WORKHORSE IN WEININGEN

Famous for its mountains, clocks and its food, Switzerland is also renowned for winter sports, for its neutrality and its natural beauty. As a small landlocked European country, with the Swiss Alps covering about 60% of the land area, its 8.5 million people speak a variety of languages including German, French, Italian, and Romansch.

Members of the British Royal family are known to love holidaying and snowboarding in Klosters, while other familiar faces on the world stage opt for skiing in Zermatt where visitors also enjoy breathtaking views of the iconic snow-capped Matterhorn mountain.

"It is an all rounder of a machine, very versatile and can easily handle a variety of attachments…

However, all of that was not our primary focus when we at Awesome Earthmovers magazine recently travelled to the country. We were there to learn about the growing popularity of the Hyundai Construction Equipment brand, much of that success being down to not just the quality of the machines, but to the country’s exclusive and proactive Hyundai dealers BAMAG Maschinen AG, based in Regensdorf near Zurich.

As one of the leading construction machinery companies in Switzerland, BAMAG Maschinen-supplied Hyundai machines can be found operating right across the country; the dealer specialises in capital equipment and stocks Hyundai’s complete line of construction equipment as well as the brand’s materials handling range.

On our travels we came across company director David Richi at a busy recycling plant in Weiningen, which is located deep in the Limmat Valley and less than half an hour’s drive from Zürich, the country’s largest city. We were there to learn more about Richi-Weiningen’s acquisition from BAMAG of a Hyundai HW210A wheeled excavator being used at the plant which recycles and reproduces concrete.

"Weighing in at 21 tonnes, the Hyundai HX210A clearly provides the power, manoeuvrability and mobility needed around the recycling plant…

Richi-Weiningen’s roots date back to 1924. What began as a gravel pit has developed into a versatile family company with more than 100 employees. Today, it sees itself as an innovative disposal and supply company serving the region. Its guiding principles are the closing of material cycles and the recycling of construction waste from the surrounding area. It also operates its own biomass power plant, producing ‘green’ electricity and district heating from waste wood.

100% RECYCLING RATE

The company, which boasts a recycling rate of 100%, obtains its raw materials from a variety of sources, including from dismantled and demolished old buildings. Foreign substances are removed and reused separately. The pre-cleaned raw material is broken, screened or washed depending on the end consumption. This enables the company to produce suitable, clean concrete and other building products.

The Hyundai HW210A wheeled excavator plays an essential role in the business. “It is an all rounder of a machine, very versatile and can easily handle a variety of attachments,” says David Richi. That’s thanks to OilQuick, which is an automatic quick coupler system that has been fitted to the machine; it allows hydraulic work tools to be connected and disconnected from the driver’s cab. The operator can change between various work tools within a few seconds.

“It’s a really good coupler system as we use many different attachments on the Hyundai HW210A, such as a bucket for moving materials around the site, or a grab to sort out the material. We also use a hydraulic hammer to break up the concrete waste, and a hydraulic magnet to extract the iron from the reinforced concrete waste,” says David.

EASY TO HANDLE

“For us one of the most important things about the Hyundai excavator is that the machine is very easy to handle as different operators are using it at different times during the working day. They don’t need much introduction or learning how to drive it effectively and efficiently around the site.”

There’s no doubt that the HW210A, the largest of Hyundai's new generation of A-series wheeled excavators, has been designed with the operator’s needs in mind, and weighing in at 21 tonnes, it clearly provides the power, manoeuvrability and mobility needed around the recycling plant at Weiningen. Powered by a low emission, Cummins B6.7 Stage V engine, this heavy-duty excavator has helped increase productivity and efficiency on the site.

It offers the operators a spacious and comfortable cab, with conveniently positioned joystick controls on either side of the deluxe air suspended and heated seat that help reduce stress and fatigue and good all round visibility that is essential while working in a busy environment with other machines and site personnel in the vicinity.

Other features designed to make the operator’s life easier include a market-leading 8" touchscreen with Wi-Fi connectivity and Hi MATE telematic system, and a standard air conditioning system that is enhanced by full climate control for efficient heating, cooling and defrosting, useful when working through the cold Swiss winter months. There’s also an advanced audio system with an USB/MP3 radio player, as well as a Bluetooth interface for hands-free calling.

FUEL EFFICIENT FEATURES

The HW210A wheeled excavator is also a fuel efficient machine, with an engine auto-idling feature that saves fuel, reduces noise and cuts exhaust emissions, while an eco gauge constantly monitors engine efficiency, further helping to reduce emissions and running costs – and an electronic reversible fan provides automatic engine cooling while a self-cleaning mode eliminates dust and debris.

As for the support provided by BAMAG, David adds: “We are very happy with the service from BAMAG. They are close to hand should ever any service issues arise and we appreciate that they have a very good understanding of our business and our needs.”

He says the Hyundai HW210A has proven to be a perfect workhorse at the recycling plant. “We have been looking at some of the other different Hyundai models that BAMAG supplies and we may well consider adding to our fleet of equipment going forward.”