Sweeper design drives to meet rising standards

According to Alan Woods, Chief Executive of ENCAMS (the former Tidy Britain

Group), increasing central government recognition of the importance of a cleaner,

safer environment for every citizen must mean that there is a brighter future

in store for the streets and open spaces of Britain spaces.

He also discussed not only ENCAMS’s own latest campaigns, increasingly to be

directed at a particular target audience, whether young males dropping litter

outside football grounds, or the 4.6 million people who allow their dogs to

foul public places, but also the environmental initiatives currently being considered

at both local and central government level, all aimed at creating improvements

in the condition of the country’s public places. However, while there was already

a plethora of statute law, regulations, policy guidance and local design guides,

it was still not clear what local authorities should see as their priorities,

not how their responsibilities should be co-ordinated and funded.

“It is these issues which need addressing urgently if public confidence

in, and enjoyment of, our open spaces is to be revived,”he said. Mr Woods

also expressed the view that in our cities we ought to focus our efforts increasingly

on “producing a level standard – in other words, trying to bring standards

in our poorer areas up to the standards of the best.”

Equipment on parade

There is certainly no shortage of street cleansing equipment suppliers keen

to help local authorities and private contractors meet the high standards of

cleanliness required on highways and precincts.

Last month’s annual IWM Torbay event provided a platform for both established

players in the field and new entrants from as far afield as Australia, in the

shape of the Schwarze regenerative air sweeper. Based on an original American

design, but re-engineered , developed and manufactured in Australia to meet

conditions in that environment, the Schwarze A6500XL features a “closed

loop” in which a finely directed high pressure airflow, rather than a large

sweeper brush, dislodges debris from the road surface and guides it towards

a vacuum stream.

UK Sales Manager, Malcolm Cameron told LAWE that the machine is currently doing

the rounds on demos around the country after attracting considerable interest

at the IWM event.

Features include a 7m3 capacity stainless steel hopper, and a 115hp suction

engine offering 17,000ft2 of suction per minute. The “closed loop”

design minimises the emission of pollutants to the atmosphere. Dual tilting

gutter brooms have full in-cab control and overall height is 2,740mm.

Aiming for the UK top spot

The winds of change have also swept in new approaches among established names

in the UK market. Paul Diver, Managing Director of Schmidt UK Ltd, acknowledging

that the company has been a “slumbering giant” in past years, has

introduced a new management style with an emphasis on quality products and long-term

customer care.

The Peterborough UK operation, part of the pan-European Schmidt group, manufactures

the range of Swingo and Classic compact sweepers which the company reports continue

to hold market leadership in Europe.

Mr Diver says that concentration on very high levels of technological development

were the prime reasons for the achievement. Another key factor is his recognition

of the very strong influence the driver has on equipment selection. This is

reflected in “the level of driver comfort, not only in the cab, but also

in operating and driving the vehicle.”

In the UK market the Schmidt UK MD has set his sights on going from Number

Two to Number One.

Good news on that front is news that the new British designed and built Schmidt

Classic 3 compact sweeper, launched at IWM 2002, has notched up a sales success

in Renfrewshire and in Frankfurt, Germany.

The high capacity Classic 3 has been upgraded with the introduction of a new,

environmentally friendly Euro 3 VM engine, offering increased productivity.

In Renfrewshire, the council’s Cleansing Department specifically requested

the Classic 3 to operate in the city of Paisley’s high density housing areas,

which include many alleys, walkways, car parks and pedestrian precincts.

Frankfurt environmental services authority has placed an order for 16 of the

machines after a competitive challenge and evaluation. The VM engine proved

an influential factor along with the service and maintenance support provided

by Schmidt’s sister companies in Germany.