ONE CUSTOMER, TWO VEHICLES, THREE SET-UPS
Clever solutions from PALFINGER and Christmann Fahrzeugbau give Balzer, the expert for gardening and landscaping, added flexibility and cost-effectiveness
In the impressive ambience of the quarry, the excavators and utility vehicles look like colourful miniature toys in a grey fairytale landscape. And it is precisely from such a basalt cauldron that industry professionals - such as the company Balzer Garten und Landschaftsbau, Natursteinhandel GmbH - get their selected natural materials, from which they then build stone walls, terraces, stairs, or paved paths. Two of the latest special trucks have just arrived to pick up suitable boulders from the freshly blasted rock.
Tradition and new technology
Founded 150 years ago at the company's current headquarters in Buchenau-Dautphetal, the family business has been managed by Frank Balzer, now the sixth generation, since 2003. The company's extensive fleet of vehicles and machinery is regularly renewed and adapted to the current state of the art. Among the latest acquisitions are the two vehicles that were equipped with PALFINGER equipment and their own superstructures by CHRISTMANN FAHRZEUGBAU.
When the vehicles were handed over, three Balzer employees were instructed in detail on the functionality of the individual components - crane, hookloader, and flatbed.
PALFINGER as a problem solver
For about 30 years, CHRISTMANN FAHRZEUGBAU GmbH & Co KG from Wallau, as a sales and service partner of PALFINGER, has assembled numerous loading and recycling cranes, hooklifts and skiploaders as well as tail lifts and individually adapted them to the clients' purposes.
A particularly exciting project was recently realised for the long-standing customer Balzer Garten- & Landschaftsbau, Natursteinhandel GmbH.
Lutz Rößler, Area Manager West for hookloaders and skiploaders as well as EPSILON recycling cranes from PALFINGER, reveals the background: These are two multifunctional vehicles whose superstructures - a hooklift, a crane platform and a fifth-wheel coupling - can be used alternately. This allows the landscaping specialist to meet deadlines quickly and reliably, even at short notice, depending on the order situation. "Thanks to PALFINGER and CHRISTMANN as problem solvers, the investment is worthwhile," Rößler sums up.
And Karl-Friedrich Schäfer, PALFINGER salesman at CHRISTMANN FAHRZEUGBAU, adds: "Through clever and innovative as well as coordinated solutions, our team has succeeded in providing the customer with two "multifunctional talents" that are unique in their configuration and bring measurable plus points for the user. In short, this solution saves the customer a third truck."
The "Swiss army knife"
Two MB Actros 2651 6x4 chassis, on which interchangeable systems were built, serve as the basis.
The components - fifth wheel frame with fifth wheel couplings, loading platform with PALFINGER PK 33002EH crane and with fifth wheel coupling, changing device on the truck and PALFINGER PH T20 hooklift - are not permanently installed on the chassis. They are interchangeable and interchangeable with each other.
The truck chassis with the attachment parts of the interchangeable system weighs 10.4 tons. The weight of the crane and platform is approx. 6 tons.
For its "green" construction sites with private and commercial customers, Balzer chose the PALFINGER PK 33002 EH high-performance crane for the vehicle equipment. The mid-range crane is characterized by its lifting capacity of 10 tons, hydraulic outreach of up to 21.3 meters and an outreach with second knuckle boom of up to 29.4 meters as well as a slewing range of 400°.
Practical: For operations where the crane is not needed, the unit including fifth wheel can be detached from the chassis and the truck can perform other tasks, e.g. as a hookloader.
PALFINGER's PH T20 telescopic hookloader is also ideally suited to the projects of the horticultural professional. An important feature is that the easy-to-operate device offers the option of using containers with different lengths. In addition, thanks to the bi-point geometry of the hooklifts, a higher tipping force can be achieved.
Conclusion: Once again, PALFINGER's practical solutions and the technical know-how of its sales and service partner have contributed to the complete satisfaction of the client. Ultimately, home builders, commercial customers, gardening enthusiasts and landscapers also benefit from this.
