HEALTH & SAFETY STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
TEPEE ELECTRICAL
Teepee harnesses electrification dreams for fire and rescue appliance specialist
Teepee Electrical has signed an extension with one of the UK ’ s leading emergency appliance manufacturers that will see it support a concerted roll-out of its new electric vehicles .
The Black Country-based company will supply complex harnesses and wiring looms to Emergency One ’ s latest electric fire engines , which are increasingly destined for use across the UK and the rest of the world .
It marks what has become a 15-year strategic partnership for both firms and a relationship that has developed from a few harness sets per month to providing eighteen different configured sets for six different vehicles every month .
The move to electrification has involved the development of a different type of harness , with alternative specifications of cables and connectors catering for high and lower voltage circuits , integrating with on-vehicle systems and full harness sets .
This was a challenge that Teepee relished . Systems and processes have been developed so the firm can use Emergency One ’ s design software outputs and import them into harness and manufacturing software .
Dedicated production cells and comprehensive testing facilities have subsequently been set-up to ensure the necessary capacity required by the Scottish manufacturer is in place .
“ Emergency One has grown massively in the 15 years we have been supplying it and expect production to be more than 250 fire fighting vehicles this year ,” commented Steve Clarke , Managing Director of Teepee Electrical .
“ Electrification isn ’ t purely for passenger cars ; all sectors are looking at cleaner engines and more sustainable means of transport . It became the first in the world to develop an all-electric model in 2020 and continue to be ahead of its rivals in terms of delivering a vehicle that offers similar if not better performance and range than its traditional counterparts .
“ We have been with them from the start of this journey and our agility and desire to be involved in the early-stage development work has paid dividends with the harness architecture proving ideal for what the Emergency One engineers were looking to achieve .”
He continued : “ This new deal extends the partnership and will see us continue to supply traditional sets for the Volvo , MAN and Eurocargo chassis , as well as building in new capacity so we can meet the expected demand for electric fire engines going forward .”
78 PECM Issue 56