Truly uplifting performance
Seven new MAN vehicles are now in operation for recycling and waste disposal at Bernhard Ahlert GmbH & Co. KG.
Ahlert’s blue-and-white MAN waste-disposal vehicle pulls up at the kerb with a blue bin to the right. A mechanical arm descends from the right-hand side of the vehicle before its cutting-edge, kinematics-based lifting technology is used to grip the bin and raise it up to the opening atop the truck’s body, where the contents are tipped out. The driver stays sitting in the truck the whole time, using a monitor to keep an eye on the unloading process. Bin by bin, the truck makes its way along the road before turning off into the next narrow side street to collect waste paper there as well. The big 4-axle truck’s relatively short wheelbase helps it to master the tight curves in the densely built-up neighbourhood without any issues.
“This order from MAN was the largest single procurement of vehicles in our company’s history.”
Bernhard Ahlert
“MAN was the only manufacturer that could provide us with a 4-axle chassis on this body length,” boss Bernhard Ahlert explains, naming one reason behind his procurement of five MAN TGS 34.360 and two MAN TGS 26.330 trucks. Their outstanding manoeuvrability means that nothing separates the 4-axle MAN trucks from the company’s other 3-axle vehicles in terms of handling. Bernhard Ahlert GmbH & Co. KG has been collecting and disposing of waste professionally for over 50 years. Nowadays, the firm has 95 highly trained employees and a fleet of vehicles that not only boasts cutting-edge technology, but also satisfies the highest standards in terms of environmental performance, safety, and efficiency.
“This order from MAN was the largest single procurement of vehicles in our company’s history,” says Bernhard Ahlert. The seven new MAN collection vehicles include five 4-axle trucks in a side-loading configuration (with the body built by NTM in Wildeshausen) and two 3-axle variants with rear-loading bodies made by Dutch company Van Schijndel. With this acquisition, Ahlert has replaced a portion of its entire side-loader fleet and upgraded to the Euro 6 standard. While switching to more eco-friendly Euro 6 exhaust technology may have been prompted by customer demand, it is nonetheless relevant for the company itself, which makes the environment a high priority, as Bernhard Ahlert explains.
However, the cutting-edge vehicles not only bring lower emissions to urban areas: with a capacity of 32 cubic metres, the volume of the trucks’ bodies is pretty large, with the added advantage that the vehicles only need to be emptied once a day (at the end of their rounds), such that they also save on unnecessary trips – and therefore fuel. Before procuring the trucks, Bernhard Ahlert and his technical manager Guido Kaiser sat down with their drivers to discuss exactly how the new trucks ought to look. “Getting a new vehicle is always a very special thing,” says Ahlert. The six drivers already out on the roads with their new MAN trucks (the seventh is still being built) seem to be more than happy with the results. Of course, they’re also pleased that they can finish their rounds quicker than before.
The safety equipment installed in the new collection vehicles is yet another feel-good factor for the drivers. Using the dedicated camera system, they can monitor the entire area at the rear and sides of the vehicle, ensuring the safety of other road users. The firm was founded in 1958 on the back of the previous generation’s coal and fuel business. Under Bernhard Ahlert, it continued to grow: he invested in the waste-disposal business, integrated sustainable disposal and recycling technology, incorporated a division providing containers and skips, and expanded operations to cover drain cleaning and inspection. All drivers were already accustomed to operating the lifting mechanisms on the predecessor models, as well as the fact that the vehicles all have a right-hand drive configuration. As such, Ahlert is continuing its tradition of professional collection and disposal – except this is now even faster, more efficient, and more eco-friendly than ever before.