UNIMOG JOURNAL - Mercedes-Benz
Transcription
UNIMOG JOURNAL - Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz UNIMOG JOURNAL In the tracks of ... Precision work in the maize field 2/2001 Customers in the front row The jubilee outfit UNIMOG HOMEPAGE: www.mercedes-benz.com/e/ecars/unimog/default.htm Our title pictures Editorial Unimog fascination in close-up 3 The sales organisation Precision work in the maize field 4-5 One for all in the North Sea tidelands 6-7 True love survives the years 8-9 Customers in the front row 10-12 The jubilee outfit 13 Wherever emotive adventures such as trekking or expeditions to far-off countries and fascinating landscapes are planned, the Unimog is an obvious choice. This issue contains no fewer than three such reports, two from globetrotters (pages 14 and 15), and details of a new TV series with accounts of adventure trips, in which the Unimog naturally has a starring role (pages 16 und 17). Elsewhere, scientists are on the track of the legen- dary caravan routes (picture above and page 18) – a journey that any Unimog enthusiast would have dearly loved to make. The next best thing: read all about it in the Unimog Journal! Unimog International Performance event . . . When even the tyres melt ... 14-15 New routes to adventure 16-17 In the tracks of the legendary caravans 18 Shingle and sandbanks no obstacle 19 A Bohemian jewel 20 ... is what the Unimog managers call their demonstrations of the vast range of tasks that Mercedes-Benz’s versatile vehicle can perform. Nine such “Mowing and Cleaning” events attracted more than 1,500 customers for a close-up view (pages 10, 11 and 12) UNISCOPE European Truck Trial championship: Three winners with Mercedes-Benz Unimog 21 Farewell to a good friend 22 The Unimog’s success story shaped the fortunes of Schmalz + Sohn 22 Confidence is growing in Hungary 23 Austria: a device for inserting snow poles 23 Czech Republic buys 39 Unimogs 23 In order to lose no time in carrying out its experimental work, the French seed supplier Caussade despatches a Unimog in the Spring and Autumn of each year to work in the maize fields (pages 4 and 5) For some years the Schuon company of Haiterbach (Black Forest) has carried out logistic movements between the DaimlerChrysler plants in Rastatt and Gaggenau. For this work, it makes use of a new U 500 (page 13) Publisher: DaimlerChrysler AG, Unimog Division Publishing responsibility: Dieter Sellnau, Unimog Division P U B L I S H E R ’ S D A T A Coordinación: Martin Adam, Unimog Division Editorial committee: Martin Adam, Dieter Mutard, Karin Weidenbacher Contributors to this issue: Text: Dieter Mutard, Stefan Loeffler Photos: DWM Pressebüro und Verlag, Monika and Engelbert Kohl, Klaus Schier, Unimog Product Division Editorial address: DaimlerChrysler AG, Unimog Division, Sales Marketing, 76568 Gaggenau, Germany Production: Dieter Mutard DWM Pressebüro und Verlag, Ringstraße 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany; Tel. +49 7 31-9 62 89-0, Fax +49 731-9 62 89-30 English translation: Colin Brazier, Munich The next issue will be published in May 2002. The publishers accept no responsibility for unsolicited texts or photos. Printed on paper bleached without chlorine. Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany Your contact: Editorial Unimog fascination in close-up Dear readers of the UNIMOG JOURNAL, Everything we do seems to be governed increasingly by supposed urgency, with the result that events are forgotten very soon after they took place – or need a special impulse to recall them to mind; current world events surely bear this out. This makes it all the more important for me, as one who had the pleasure of taking part, to look back at the events we held to celebrate the 50th birthday of the Mercedes-Benz Unimog. I am sure that my words will conjure up clear pictures of the varied scenes and activities that visitors were presented with during the two-day event in Gaggenau. Personally, I was quite taken aback by the sheer volume of public interest. More than 30,000 visitors came to congratulate the ‘birthday child’ on its home ground – despite the ‘typical Unimog weather’. We were able to welcome friends of the Unimog from all over Europe, and even groups of visitors from the USA, Mexico and Brazil: they were all anxious for a close-up view of the vehicle that has earned the title “Friend of the People”. Even a Buddhist monk, who can call no fewer than six Unimogs his own, came all the way to Gaggenau to visit us. The response to the appeal to join the Unimog cavalcade was also a pleasant surprise. More than 530 historic Unimogs arrived at the northern fringe of the Black Forest for the biggest meeting of their kind in the world and a landmark in the Unimog chronicle. Even more applications were in fact received, but for reasons of safety we had to limit the number taking part.When I saw the main road packed with these historic vehicles, it gave me a warm feeling to see many people had gathered to admire and welcome our celebrated Unimog. “Unimog fascination” was also well to the fore during the demonstration runs at the nearby Ötigheim gravel pit. Guests were able to see the Unimog in action, live and in close-up. The event had two highlights: first of all we showed visitors just how versatile our new U 300 – U 500 implement carrier range can be, using a variety of attachments and working equipment from Unimog-System-Partners. Then it was time for pure all-terrain driving, tackled with immense energy and enthusiasm by the demonstrators and urged on by the spectators. Nobody seemed to mind that flood water rose above the ankles whenever a vehicle tackled the watersplash. At this point the words of Dr. Klaus Maier, the Mercedes-Benz Truck Division’s chief executive, come to mind: in his celebratory speech on June 9th, he said: “The Unimog sums up the mystique of Mercedes-Benz as no other vehicle does. It has communicated the brand values of reliability, strength, versatility and long life all over the world.” I am sure that it was precisely the same set of impressions that led so many visitors to leave our demonstration grounds after the event with a contented smile on their faces. Hans-Jürgen Wischhof: “Unimog fascination” was a very strong feeling during the demonstrations at the Ötigheim gravel pit iety of tours of the production facilities, divisional presentations – ranging from environmental protection to vocational training and ideas management – and also including a full programme for all the family and the kids, with a miniature Unimog driving range, a mountaineering wall, a display of fire-fighting procedures and many other interesting items. Interest on the part of the media in our ‘birthday child’ was also very strong. It was the star of several TV productions and the focus of innumerable articles in the daily press and the trade magazines – further evidence, as if it were needed, that the Unimog is as fascinating as ever. I am convinced that the contents of this issue of our UNIMOG JOURNAL will convey a large part of that fascination. The Unimog’s fiftieth birthday celebrations included a varied programme both within the factory and outside. One of the items this included was the “Theme Park of the Future” which dealt with the realignment of the DaimlerChrysler plant in Gaggenau to become a competence centre for manual gearboxes and automatic transmissions, together with the transfer of Unimog activities to the largest truck factory in Europe, in Wörth, in Germany’s Lower Palatinate region. The weekend of June 9th/10th was rounded off by a varUNIMOG JOURNAL 3 The Unimog U 1600 emerges from the experimental maize field, leaving a cut area precisely two rows wide behind it (upper picture below) which avoids damage to adjacent sections of the crop The French seed supplier Caussade Saaten GmbH has experimental crops distributed all over the Federal Republic of Germany. With the aid of a Unimog U 1600, its employees sow the various grades of maize in the spring, harvest them in the autumn and in this way check the effects of climate and soil on yield and nutritional concent. Precision work in the maize field The crop is harvested and ejected behind the vehicle by a chopper that is blowerdriven from the Unimog’s power take-off As the vehicle passes along the rows, Wiebke Janshen fills the dried and chopped grains and stems into bags that are then sent off to France for scientific laboratory tests 4 UNIMOG JOURNAL By the time Wiebke Janshen and Henning Klöhn have reached their rows of experimental crops near the small town of Heldburg in Germany’s State of Thuringia, the sun is already dispersing the last clouds in the sky. All round their crop areas, however, the ground is still soft from the rain that fell the previous night. None the less, these graduate agronomists, who work for the Caussade seed company, are able to start their work without delay, since their Unimog U 1600 with its driver-engaged four-wheel drive pursues its chosen course doggedly, regardless of the deep furrows beneath its wheels. Moving at a walking pace, it pushes its way through the maize crop, crosses the thirty-metre field and emerges triumphantly at the far end a few minutes later. Says Wiebke Janshen: “Each of these strip tests consists of several areas planted with different grades and families of seed. As the vehicle passes along the rows, we cut the stems off at a height of about 20 centimetres and chop them up.” Driver Henning Klöhn has to pay close attention to the task of gathering up only two of the rows from the total of four making up each plot. “This is what we call the core harvest, and it’s very important as a means of avoiding the influence of adjacent crops, which would falsify the results.” The chopped material is directed into a centrifuge mounted on the Unimog’s body, where a hydraulic motor blends the samples together until a representative result is assured. Wiebke Janshen then packs the samples into bags; all this occurs while the vehicle is still criss-crossing the maize field. The samples, weighing about 1,000 grams each, are returned to the seedgrowing station for laboratory examination. The remainder of the chopped material is ejected by a blower driven from the Unimog’s power take-off into a truck. Wiebke Janshen: “In Heldburg we’re testing silo maize, to be used as fodder for dairy cattle. We sowed 24 different types, none of them with names as yet, in the spring.” The German subsidiary of this Sales organisation French seed breeding company has 26 the ease with which the implements such such strip tests in progress in Germany, as the chopper, centrifuge or blower can from Landshut in Bavaria to the eastern be attached, her colleague particularly apStates, from the Emsland region to the preciates the easy-to-operate hydraulics Baltic coast. Wiebke Janshen: “When we with controls in the driver’s cab, which compare the results and the yield, enable him to vary the throughput speed we make allowance for the diffeand volume of the choprent climatic regions in Germany. per and adjust the harThis is essential if we are to find vesting height accurately out which soil and which climato suit soil conditions. te gives us the best harvest.” Wiebke Janshen: in the Having the Unimog as a reliaspring we use the Unimog ble helper makes the job as a hauling machine and much easier, and speeds up supply farmers and cothe journeys from one test operatives all over Germany The logo of plot to the next. “It’s the per- Caussade Saaten GmbH with our seed.” fect hauling machine, and pulls By the time the sun is at its our trailer with the equipment installed zenith, the Caussade team has finished its on it equally well along the ‘autobahn’. task, packed up its equipment and is away For a entire month, we have to be in a in the Unimog to the next experimental different area every day.” In addition to crop area, not far from the city of Würzburg. Advertisement UNIMOG JOURNAL 5 On the island of Föhr, in the coastal tidelands of the German State of SchleswigHolstein, things are often different from what the rest of the world considers to be normal. How about a shop with business hours “whenever the door is open”? Or a community in which a determined small business uses its Unimog U 500 with Palfinger crane for any work that it may be asked to do in the course of a typical island day? One for all in the North Sea tidelands Ernst Jensen from Borgsum on the island of Föhr: flexible working methods help to pay for a major investment Where else would you find a Unimog being used to repair a windmill? Probably only on Föhr in te ls Ho g wi es hl Sc The North Sea tidelands extend all the find Jensen and you will hear “You mean way from Den Helder in Holland to Eshim with the Unimog?” bjerg in Denmark. They are one of the few When we landed on Föhr, there was no Central European landscapes that have reneed to ask at all: the U 500 was waiting mained largely in their natural state. This on the quayside as a somewhat unusual gigantic biotope on Germany’s north-west reception committee. Not just in honour of coast, the “Schleswig-Holstein Tidelands our visit, either: before long, we were watching it at work on what is surely one National Park”, is a 15- to 30-kilometre wide of the least likely tasks any Unimog has to belt that includes numerous islands and perform. Ernst Jensen is hired at regular holms. Probably the best-known of the isintervals to use the Palfinger PK 35000 lands is Sylt, but Föhr, which lies south of it, is more authentically crane on his Unimog to original today and ideal take down the life-rafts for those who accept the from the ferryboats run Dänemark local attitude: “live and by the Wyker Dampflet live”. Föhr has an area schiffs-Reederei (W. D. R.), Sylt of 82 square kilometres the locally based shipNationalpark and about 10,000 inhabiping company. They are Schleswig-Holsteinisches Wattenmeer tants, so that it is clearly then taken to the mainFöhr one of the most important land for a safety check Wyk of the North Frisian by the local technical Amrum group of islands. inspection authority. Unimog and crane are In its principal town on duty again when the of Wyk we meet Ernst Husum Pellworm life-rafts have to be hoiJensen, proprietor of a sted back to their correct genuine one-man compositions on the vessel. pany – crane operator, Later, in the office of this “Man Friday”, tree feller and shredder, Unimog U 500 we try to pin down just what tasks the operator – based in Borgsum, one of the Unimog U 500 has to perform in the course 16 villages on the island. This model from of its day-to-day work. We are amazed: the the latest Unimog generation has created range of jobs waiting for Ernst Jensen and something of a stir on the island: his third his vehicle on Föhr certainly justifies the Unimog in succession, it has been in ac‘universal’ element in the Unimog’s name. tion since July 2001 and is immediately It also confirms that purchasing such a recognised by everybody. Ask where to high-performance model as the U 500 can 6 UNIMOG JOURNAL Sales organisation Ernst Jensen and his son Arne (right) exchanging life-rafts on one of the ferryboats. They have to be taken to the technical inspection authority on the mainland regularly for a safety check Advertisement be justified by the incredibly varied range of tasks facing it – a major financial investment, certainly, but one that seems capable of paying for itself in a fairly short time. Sometimes roof beams have to be lifted on to a house under construction, sometimes there are heavy concrete slabs to be laid. Then the word goes out: “Send for Jensen!” From mid-October, when we talked to him, until March next year, the order book is full. The primary task is clearing away up to 150 cubic metres of timber and shredding it up. The mysterious disease that has befallen the elm-trees on Föhr has brought him plenty of additional feling and shredding work. Ernst Jensen, full of enthusiasm: “The U 500 is such a hard worker and so versatile that there’s hardly any job I can’t tackle with it. For example, when a storm damaged one of the splendid windmills on the island, it was easy to carry out the essential repairs with the Unimog and its crane.” The latest enquiry came from the Föhr’s fire service: could the crane be equipped with a man-basket and a connection for a water hose? If so, the argument ran, it would be able to stand in for a much more expensive turntable lad- der-vehicle in an emergency. This somewhat remotely situated island-customer is serviced by Unimog general agent Land- + Baumaschinen Handelsgesellschaft (LBHG) in Rendsburg. General Manager Jens Wrede is himself fascinated by the activies of this one-man Unimog operation: “The island is so small that the vehicle only covers about 8,000 kilometres a year, which causes no problems at all – but just look at the number of operating hours that Ernst Jensen clocks up! Doesn’t he ever stop working?” A typical scene in the island of Föhr: Frisian-style houses with thatched roofs More than 30,000 visitors lined the streets of Gaggenau to celebrate “50 years of the Mercedes-Benz Unimog”. One of the absolute highlights was a cavalcade of no fewer than 530 historic Unimogs – the biggest get-together the world has ever seen. True love can withstand a patch or two of rust, and these oldtimers were given a rapturous reception as their owners drove them proudly through the streets. Among the speakers at the ceremony in Gaggenau’s Jahn Hall on Saturday June 9, 2001 were Dr. Klaus Maier (top left), Director of DaimlerChrysler AG’s Mercedes-Benz commercial vehicle division, and Hans-Jürgen Wischhof (top right), vice-president, Unimog Division. Musical interludes were contributed by the Big Band of the Gaggenau School of Music Spectators of all ages were equally impressed as this Unimog U 1450 negotiated the watersplash at the Ötigheim gravel pit Also demonstrated at the gravel pit in Ötigheim: the performance of the latest Unimog U 300, U 400 and U 500 with many interesting implement combinations 8 UNIMOG JOURNAL True love survives the years Many speeches were made during this commemorative event, and many people toured the factory on its ‘open day’; some visitors even chose to arrive by Unimog and take part in the big cavalcade. What did they all have in common: a love affair with the Mercedes-Benz Unimog that was clearly immune to the passing of time. They turned up from all over Europe, from the USA, Mexico and Brazil. On this weekend in June, the town on the Murg river in Southern Baden was entirely given over to celebrating “50 years of the MercedesBenz Unimog”. The hero of the day was described most appositely by Dr. Klaus Hermann, Director of the German Agricultural Museum at the University of Hohenheim: “It has helped so many people and made itself so useful. Yet it has never hogged the limelight, and has earned our respect without drawing undue attention to itself.” Dr. Klaus Maier, Director of the Mercedes-Benz Truck Division to which the Unimog Division belongs, and Hans-Jürgen Wischhof, the vice-president of the Unimog Division, both emphasised the extent to which the company’s workforce had contributed to the Unimog’s success, and confirmed that from its new production site in Wörth, in Germany’s Palatinate region, it would continue to play a important part in the modular vehicle programme offered for sale by DaimlerChrysler AG. Unimog jubilee After the historic Unimogs from every model era had lined up in rows in front of the factory gates in Gaggenau, the first vehicles set off toward the town centre at the head of the cavalcade The kids had their own programme with vehicles large and small, ranging from Unimog pedal cars calling for strong calf muscles (top picture) to an inspiring ride on the Mercedes-Benz fire engine built in Gaggenau many years ago A tour of the factory enabled visitors to see every detail of Unimog production and the work processes involved “Theme Park of the Future” is the motto adopted by the Gaggenau plant for its future role as a competence centre for manualshift gearboxes and automatic transmissions within the DaimlerChrysler PowerSystems division The cavalcade through the Gaggenau town centre is seen here (upper picture) crossing Town Hall Square in front of admiring crowds. Vehicles with a wide range of bodies and equipment took part This U 401 from the Berlin Municipal Cleaning Department was one of the most admired exhibits, and was also one of the 50 most attractive and interesting ones chosen by a jury for the parade on the Sunday morning A glimpse of the Unimog’s future and the Unimog production transfer project: HansJürgen Wischhof (2nd from right) and Jürgen Mohilo (left), the plant’s Personnel Manager on the Wörth plant information stand UNIMOG JOURNAL 9 Customers in the front row This series of events terminated in the town of Nagold (Black Forest), where the largest number of visitors was recorded (above) Heavy rain failed to spoil the demonstration of no fewer than 24 purpose-designed attachments and superstructures at Gut Marienburg near Hildesheim (left) The success of the regional tour organised in May last year has now been repeated by a series of Unimog “Mowing and Cleaning” performance events held all over Germany The regional character of theHamburg se events, to Bremen Wittstock which guests Hannover Berlin Münster from local Hildesheim Dortmund Magdeburg authorities’ pubKassel Cottbus Köln Queis Lohfelden lic works departLeipzig Dresden Koblenz Frankfurt ments and comSaarbrücken panies performBayreuth ing similar tasks Nürnberg Stuttgart were invited, Nagold München made it possible to limit the list of guests to between 100 and 200 and therefore make the events much more interesting and informative, with a ‘front-row seat’, so to speak, for those interested in these “Unimog plus implement” configurations. There was also ample time for individual customer support work after the demonstrations. Nine events were held to convince this expert public of the advantages of the Unimog U 300 - U 500 as efficient mowing and cleaning implement carriers. Rostock Pinneberg 10 UNIMOG JOURNAL Altogether, eleven new-generation Unimogs were used to demonstrate an impressively wide-ranging selection of attachments from Unimog-System-Partners Bucher-Schörling, Dücker, Faun, Leistikow, Mulag-Schmidt Vertriebs GmbH and Schmidt Winterdienst und Kommunaltechnik. Among their innovative machinery was for instance a swap-body road sweeper that can be used on either the left or the right of the carrier vehicle. There was also a three-unit mower that ensures optimum vehicle utilisation in two-person operation cutting costs by as much as 25 percent. Visitors were evidently impressed by this big range of ‘Unimog plus implement options. One of the guests at the ‘performance event’ held at Gut Marienburg near Hildesheim was Jörg Seeger from Kreiensen in the south of Lower Saxony, who supplies agricultural and forestry services. His opinion: “The implement shown to us here on the new Unimogs has genuine advantages for the kind of work we do. I think it’s a very good idea to hold these highly practical demonstrations. This was a very informative event, and convinced me that the U 400 is just the right machine for the jobs I have to tackle.” Another visitor, Detlef Mester from Uslar , also in Lower Saxony, supplies his services to local authorities and has been operating an U 1200 for some time. He was also full of praise: “A very successful event. It’s very unusual to be able to study the implement variety in action with the Unimog. The drivers did a great job as well – you can see how well they handled the vehicles and the implements. These events are also useful for another reason: the visitors have a chance to ‘talk shop’ among themselves. An intensive exchange of information is very important for those of us who operate this kind of machinery.” Such words of praise from satisfied visitors to our ‘performance events’ are most welcome confirmation that we’re on the right track. Nor must we forget to express our particular thanks to the entire Unimog team that prepared this series of events: everything went off so smoothly despite the autumn weather that was very often far from friendly. Sales organisation A special feature of the “Unifant 60” road sweeper attachment from Bucher-Schörling is that it can operate on either the left or right of the vehicle, with two suction ducts and disc-type brushes When the Dücker UM 23 front-mounted mulcher is in use, the vehicle’s own snowplough load equalising system helps the attachment to follow the ground surface contour more effectively Unimog U 300 with Dücker front-end sweeper, spray beam and scraper to remove heavy dirt deposits from the road. The attachment is joystick-controlled from the driver’s area The Schmidt front-end sweeper performs equally impressively in winter or summer The Faun AK 451 suction sweeper, mounted here on a Unimog U 400, results in a compact, manoeuvrable unit that performs extremely well, thanks to hydrostatic drive and VarioPilot changeover steering A new product for the Unimog: the Hauer FL 300 front-end shovel loader. It is particularly useful when bulk material has to be handled The Dücker rear-end sweeper, as its name implies, is mounted in an unusual position at the rear of the vehicle, and swung out to the side before operation. When the vehicle is being driven from place to place, the brush unit is neatly tucked away under the rear of the body, but the trailer tow hitch is not obstructed and can still be used The Mulag Trio triple-unit mower consists of a verge mower combined with a slope mower on a separate front boom. The third unit is the MHU 800 slope mower, which is mounted on the Unimog’s load platform. The booms have an outreach of 7.2 m at the front and 8.7 m at the rear; the total working width is 3.4 m UNIMOG JOURNAL 11 This Leistikow ABG 501 all-purpose attachment can be used for all high-pressure cleaning tasks The Mulag weed clearer has the performance and intensive clearing capability that modern road maintenance services need Experts from regional local authurity departments were impressed by the thorough cleaning results achieved by the Mulag weed clearer Timber up to 25 centimetres in diameter can be handled without difficulty by the Dücker HF 960 wood-chipper (above). The chipped material is in strong demand as fuel from a self-sustaining source; it is ejected directly by a blower into a Jotha container The performance potential of Leistikow’s high-pressure cleaning equipment, with a variety of spray lances, hydraulically actuated spray beams and hose reels, makes it ideal for such varied tasks as cleaning drain shafts, vehicles or building frontages 12 UNIMOG JOURNAL Everything is possible: on the latest Unimog models, servicing and repair work can be performed even with attachments in position Experts and practical people aren’t easily impressed, but this time they were: the sweeper was taken off and another attachment installed in no time at all The “Jubilee Outfit” The transport company Alfred Schuon from Haiterbach in Germany’s Black Forest region has been on the move for the DC plant in Gaggenau for the past ten years. This family firm shares its 50th anniversary year with the Unimog itself, and recently purchased a Unimog U 500 with a high-capacity six-wheeler low-level trailer – a ‘jubilee outfit’ with a load capacity of up to 22 tonnes. Every working day in Gaggenau and Rastatt sees trailers full of parts about to be transferred between the transmission production plants. More specifically, trailers at one plant are unloaded at precisely the same time as the loading is taking place ‘down the road’. The driver of the hauling vehicle simply attaches the trailer and sets off to the destination plant. The load consists of transmission components for cars and trucks, packed in the usual open-sided or sheet-metal boxes. It is ten years since the Schuon transport company took on this important logistical task, for which several hauling vehicles are needed. The U 500 now added to the fleet, however, quite clearly outperforms anything that went before. Willi Schuon, who runs this family firm’s vehicle fleet, comments: “With the new Unimog and the special custom-built trailers, the whole operation takes place very smoothly. The Unimog’s advantages are its sheer manoeuvrability and the variety of tasks it can perform.” Driver Bernd Müller, who has performed these journeys since the whole logistic operation was first initiated, agrees: “It’s even better than the previous Unimogs! The U 500 is great to drive, pulls very strongly and has an ideal cab, including air conditioning.” A familiar sight at the Gaggenau plant: the Unimog U 500 run by the Schuon transport company (top left) Container handling (top right) Willi Schuon (bottom right) and driver Bernd Müller have performed internal transport tasks with the Unimog for 10 years now Willi Schuon: “We expect the U 500 to handle more work and be even cheaper to maintain.” These are clearly important considerations when assessing the performance of his fleet, which comprises more than three hundred trucks, including over two hundred Actros models. To remain competitive, the cost picture has to be right! Advertisement HIGH AND LOW PRESSURE TECHNOLOGY FOR THE NEW UNIMOG U 300 / U 400 / U 500 MODEL SERIES Our range of products for the Unimog: ✻ Universal high pressure cleaning equipment for front and rear installation ✻ High-pressure surface cleaning equipment, also combined with front-end sweepers ✻ High-pressure drain cleaning equipment for mounting on the platform subframe ✻ Suction and rinsing containers with a total capacity of up to 7,000 litres ✻ Municipal sludge suction vehicles with a total capacity of up to 8,000 litres ✻ Water containers of up to 7,000 l ✻ Special superstructures upon request (e.g. low pressure equipment, watering arms, hot water devices) Joachim Leistikow GmbH Altkönigstraße 2 D-61138 Niederdorfelden Tel. (0) 6101 / 5364-0 Fax. (0) 6101 / 33461 Internet: http://www.leistikow-gmbh.de E-Mail: [email protected] During the first journey across North and Central America in 1996-1998 there were encounters with dwellers in a Red Indian reservation and unforgettable glimpses of dramatic scenery, for instance the romantic Paria Canyon in the USA Where are they now? At the moment travel journalists Sonja Nertinger and Klaus Schier are on board a freighter, bound for the Argentinian capital of Buenos Aires. Or have they already started their next adventure tour, which is to take them all the way from Tierra del Fuego to the ice-bound Alaskan coast? With them is a loyal friend – the Unimog U 1300 L. When even the tyres melt ... t’s not an easy decision to abandon one’s professional career and a secure existence and set off for far climes as a globetrotter, adventurer and freelance travel reporter. Sonja Nertinger and Klaus Schier from Merching in Germany’s State of Bavaria did just that in 1994. Their first implement carrier, with which they covered 125,000 kilometres, was a Unimog U 416. This was followed by a Unimog U 1300 L of 1990 vintage, formerly operated by the German Army, and equipped for fording rivers with a maximum depth of 1.20 metres. Sonja Nertinger and Klaus Schier drew up plans for a caravan body to be mounted on the Unimog, constructed in Spain, after which they carried out the ‘interior outfitting’ themselves. Electricity comes from solar cells on the roof, the capacity of the fuel tank is sufficient for 2,400 kilometres and the vehicle carries enough water to last them for 14 days. After the conversion work was finished, the two intrepid adventurers took their converted Unimog I 14 UNIMOG JOURNAL Sales organisation The Unimog blends well into the most exotic street scenes: Klaus Schier’s photos were taken in Morocco (right) and Pakistan (below) out for its initial trials in the sand dunes of the Erg Chebbi in Morocco. Last September they set off on a roundthe-world trip, with the first leg taking them to India via Greece, Turkey and Iran. After this they headed for Nepal, into the heights of the Annapurna range of the Himalayas and thence to Pakistan. The “Friendship Road” linking Pakistan with China crosof ... s k c tra In the ses the Kunjerab Pass at a height of 4,700 metres and is one of the highest mountain passes in the world. The Unimog coped with this task without difficulty, whereas for its two occupants from central Europe the air proved to be rather thin at this altitude. In the desert of Baluchistan, however, an unexpected problem befell their gallant vehicle: at more than 53 degrees Centigrade, the hot asphalt started to melt the tyres and wear away their tread blocks! Faced with such extreme conditions, the two travellers were glad that they had insisted on efficient isolation for the container that acted as their living quarters. Thirty thousand kilometres through Asia and south eastern Europe were a tough test for the remainder of the journey, which will take them next to North and South America, in fact to the remaining three continents of the world. The Service-Team from Unimog general agent Wilhelm Mayer, photographed with Sonja Nertinger (3rd from left) and Klaus Schier (centre). Foreman Ludwig Stumbaum (3rd from right) devotes all his efforts to ensuring that the expedition’s Unimog is in good shape. UNIMOG JOURNAL 15 A Unimog and a Mercedes-Benz off-road vehicle supply the logistics for the latest early-evening TV series from Germany’s ARD . In the s of .. track New routes to adventure “How much more will it stand up to?” TV star Rolf Becker’s question wasn’t in the script, but it shows the respect he had developed for the Unimog after taking the wheel in what were often extremely critical situations – an unusual opportunity to sample just what this all-purpose vehicle from Mercedes-Benz can do. Viewers may well be asking a similar question since October 22, 2001, when the German ARD channel began to screen this series. They will find themselves making a virtual journey to adventure with a reporter team from OFFROAD.TV, and joining it in the search for hidden treasure, exotic land- Members of the OFFROAD.TV team: actors Rolf Becker (right), Daniela Preuss (left) and Loretta Stern (standing at front); in the cab is Markus Viebahn, who is responsible for logistics scapes and unusual people. These exciting adventures take place in Turkey, Tunisia, Georgia, Sri Lanka and Senegal. The actors representing the film crew, with all their cameras and other equipment, are conveyed loyally to these out-of-the-ordinary locations by two stars that get a different kind of billing in the credits: an Unimog U 2450 L 6x6 and a Mercedes-Benz G 300. The Unimog has a special body that acts as a mobile cutting room and mobile-broadcast studio for round-the-world data transmission. OFFROAD.TV is an innovative multimedia concept that is being presented as a TV adventure series by the Berengar Pfahl Media GmbH production company and as an information and adventure portal on the Internet (www.offroad.tv). Inside the Unimog the cutting and mixing studio was linked to the global communication network In Senegal, problems arose: after fording the river successfully the bank proved to be so soft that even the Unimog had to struggle 16 UNIMOG JOURNAL OFFROAD.TV combines the resources of Internet and TV with the aim of creating a new quality in entertainment. It reflects the feeling for life possessed by a new generation of people who have access to the Internet and global communication and are therefore conscious of no boundaries between ‘high-tech’ civilization and the ‘adventure of life’. OFFROAD.TV’s producer Berengar Pfahl – it was he who purchased the Unimog and the G model for the shooting work – has already supplied more than 150 productions to Germany’s public television as either author or producer, including work for the highly successful children’s series “The Programme with the Mouse”. At the International Radio and TV Exhibition (the ‘IFA’) held in Berlin from August 25 to September 2, the Unimog was the star attraction and publicity element for the new TV series, which has an earlyevening programme slot. In conversation with the many visitors to the stand and journalists, the TV crew confirmed repeatedly that the Unimog made an invaluable contribution to the successful shooting of these films. Markus Viebahn from Cologne was responsible for transport and logistics, and knows the U 2450 L inside and out. He comments: “It’s a reminder of what the basic driving experience ought to be. It confronts you with everything we’re likely to encounter on these journeys: dust, heat and every possible kind of road surface. Although I’ve covered 15,000 kilometres in this vehicle already on the way to our chosen shooting locations, I’m constantly Sales organisation amazed at what the Unimog is prepared to tackle: steep, loose-surfaced downhill gradients, equally steep climbs over rock and pebbles, fording rivers, desert tracks and sand dunes. The “tirecontrol” tyre pressure monitoring system proved to be most effective. As you can imagine, we depended utterly on the Unimog and tried to avoid getting into trouble with it. We needed it frequently to keep the other vehicles in our convoy moving!” Actor Rolf Becker, who in the series plays Paul Ludwig, the Unimog’s driver, Logistic elements that could mean safety and survival for the crew, and film stars into the bargain: the Mercedes-Benz off-road vehicle and the Unimog Ready for the voyage. Carefully packed, the Unimog sets forth in March 2001 from Senegal to Sri Lanka, where the next adventure and shooting session await its film crew the all-round mechanic and the reporting team’s cook, was also full of praise for ‘his’ Unimog. “At the start I was a bit apprehensive about driving such a trucklike vehicle, but before long it began to inspire me with the necessary confidence. In private life I’ve been an enthusiastic off-road driver for some years, but I can assure you that the Unimog easily outperforms any vehicle I’ve ever experienced or had a chance to drive!” Advertisement UNIMOG JOURNAL 17 In the tracks of the legendary caravans For more than ten years, the Austrian couple Monika and Engelbert Kohl has been running an expedition travel agency. Its journeys follow the legendary caravan routes in Asia and Africa. They need reliable transport for their exploratory journeys and have therefore chosen an Unimog U 1550 L/37. In their anthropological studies the Austrians often retrace the steps of leading German explorers of the past. . In the s of .. track Dramatic scenery, deserts and bizarre rock formations are encounted on these ultimate adventure tours. But romantic evenings around the camp fire would be unlikely without the Unimog as a guarantee of technical reliability and successful transport 18 UNIMOG JOURNAL As well as undertaking their own anthropological studies, the Kohls take guests on their expeditions. From time to time they are accompanied by their daughter Ines, who is an ethnologist and an expert in early oriental archaeology and can therefore supply participants with a great deal of specialist information. Engelbert und Monika Kohl can now look back on the experience gained on more than a hundred Sahara crossings and a large number of expeditions to Asia as well. The guests they welcome most readily are those who enjoy photography, who are inspired by the glorious natural surroundings and who are interested in learning more about cultures that are largely unknown to us. Two all-terrain vehicles from within the DaimlerChrysler Group, equipped to a high technical standard, are used, an Unimog U 1550 L/37 and a Steyr-DaimlerPuch 300 GD off-road model. The Unimog and its technical features in particular have proved invaluable time and time again. Winter temperatures as low as minus 35 degrees Centigrade in the mountain regions of Asia are just as much a challenge as the searing heat in the Sahara, often well over 50°C in the shade. The Unimog’s cooling and heating system, however, copes easily with even such extreme temperatures. The well-appointed seven-seater double cab contains many special items of equipment that are essential for such adventure trips, for instance a satellite navigation system and a short-wave radio. In addition the U 1550 has an extra-large 640-litre fuel tank that increases its action radius to 3,000 kilometres. The caravan body, made by Reith in Austria, acts as a safe, comfortable mobile home during exhibitions that frequently last many weeks. Together with the wellproven, reliable chassis and the rugged, powerful engine and driveline, it makes life ‘away from civilisation’ possible. In five years, this Unimog has clocked up 5,000 hours of operation and covered 300,000 kilometres in these wild, often uncharted surroundings. Shingle and sandbanks no obstacle A Mercedes-Benz Unimog U 1650 towing a special trailer is the ideal supply vehicle for a difficult-toaccess site run by the National Trust in England – the 16-kilometre long “shingle island” near Orford Ness, off the coast of Suffolk. Why is there no practical substitute for the Unimog on this job? The answer is to be sought in the problems caused by the coarse seashore shingle encountered here, one of the most difficult surfaces imaginable when it comes to obtaining traction and tyre grip. When exposed to direct downward pressure, this material begins to flow, so that any vehicle with regular tyres and a conventional driveline has no real chance of making safe forward progress, and steering is extremely difficult even at low speeds. The ideal solution was found in the form of a Unimog U 1650 with all-wheel drive and low-pressure tyres, together with a trailer supplied by the Richard Western Trailers company. This has one of its axles driven by a hydraulic motor that obtains its power from the Unimog’s engine. The resulting outfit can cross these vast areas of shingle without causing any damage. The Unimog, which has a 163horsepower Mercedes-Benz diesel engine, is equipped with power take-offs at the front and rear, one of which is used for the trailer drive motor. It is also fitted with a three-way tipping body, a 7 mt crane, a hydraulic winch and a three-point linkage for a mowing attachment. The trailer drive was developed jointly by the National Trust, the Huntingdon-based MercedesUnimog dealer Arthur Ibbetts, the Richard Western Trailers company and Poclain Hydraulics. The Mercedes-Benz Unimog U 1650 with special trailer operated by the National Trust National-Trust Property Manager Grant Lohoar, who looks after Orford Ness and nearby Dunwich Heath, cannot envisage any alternative to the Unimog: “The shingle layer is so fluid that it’s like driving on ball bearings!” But the Unimog with trailer can even be used to carry parties of visitors, for instance local schoolchildren whose visits to this unusual National Trust site help to give them a new and realistic awareness of nature. Advertisement Always at maximum It’s so easy with the CLUTCHMATE Less strain on the driver, less wear on the machine TÜV approved CLUTCHMATE protects man and machine Have you ever thought about how much strain is put on a Unimog driver’s left knee, and how often it happens? Depending on the type of work he might have to press the clutch up to three thousand times a day. And because human knees vary in strength and load capacity, serious injuries are always occurring. Sometimes it means that a driver is off work for a while, but it could even lead to permanent incapacity. Why choose CLUTCHMATE? • Because it reduces physical strain and protects knees and backs • It is quick and easy to fit • It requires no modifications to existing mechanisms • It is ideal when stuck in traffic jams and city traffic • It does not affect the licensing of the vehicle in any way • It works like a “semi-automatic” transmission • It has no effect on any mechanical auxiliaries or hydraulics • It allows drivers to concentrate more on the traffic • It is ideal for use with implements and attachments and the job in hand Supply and installation by Unimog distributors only: T.C. Systems bv, Schelmseweg 1, 6816 PA Arnhem NL Tel: +31/2 64 42 23 43 Fax: +31/2 64 45 81 36 • It might even allow a disabled person to be employed Automatic coupling UNIMOG JOURNAL 19 Unimog International Hans-Jürgen Wischhof, Unimog Division, vice-president, congratulates Maximilian Prince von Croy on the new premises ... ...in Rakovník, not far from Prague. The Unimog general agent for the Czech Republic has created a facility that is not only exemplary within the entire Unimog organisation but is also sure to make a highly positive impression on customers A Bohemian jewel How did this splendid new Unimog sales and service centre in Rakovník, in the Bohemian region of the Czech Republic come about? The answer is clear: thanks to the vision of two people, Maxilmilian Prince von Croy and his partner, the Czech engineer Ladislav Vybíral, who can both look back on the long professional experience with the Unimog and its implements. The official opening ceremony was held at the end of May 2001. The many guests from Germany and the Czech Republic included a delegation from Gaggenau led by Hans-Jürgen Wischhof, the Unimog Division, vice-president and representatives from the Unimog-System-Partners, all of whom were delighted by what they saw. One of the congratulatory speakers hit the nail on the head: “With their new building, Prince von Croy and Ladislav Vybíral have forged a landmark in concrete and stone for a successful future.” The Croy 20 UNIMOG JOURNAL company’s new headquarters are notable for their classically simple architecture and functional, never pompous style – a triumph of sound, rational design and well-planned working conditions. The new premises can hardly fail to inspire customer confidence. In his words of welcome, Prince von Croy emphasized: “We see this investment as a major step in our plans to access the entire country, including setting up a service workshop Right: a successful duo – Ladislav Vybíral (left) and Maximilian Prince von Croy A traditional Bohemian welcome for guests (lower right) The new premises include efficient workshops in the Moravian region.” Hans-Jürgen Wischhof praised von Croy’s and Vybíral’s entrepreneurial spirit, describing them as a successful duo and quoting the figures that bear this out: more than 400 Unimogs already sold in the Czech Republic – a remarkable achievement in view of the country’s general economic situation and strong competition from domestic manufacturers. U·N·I·S·C·O·P European Truck Trial championship: three MercedesBenz Unimog winners There are special stages that find the entrants in deep water in every sense of the term, call for mountain-climbing skills on loose scree with gradients of up to 80 percent or plunge dizzily over precipitous rock ledges: whatever turns up, the Truck Trial drivers tackle it with equal determination, according to the principle ‘no going is too tough’. They are not Formula One drivers, whose victories may be decided by the thickness of the car’s floor pan or the angle of its spoiler. In Truck Trials, horsepower and speed are very much less important: it’s the driver’s skill that matters most. In the 2001 season there were seven heats counting toward the European championship, held in Spain, Austria, Hungary, Germany, the Czech Republic and (on two occasions) in France. For anyone unfamiliar with these vehicles and their drivers in action, the aim is to complete a cordoned-off and highly tricky course full of the most sadistically placed natural obstacles; there are classes for allwheel-drive trucks, oldtimers, tractor vehicles and even self-propelled equipment carriers. Up to 30 special stages have to be tackled in each championship heat. Most drivers would break out into a cold sweat on seeing where the vehicles have to go, and to make things even more difficult the organisers insert poles to form gates which the entrants must negotiate without touching them, or else they incur penalty points. There are five production and near-series vehicle categories, determined according to track and wheelbase rather than horsepower, as well as two classes for prototypes and mobile equipment carriers. European champion: “The Unimog is a true go-anywhere vehicle!” This year’s events in classes S 1 to S 5 were dominated by Unimog drivers. Three of the teams entering these agile climbers from Gaggenau gained a 2001 European championship title: in class S 1, Helmut Rauber from Grebenhain (Lower Saxony) with co-driver Karl Heinz Regenbrecht in an 84-hp Unimog U 406; in class S 2 Jürgen Kottkamp from Hasbergen near Osnabrück with co-drivers Elke Kottkamp and Jörg Grafe in a 110-hp Unimog U 416, and last but not least Udo Heidenreich from Coburg with his sister Beate in class S 3, in a Unimog U 2450 L. Wichmann GmbH of Osnabrück has sponsored truck trials for some years. The company supplies propeller shafts for commercial vehicles Truck trials: a sport that’s tough on both the vehicle and the driver, and calls for skill and precision. On the right, the Unimog driven by Jürgen Kottkamp, on the left Udo Heidenreich’s U 2450 L Far left: the winning Unimog teams in the European championship. Back row, from left: Beate and Udo Heidenreich, Jürgen and Elke Kottkamp and Jörg Grafe. In front: Helmut Rauber (left) and Karl Heinz Regenbrecht Following the last of the championship heats in Mohelnice (eastern Czech Republic), the three Unimog teams were right at the top of the prizewinners’ ladder. Jürgen Kottkamp carried off his title by a big margin, outdistancing his rivals after only five heats had been run. Kottkamp has participated in trials of truck driving skill for more than 20 years, mainly those held on firm asphalt surfaces. He was German champion several times and, as a member of the national team in 1998, took the world title in the solo class. He began to enter the more recent type of truck trial event three years ago. His Unimog U 416 was bought from the local authority in Much (Rhineland) when it was already twenty years old. “I value the Unimog’s capabilities so highly because there seem to be no limits to its exceptional all-terrain performance.” Before entering the U 416 for Truck Trials, all Kottkamp had to do was to add certain items of safety equipment and have the vehicle approved by the technical officers of the OVS motor sport association in Cloppenburg (Lower Saxony), the organisers of the Truck Trial championship. UNIMOG JOURNAL 21 U·N·I·S Farewell to a good friend On July 26, 2001 the death was announced in Athens of Ioannis Lainopoulos, the Unimog general agent in Greece for many years. He was 74, a businessman with a charismatic personality, a strong sense of social responsibility and a creative spirit. Those who met him experienced a feeling of empathy that encouraged acceptance of his ideas and initiatives. His business associates at home and abroad, his employees and friends all over the world valued his objective assessments, his love of the truth and the warmth and humanity that were manifest in every personal contact. For the Unimog Division the death of Ioannis Lainopoulos represents the grievous loss of a good friend and a trustworthy partner on the Greek business scene. Our success in South Eastern Europe was closely linked with the name of Promot Lainopoulos. Thanks to his business abilities it has been possible to supply more than 1,500 Unimogs to Greece since 1991. Above and beyond this, he was one of the pillars of Unimog business in Europe in recent years. Management of the Lainopoulos group of companies is now in the hands of his children. The Unimog’s success story shaped the fortunes of Schmalz + Sohn In March this year one of the oldest Unimog sales partners, Schmalz + Sohn of Oberndorf on the River Neckar in South Germany, celebrated half a century as a Unimog general agent. Like many such companies in this business area, it grew out of a wagon-building workshop established in 1868. Schmalz + Sohn began to sell the Unimog in 1949 when it was still being made by the Gebr. Boehringer Maschinenfabrik in Göppingen. Since then the family-owned company has developed in an exemplary manner that is closely linked with the Unimog’s own success story. Schmalz + Sohn has now undertaken a major investment that will set the signals for the future. Last March, in the presence of guests from politics and commerce, an impressive new showroom and customer centre were officially opened. Unimog sales manager Winfried Blum praised Autohaus Schmalz as a loyal partner since the earliest days and expressed his particular pleasure that the next generation of the family was now entering the business, as a means of ensuring that Autohaus Schmalz would continue to be one of the pillars of Unimog sales in Germany. Blum also praised the investment in the new premises as a sign of trust in the manufacturer with the three-pointed star as its emblem. One of the attractions at the jubilee celebrations of Unimog general agent Schmalz + Sohn in Oberndorf am Neckar was the Caverhill Guardians bagpipe group. The public evidently welcomed the invitation to view the new buildings and the MercedesBenz products on display 22 UNIMOG JOURNAL S·C·O·P Confidence is growing in Hungary The Unimog is gaining more and more friends and the respect of experts in Hungary. In June a U 300 with boom-type mower (outreach 7 metres) and a 1.3 m wide verge mower were introduced to the market. A U 400 with changeover steering was demonstrated with a Hungarian-built Schmidt front-end road sweeper (see picture) and a suction sweeper. Despite the rainy weather, the event clearly made a strongly positive impression on the ex- Austria: a device for inserting snow poles A new Unimog implement has been announced in Austria by the Hasenöhrl company. It is used to position and insert road marker poles before the main snowfall season of the year. The Unimog’s twin-circuit power hydraulics or the front power take-off are used to position the drill bit and force it into the road surface. The bit is conical in shape so that it compresses the soil at the sides and prevents it from falling back into the hole when the bit is removed. The implement can operate at either the left or right side of the vehicle. Advertisement perts who were invited to attend. The Hungarian market is still largely uncharted territory for the Unimog, but sales have none the less risen again in 2001. Czech Republic buys 39 Unimogs Early in September the Czech Ministry of Transport placed an order for 39 Unimogs with the general agent Croy Spol. s.r.o. in Rakovník (see also page 20). 13 of these are U 300s, the remainder U 400s. They will be used for maintenance work on European highways within the Czech Republic. Altogether, the Transport Ministry operates 37 road construction departments throughout the country, and these will receive the new Unimogs. The high reputation which these vehicles enjoy in the Czech Republic is due in no small measure to the efforts of the Croy company. UNIMOG JOURNAL 23