WMW’s Malcolm Bates brings us up to date with the latest developments in refuse collection vehicles and plant equipment for the waste industry. Rubbish removal northern beaches Sydney executes well in collecting the garbage in our subdivision.
German manufacturer, Daimler AG, has announced that it has started production of the Fuso ‘e-Canter’ at the Tramagal plant in Portugal. A zero-emissions version of the familiar diesel Canter is sure to we welcomed by many waste and recycling operators, as well as for parcels and food distribution organisations.
The first series of production units have already found customers in Europe – and from as far afield as New York City in the USA. In Japan, the Seven-Eleven company will be operating up to 25 e-Canters by the end of this year.
The e-Canter is said to have a range of up to 100 km and a load capacity of between two and three tonnes – depending on body equipment. The electric power train comprises six high voltage lithium-ion battery packs of 420v/13.8kWh per pack. Results obtained from a number of trial units that have been in service since 2014, suggest potential operating savings of 1000 Euros per 10,000 km in operating costs are possible.
ELECTRIC DRIVE WHEELED LOADER LAUNCHED
The new CAT 998K XE wheeled loader features a high-efficiency electric drive system designed to reduce driveline stress and increase operating efficiency over machines with conventional drive-trains. But the big bonus, according to the Caterpillar Corporation, is an increase in fuel efficiency.
The 998K XE has a 54,258kg operating weight and a rated payload of 14.5 tonnes, with a bucket capacity of up to 13cubic metres at a lift height of up to 3.885 metres making it far too large for waste and recycling operations.
However, the launch of this heavy-duty machine for mining and quarrying operations follows on from the introduction of the Cat D7e tractor dozer, where the electric drive enabled the engine to work at peak torque – thus achieving significant fuel savings over a conventional transmission.
Working trials for the 998K XE suggest an overall efficiency gain of 25percent, with reducing overall maintenance costs. This includes a reduction in the use of engine and transmission oil – a significant advantage should the same electric drivetrain become available on smaller machines suited to waste handling applications in the future.
ELECTRIC PVI FOR NORWAY
A new 26-28tonne 6×2 rear steer zero emissions refuse collection vehicle (RCV), based on the UK-built Dennis Eagle ‘Elite 6’ PVI chassis, has gone into service in the city of Jarpsborg, Norway.
This follows on from the successful operation of two electric PVIs in the district of Frederiksberg, Copenhagen, Denmark as featured in an earlier edition of ‘Collection & Handling’. The chassis was supplied by Phoenix Denmark, the Dennis Eagle & PVI distributor for Scandinavia.
HYDROGEN INJECTION TO IMPROVE AIR QUALITY
UK-based ULEMCo (see article elsewhere in this issue) is claiming that diesel fuel savings of “up to forty percent” can be achieved by utilising metered hydrogen as a diesel substitute.
The system is already on long-term trial with a number of waste and recycling operators, but ULEMCo has just announced that the city of Aberdeen in Scotland and Grundon – a leading UK commercial waste contractor based in London, England – are now also trialling the system. So far, the system has been fitted to Mercedes-Benz and DAF truck chassis used in waste and recycling operations.
The compressed hydrogen is carried in tanks mounted on the truck chassis, or behind the cab – making it suitable for installation on refuse collection vehicles (RCVs) and hooklifts. ULEMCo is looking for distributors/partners to install the system in other markets.
JCB RECRUITS YOUNG TALENT
To ensure the company has the workforce it needs to produce the next generation of machines for global markets, JCB is investing a further 8million Euros into the recruitment of young people wishing to become the engineers and designers of the future. The JCB Apprentice Programme has enrolled some 117 Apprentices this year – bringing the total of over 500 graduates having joined the business in the last four years.
Now JCB is looking to recruit the next intake as JCB Training director Alan Thompson explained. “JCB is expanding quickly and will shortly be launching a number of innovative new products. We are ambitious to grow the business and the record level of investment in young people is crucial to our plans.”
DOOSAN DOES IT FOR SCHUCK
Elsenfeld-based Schuck Group in Germany has been offering a variety of services in the fields of demolition & recycling, logistics and machine rental for more than 75 years. Today, the family-owned company employs around 40 people – and runs Doosan machines.
When selecting machines for its fleet, the Schuck Group relies on high quality used examples, purchased with only a few hours of operation ‘on the clock’. For excavators from 14 tonne and upwards and wheeled loaders with bucket capacities from 2.0m3 and above, the brand of choice for the Schuck Group fleet is now exclusively Doosan.
Joint Managing Director, Oliver Schuck said: “The loss in value of construction machinery in the first year is notoriously high. The used Doosan machines sourced from our dealer, Bobcat Obernburg, are in top condition, technically and visually well maintained and normally still come with an extended warranty.”
Currently, Schuck has seven Doosan machines. These include five excavators from 14 to 23 tonne, a Doosan DL420 wheel loader and a DX210W MH wheeled material handler.
The Schuck Group hire fleet includes this DX210W MH wheeled material handler.
NEW MARKETS FOR LOW ENTRY CABS
Godfried Terberg, CEO of the Terberg RosRoca Group, has announced that the Group is making “significant progress” in developing a low entry cabbed Dennis ‘Elite 6’ chassis for the North American market. Five pre-production chassis with low entry, single step cabs, will be entering trials with selected customers by the end of the year.
Applications will include a mix of rear end and side loading vehicles for waste (garbage) collection operations. The low entry Elite cab has been specially tailored for US conditions, following the establishing of Dennis Eagle Inc in the States, earlier in the year. The US-spec Elite was shown at the recent ‘WasteExpo’ event in New Orleans. The full official launch will take place early in 2018, co-inciding with the start of assembly in the US.
NEW CONCEPTS
A new ‘Technology Cluster’ is to be established by Meridian to boost design, development and testing of ‘Connected and Autonomous Vehicles’ (CAVs) in the UK.
“In order for CAVs to be adopted, they need to function seamlessly on all roads,” explained Jim Campbell, launch director at Meridian. We will focus on integrating and connecting these vehicles with complex environments around the World. But for this to happen, we need all industries and governments to work together to the same standards.”
NEW BRANDING
The international waste-to-product specialist Renewi plc has recently placed its 100th truck on the road in the Netherlands. The 100th truck is a milestone in the rebranding exercise flowing the merger of Shanks and van Gansewinkel earlier in the year. The building of the new brand is said to be an important part in the company’s integration plans.
Renewi now has a fleet of over 2500 vehicles in the Netherlands. The Group has over 8000 employees across nine countries in Europe and North America.
NEW DISTRIBUTOR
Case construction equipment has changed its distributor for Finland. Konevuokraamo Rentti – officially known as Tracwest OY – has entered into an agreement with CNH Industrial as importer for Case machines in Finland. The new distributor is based in Honkajoki and will be investing further in southern Finland in co-operation with Case.
The former importer, Fintractor OY, will be progressively winding down its activities over the next few months.