Three Unimog keep the streets clean at Torgau public utilities.

Torgau, a town in Saxony with 20,000 inhabitants. The world is still good here. Two men make a significant contribution to this: Jens Riedel and Silvio Schubert. Their job is to keep the city streets clean. Their fleet consists of three Unimog vehicles: a U 300, a U 400 and a brand-new U 427 – with deep orange paintwork (RAL 2011).

Clean in one sweep.

The U 400 and the new U 427 are in daily use. They are in use on the roads for eight hours, strictly according to plan and are fitted with a Schmidt sweeper. The containers hold 3.7 cubic metres New brooms sweep really clean Torgau public utilities keep roads clean of road refuse. The sweeper is driven by the power hydraulics of the Unimog at 240 bar. “This is hazardous waste that we bring to the Torgau landfill, where it is disposed of properly,” explains Jens Riedel.

Steering change.

It goes without saying that the vehicles are equipped with VarioPilot®, the practical dual-mode steering for municipal use. In sweeper mode, the driver changes the steering wheel to the righthand side within one minute and thus has an optimum view of his implements. The hydrostatic drive allows the driver to continuously adjust the working speed independently of the engine speed. “This is how the vehicle can work in top form,” says Jens Riedel, “it really is fun!”

Neat work.

The two swear by their “favourites” made in Wörth am Rhein: “We haven‘t had any problems with any of the vehicles so far.” The men already have swept away everything that doesn‘t belong on the road. Discarded glass bottles or concrete sloshing out of curves from concrete mixers are annoying. “Here we have to check twice to make sure that everything has been removed properly.”

Warm through the winter service.

The U 400 already has ten years behind it. Therefore, it is only used as a sweeper when required. The municipal utility company mainly uses it for winter service. All three Unimog vehicles are equipped with a Bucher plough and grit bin. Seat heating, mirror heating, windscreen heating, surround lighting, rotating beacons – these features are indispensable for the Unimog workplace in winter.