe in Etten-Leur is the European head office of the American Thetford Corporation Company. A company that has an enormous international reputation in the field of portable (Porta Potti) and fixed (Cassette) toilets for caravans and campers.

With the acquisition of Norcold, Thetford is also an important party in the market of absorption refrigerators. In 2002, a brand-new factory was opened for this. Thetford is therefore an important global player in the market of caravan and camper accessories. The company worked together with Timmerije as early as 1983 when Thetford opened its site in Etten-Leur.

We need two wheels under a waste tank
"It all began with this seemingly simple question", said Frank Schagen, Project Manager at Thetford. The company had developed a new series of toilets, the C-400 series, which was equipped with a toilet waste tank that was fitted with an extending carrying handle and two wheels. This means a user can quickly and comfortably empty the toilet. In addition, such an innovative design makes cleaning considerably easier. "At that time, we sat down with Timmerije as we did not just want a wheel, but a wheel that had to satisfy numerous requirements. The wheel preferably had to be a strong wheel, which was suitable for carrying ‘the load'. Nevertheless, it also had to be a light wheel that could travel comfortably over, for example, a camping site. It was important that the wheel was also dust-proof; the container also had to be returned to the caravan or camper as clean as possible after emptying. Last but not least, we were also looking for a cost-effective solution, so no surplus components and as few assembly steps as possible". Laughing, Frank Schagen added: "We actually asked Timmerije to rediscover the wheel..."

Intelligent manufacturing saves considerable costs
Even Timmerije, which was not so easily scared off by a complex problem in plastics, had to swallow hard. What seemingly appeared to be quite simple, after all it was something that was discovered ages before, appeared to have numerous other dimensions than just the single fact that a wheel is round. In cooperation with Thetford, a 2-component solution was quickly chosen in which the wheel rim was covered in a thermoplastic rubber to facilitate the comfortable movement of the container across all kinds of terrain. Besides a wheel rim, a wheel comprises a wheel housing and bearings. Manufacturing the wheel rim, wheel housing and rubber component as an integral product would be very cost effective. The developers at Timmerije therefore looked for and found a production-technical realisable solution. The wheel rim and the wheel housing and subsequently the ‘tyre' could be made using a special 2-component technique within one mould. In this way, one complete component could be made from three ‘individual' components. Frank Schagen: "As a customer, this is what we mean with cost-effective manufacturing. Because Timmerije produced the bearing component of the wheel for us as well as assembling the wheel and bearings, our factory now has one component that could have been four individual components. In this way, we benefit from efficiency and short production time".

Extendable carrying handle
For the same waste tank, Timmerije developed the extendable handle in cooperation with Thetford using a combination of gas injection technology and especially strengthened polyamide material. Schagen said: "Though it also appeared to be a very simple component, it was essential for the comfort and functionality of the waste tank. Moreover, the ‘reliability' factor, which is a criterion that we strongly adhere to for all Thetford products, also played a role here. Nothing is worse than a handle that brakes off while moving a waste tank across a campsite".

"All in all," said Frank Schagen, "we are very satisfied with the cooperation that Thetford experienced with Timmerije with respect to our C-400 toilet. Incidentally, we are also happy with Timmerije on other fronts. Cooperation that has lasted 20 years actually says it all".