In the bustling world of winter equipment and truck accessories, Marciano Truck Equipment emerges as a beacon of quality and commitment. Nestled in Port Chester, this family-owned business has been a trusted name since its inception in 1979. Partnering with Meyer, a pioneer in snow plow innovation since 1926, Marciano Truck Equipment has carved a niche for itself with its unwavering dedication to excellence.

Schmidt is celebrating its 100-year anniversary. How did the car repair workshop from the Black Forest in Southern Germany develop into a global player in mechanical engineering for mission-critical infrastructure? And what comes next? Throughout the year, we will be presenting you with a few gems from our archives, as well as looking ahead to the next 100 years. We will start by travelling back in motion picture to 1963 and 2,469 metres above sea level on the Great St. Bernhard Pass.

The fleet run by the Kriens public works office includes three generations of transporters from the Aebi VT 450 series. Most recently, it added a new Aebi VT 450 Vario Euro 6C to its fleet in 2018. The trio of transporters is put to use year-round – in applications involving everything from winter maintenance to green space maintenance.

The Aebi VT 450 is the latest addition to the N.U.P Umweltpflegetechnik fleet – just in time for summer! Over the last 20 years, the company has built a name for itself as a specialist in nature and environmental care technology. An Aebi VT 450 Vario with an Aebi LD 42 loader and an additional three-way tipper is the latest addition to the fleet.

The Lower Austrian state government has been using reliable Schmidt winter maintenance equipment for decades. The oldest product still in use is a 1958 lifting and pressing device for snow ploughs. They also use numerous ploughs, snow cutter blowers and salt spreaders for winter maintenance. Recently, three new Stratos 50 Combi Flex spreaders were added to the fleet to help Andreas Böhmer, Deputy Head of Machines and Vehicles, and his team to combat the icy winter roads.

Jatka lukemista

When you have all the highways and byways of seven major towns to sweep clean on a daily basis, the answer is patently obvious - a fleet of seven Swingo 200+ compact sweepers, one for each town!

Jatka lukemista

Jatka lukemista

Jatka lukemista

Jatka lukemista

A new era of winter maintenance is beginning for the French Air Force. At French military airports, it was common practice for a long time for the superseded engines from the old Mirage to be used for snow-clearance purposes. These engines from the fighter aircraft were fitted onto a special truck and this was the method used to blow the snow off the runways with a huge blast of hot air. Following an in-depth review of the old fleet, the representatives from the French Air Force decided that the winter maintenance equipment urgently needed to be upgraded to the latest technology.

Jatka lukemista

Jatka lukemista

Jatka lukemista

70 YEARS OF UNIMOG AND STILL GOING STRONG

Boasting a total weight of about 26 tonnes and a length of 16 metres, the TJS-C 630 jet sweeper is not only one of the longest but also one of the heaviest machines by Schmidt. Sending such a vehicle on a journey involves not only organising the transport from A to B, but also observing customs regulations, filing applications with authorities and meeting tight schedules. No transport is like the other, in particular when it comes to overseas transport – as was the case recently in April on the occasion of the “International Aviation Snow Symposium” in Buffalo in the State of New York.

It is 100 years since Alfred Schmidt Senior opened a bicycle shop in the German town of St Blasien back in 1920. This little workshop was the birthplace of a global company: shaped by the ingenuity of Alfred Schmidt Junior, the business has not only remained a pioneer in the fields of snow clearing and de-icing, it has grown into a global leader of smart product systems and services for the treatment of mission-critical infrastructural and agricultural areas. Alfred Schmidt Junior sadly left us in April of this year, not long after his 97th birthday. Shortly before that, Thomas Berger, Managing Director of Aebi Schmidt Deutschland GmbH, and Thomas Schiess, Group Marketing Director, were able to sit down for an in-depth chat with Alfred Schmidt, accompanied by his children Uschi and Wolfgang Schmidt.

We have already reported that Heidelberg was the first German city to order an eSwingo 200+. The city hosted the International Conference for Climate Action in May this year and is pursuing a significant number of initiatives in the field of environment and sustainability. For example, the city administration intends to gradually convert its vehicle fleet to zero-emission vehicles. Since mid-September, an eSwingo 200+ has also been contributing to this goal.

Terratrac in action at Lenzerheide Golf Club (CH) Maintenance of the grass on a golf course is (almost) a science in its own right. No wonder then that Simon (‘Simi’) Stalder, Head Greenkeeper at Lenzerheide Golf Club in Switzerland, employs a team of 5½ people. From March until well into the autumn, everything revolves around creating the perfect green. From 2020, this will be done with the added support of an Aebi TT 211.

Jatka lukemista

Jatka lukemista

Jatka lukemista

Jatka lukemista

Jatka lukemista

TWO CLEANGO 500 SWEEPERS KEEP LUCERNE’S ROADS CLEAN Carnival in Lucerne is a one-of-a-kind spectacle. The historical town on the banks of Lake Lucerne transforms into a bubbling cauldron of jesters and clowns. As one of the largest Carnival events in Switzerland, the annual festival welcomes up to 40,000 visitors to the narrow alleys of the old town. It’s the time to shine for the ‘Putzüüfeli’ (‘little cleaning beasts’), as the sweepers here are affectionately called. Together with four other sweepers from the Swingo series, these two monsters in the 4 m³ class from Aebi Schmidt took the rear of the parades on Fat Thursday and Carnival Monday. Up to 110 tonnes of refuse and confetti were sucked up by the machines over the five days of Carnival.

Jatka lukemista

The airport clock is showing 7.00am. It is Sunday morning, hot and sunny. Markus Böhler is standing with his baggage in the Air Canada check-in queue. There are 2.5 hours to go before his flight to the Western hemisphere departs. His destination is Québec in Canada. A Schmidt TJS-C along with drivers and service engineers at the airport are already waiting for him. A week of intensive training lies ahead of them.

Jatka lukemista

It has one of the most extensive work areas – at least as this concerned the height difference. The new Aebi VT450 Vario for the Commune de Corbeyrier in Switzerland will ensure snowy and ice-free roads. The streets of the municipality extends from 500 up to 2205 meters above sea level. The entrance roads to and from Corbeyrier, which is located on 1000 meters of altitude, are correspondingly challenging and steep. So the municipality was looking for a powerful and reliable partner, which can also be used beyond the winter service. So the decision was taken: an Aebi VT450 Vario should become a new “team member” in Corbeyrier. Mid of July, the transporter was handed over to the community together with Aebi dealer Jean-Marc Ries from Garage Ries Sàrl.

Representatives of French municipalities on discovery tour in the Black Forest

Jatka lukemista

Second compact sweeper from ASH Group now ensures clean streets

COMPACT DESIGN COMBINED WITH MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE When the fire service is called, every second counts. However, large emergency vehicles often reach their limits particularly in tight little alleyways in old towns or on rough terrain in mountainous regions. These limits can sometimes be life-threatening if emergency workers and equipment cannot get to the scene of an incident quickly enough. By contrast, the 1.70-metre-wide narrow-track transporters Aebi MT750/MT740 (1.60 metre on the Aebi MT720) can maneuver with ease even in narrow little alleys and, with a fire-fighting attachment, it offers the full range of functions of larger emergency vehicles. With 115 kW (156 hp) and a VM turbo diesel engine (Euro 6) with six cylinders, the top-of-the-range model delivers plenty of power on the road. With all-wheel drive including a gear reduction ratio and locking differential, the Aebi MT is also an ideal off-road companion. An ergonomically designed 3-seater or 2-seater cabin provides a very pleasant and comfortable drive.