TEİAŞ (the Turkish Electricity Transmission Corporation) has relied on Allison’s fully automatic transmissions to transport critical electrical grid equipment across the country for nearly 30 years, covering 4.5 million kilometres without fail.

ISTANBUL, Turkey -- In 1985, TEİAŞ purchased eight heavy-duty Kaelble vehicles equipped with Allison CLBT 6061 fully automatic transmissions, all of which are still operating using the original driveline parts. The vehicles’ role has been to transport 50- to 190-ton transformers and reactors from across the country to maintenance and repair centers in Ankara, as well as between different generating stations. These Allison-equipped trucks have safely and reliably hauled heavy loads over approximately 150,000 kilometers annually, a total of nearly 4.5 million kilometres, without fail. For this reason, when purchasing four new heavy equipment transport vehicles, TEİAŞ chose four Allison-equipped Volvo FH trucks.

The new Volvo FH trucks purchased by TEİAŞ are equipped with an Allison 4700 fully automatic transmission with retarder. This transmission is specifically designed to operate within the harshest conditions, ensuring unrivaled startability, uninterrupted power to the drive wheels and smooth gear shifting due to Allison’s Continuous Power Technology™.

“Vehicle efficiency and durability are critical to our operation,” said Tuncer Tokaç, Special Loads and Mobile Transportation and Operations Manager at TEİAŞ. “A black-out is not an option, and Allison Transmissions meet our requirements and help keep our vehicles operational.

“Sometimes we have to operate over rough terrain and on very steep inclines. An Allison fully automatic transmission with torque converter and retarder provides significant advantages in both launch and braking. As it also delivers ease of operation and increased comfort when in difficult conditions our drivers prefer Allison-equipped vehicles to those with other transmissions.  In addition, long maintenance intervals ensure reduced operational costs and extended vehicle life and uptime. In fact, because there are not expensive clutch repairs and replacements, maintenance costs with an Allison automatic are considerably less,” says Tokac.

TEİAŞ is responsible for meeting Turkey’s changing electrical energy needs and meeting with its government’s energy policies. This includes infrastructure maintenance and expansion of an electrical grid with more than 50,000 kilometers of interconnected line and a nearly 110,000 megawatt capacity. With annual production and consumption of about 240 billion kilowatt hours, TEİAŞ provides customers with safe, reliable, uninterrupted electric power, relying on vehicles equipped with an Allison transmission to transport and deploy essential equipment.