MVO Articles
MVO News November 2009
Solmec's Electric!
Italian manufacturer, Solmec, has been busy. Firstly, in line with other leading manufacturers of hydraulic machinery - such as JCB and Sennebogen, the still family-owned company is poised to start work on a brand new "eco" production facility on the outskirts of Rovigo, northern Italy. "We need to be ready for when the global market picks up," explained director of sales and marketing, Carlo Casarotti. The site has already been prepared, the very exciting plans for the new facility passed and… well, while they waited for the market to bounce back, the R&D department was keen to come up with a project that would further enhance Solmec's eco credentials. And that is?
Well, it's the new 106ZE - a fully electric-powered 360 materials handler. The first production machine is already in service - in a tannery actually - and I was allowed to operate it during a recent visit to Italy. Further machines are planned, including a 106ZE, with air conditioned cab, and configured for waste and recycled materials handling.
But why electric power? Firstly, being "zero-emissions", the 106ZE can work indoors without producing either exhaust or noise pollution. A quieter machine is also safer, in that it enables banksman's instructions to be heard. And, even outdoors, the Solmec could help reduce tension with local residents.
The 106ZE has a power output of 28kW, with a three-speed electric motor selection. While the normal Deutz diesel engine of the standard 15-16.5-tonne 108LS machine is replaced by an 80volt (2x930Ah) battery pack and three-phase Rexroth electric motor pack (giving up to 11kph travel speed), the machine hydraulics remain hydraulically activated - so staff retraining isn't an issue. Its maximum reach is 7.1m (to hook).
And does it work? Yes, it does, and there should be enough battery power for a normal day of "picking". For operations requiring greater travel within the site - or a longer shift pattern - the battery pack can be quickly exchanged for a freshly charged one… ideally by a electric forklift truck!
Another Electric Story
Whereas manufacturers such as Solmec primarily produce diesel-powered hydraulic machinery and are looking to also develop "electric" options, Icelandic-based manufacturer, Ecoprocess, only produces electrically operated equipment… in a world where "hydraulic" is still the main competitor.
We're talking bin-lifters in this case, of course, and it won't have escaped your attention that while all the other manufacturers of hydraulic bin-lifters would normally be fighting each other for your business, they are, as one, united against this Nordic challenger - with prices of conventional bin-lifters being dramatically reduced as soon as a potential customer looks towards the more ecologically-minded electric option.
While sales took some time to take off, and a few reliability issues to need be sorted, Ecoprocess has made it clear that the company is "in it for the long term", as director, Gudny Reimarsdottir, put it. Yes, even after the problems the Icelandic economy has found itself in! More significantly now, five years after the electric alternative was launched, Ecoprocess is ready for the "next phase" of its development.
A significant part of that development looks increasingly likely to be based on the announcement by Faun that Ecoprocess lifters are ideal for its dual power hybrid RCV - as this month's cover story confirms.
As new products from hydraulic competitors have illustrated, the environment is now top of the agenda. But, as Ecoprocess' Scott Young also points out, only the fully-electric option gives an instant cut-out safety "proximity curtain" around and under each chair… and that could be a potentially priceless advantage in an accident.
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Happy Days?
Having withdrawn from providing machines for the live demonstrations at the RWM event in September, JCB decided instead to put on its own "Waste Days" event at the JCB Arena in Rocester this year.
To the surprise and delight of senior executives - including Sir Anthony Bamford - the auditorium presentation and live demonstration played to a capacity crowd of over 400 potential purchasers and operators over a two-day period.
While there were no specific new product announcements at the event - ceo Matthew Taylor explaining that resources had to be put behind insuring "Tier-4" specification machines were ready on time - he did hint that several new materials handlers would be launched during 2010. A JS260 "wheelie" would be an obvious choice, but there is a rumour that three new wheelies, including something smaller than a JS160, is on the cards.
JCB now claims a total of thirty "Wastemaster" models in a range of "more than 300 machines", so with construction still well down, have the waste, recycling and composting sectors taken on a new importance to the fortunes of JCB?
Matthew Taylor was cautious, but suggested that with something like seven or eight percent of all sales coming from our industry, the answer to that question is a positive "yes". A new Wastemaster project design team has been set-up to evaluate new products and, with the new 8000-units-a-year "Heavy Line" factory now fully up to speed, he suggested the worse of the recession could be over - but at the same time warned that "Tier -4" machines will be more expensive to buy. "There's no way around that," he added.
The Waste Days audience also heard from Nick Herbert MP, the shadow environment secretary. He said that UK recycling rates, which are typically around 30 percent, are still woefully lagging behind the 64 percent of Germany. Suggesting that the "stick" of the landfill tax and the prescriptive attitudes of some local authorities wasn't working, he suggested that the success of some "carrot" schemes, where residents are given shopping vouchers in exchange for good recycling practice, should be extended.
A good idea from a politician? Coming out of recession and the potential to double the market for equipment to improve our recycling ratios? Happy days could, indeed, be ahead!
It's A Small World
With export manager Neil Hetherington now retired from Scarab Sweepers, and with news that the Fayat Group is taking a larger interest in Scarab - following the agreement to sell its FS6000 to Fayat Group company, Bomag - what is the likelihood that, in return, Scarab will be pressured into selling more Mathieu-built sweepers and washers in the UK?
Technically, this is already the case, but while the 2m3 capacity machine is excellent, the more technically complex 4m3 machine was technically too clever - and is currently facing a humiliating redesign and "re-launch".
Does Scarab actually need a 4m3 purpose built skid' unit to compete? Probably not, but if it did, what about the Sicas "Millennium"? The Italian manufacturer is now number one in its home market and is already the Scarab importer for Italy. It also works with CAT dealers globally to promote its own M-4000 mechanical sweeper, but the Millennium 4m3 machine - as well as several street washer units - have a wider appeal.
While there are no plans to come to the UK, Sicas is looking to expand sales outside of Italy, including the M-4000, which could be modified to work with advanced dust filter systems in sensitive city centre areas. And who has the job of promoting that? It's Neil Hetherington… small world, indeed!
Dennis, The Next Generation?
There has been considerable market speculation as to what, if anything, the next generation of Dennis Eagle products might look like now that the company is under the control of a former rival (Ros Roca) and that diesel engine supplier to the company (Volvo) has been punting its own "low-entry crew cab" RCV chassis around the marketplace.
This has even begged the questions: "Will there actually be a new generation of Dennis Eagle RCV at all in future? Or is what we have now the swan song of yet another once great British brand that was driven to the wall in the hands of a foreign owner?"
Well, things are brighter, it seems, than any of us Euro-sceptics might have thought. For a start, the "next generation" of Dennis Eagle body hoppers is already undergoing tests and is due for an official launch early in the New Year. True, the "Olympus" isn't visually much different from current Phoenix products, but under the skin, the electronics are considerably different with a "market specific" level of sophistication applied by all four Ros Roca group companies. The Dennis Eagle home market product will have the northern European level of technology, but simpler, more basic specs will be offered for other world markets.
And a hybrid option? That is still on the cards, but the Ros Roca version is currently said to be "back at the drawing board" thanks to the success of Faun's dual power hybrid concept and the Geesink Norba "Plug-In".
And the next generation of Dennis Eagle chassis/cab? That is a much harder one to second guess, except to say that managing director, Norman Thoday, is adamant that production in the UK will continue - and even expand. That said, Euro-6 will be a tough nut to crack.
CAT's New Telehandler
Now, this one isn't electrically powered, but CAT has launched the new TH417 in an effort to provide customers with an enhanced performance package, giving greater versatility and serviceability, we're told… and there'll be more on this in our next issue - out in February 2010.
Around The World On Waste!
It's true. Andy Pag, who has already driven a chocolate-powered truck to Timbuktu(!) has now converted an old school bus into an "eco-mobile home", modified it to run on old chip oil and plans to drive it around the world… provided, that is, he can find plentiful supplies of old chip oil! While he's travelling, he plans to cook on a woodburning stove and wash in water heated by the power of the sun. The aim - in addition to the recycled fuel - is to show how the whole journey can be achieved while only producing two tonnes of carbon.
New Volvo Contender?
Sometimes it's hard to understand what the major OEMs are up to. Despite the fact that a production-standard hybrid RCV chassis had been at work for several months, nobody in Volvo UK was interested in getting one to Futuresource! Now a low-cab Volvo - or "forward cab" to be more precise - has been introduced… but still no show at MVO! The only official word, as we went to press, is that a customer launch will happen this month (November) just a week after the press have been given details. So while we wait, let's take a look at what they're up to at Volvo in Sweden where, we're told, "comprehensive field trials" involving Bio-DME fuel (di-methyl-ether) could, if successful, help reduce carbon dioxide emissions considerably, replacing up to 50 percent of all diesel currently consumed. This is a by-product of the paper industry and is said to provide comparable power and energy outputs to conventional diesel fuel. The key is, however, that greenhouse gases are drastically reduced. And, best of all, as Bio-DME is produced as a liquid, fuelling and storage is less complicated than with gas. So will you be able to order DME-fuelled low-cab Volvo RCV chassis for your next fleet replacements? We've not been told what Volvo policy is, so perhaps it would be easier if you called Richard Osborne direct on +44 (0)1926 401777. OK?
