In the gutter.

Regular verge maintenance protects against waterlogging.

When Michael Hueske's friends say with a smirk that he works "in the gutter", they in no way mean it maliciously. In fact, the reason for such comments is that his company's field of work means that he spends a lot of time along the edge of roads. More specifically: the team at Landschaftspflege Hueske in Ahaus, northern Germany tends to the grass verges along all of the region's roads. From cycle paths to motorways, the employees are tasked with restoring the functional aspect of the road verges which slowly but surely become overgrown and dirty.

Banquet maintenance on 400 kilometers of road.

In 2004, Michael Hueske took over the business from his father. And since then he knows the roughly 400 kilometres of roads around his works yard like the back of his hand: "We recommend milling verges every five to ten years. That's because dirt and vegetation growth mean that the verges slowly grow higher and higher. And if left in that state, it also increases the risk of aquaplaning or frost damage to the road surface." The verge is a hand's width lower than the actual roadway. With of a negative gradient of between six and twelve percent, water accumulation on the road surface can be prevented.

But sometimes the opposite is also true. Especially on narrow roads, the verge is often driven on by vehicles avoiding oncoming traffic, and this pushes it outwards. In such cases, Hueske's equipment loosens the material, mixes it through and works it back up against the edge of the road before compacting it again.

Top equipment for the orange power pack.

The roads of the Münsterland region have now been adorned by a bright orange (RAL 2011) U 530 which is specially equipped to carry out milling work. It is the second Unimog which Michael Hueske has purchased. "Both the hydrostatic drive and the VarioPilot steering are important items of equipment in our field of work. Plus, when choosing the Unimog, the hydraulic system performance was also of decisive importance to us. And then there's the fact that the Unimog is a little narrower than comparable trucks. With working widths becoming increasingly demanding and the topic of safety having utmost importance, there was no alternative for us," explains Michael Hueske.

At the front, the mounting plate for municipal applications features a PTO shaft for the installation of the required specialist implements. "And they're all in-house developments," he explains proudly. "A verge mill like we need isn't available from any other manufacturer." The hardware is made in the company's own workshop, with hydraulic components and support for these being provided by Niehues Hydraulik from Senden. Programming of the in-house control software is carried out by Forsys from Osnabrück.

Project implemented with Unimog dealership:
RKF-Bleses GmbH

Compacting: New or rejuvenated grass verges are brought into shape automatically using the vibrating plate mounted at the rear.
Compacting: New or rejuvenated grass verges are brought into shape automatically using the vibrating plate mounted at the rear.
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Drug finds on the roadside.

It's not uncommon for strange items to bring the Hueske team to an unplanned halt: every now and again they stumble across fridges, televisions and other junk along the roads. The team even once found a package full of drugs which had been shredded by their mill. The nearby A40 leads to Holland and back. And some shady characters have a habit of getting rid of their purchases through their car windows. So it's a great thing that Michael Hueske and his Unimog work "in the gutter" for us all.

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