| | “The decision to invest in the Unimog ‘Swiss Army knife’ was not taken lightly, but it has proved to be the right one for a rural county like Wiltshire. Whilst safety for our operatives and general road safety were the driving factors, significantly improved productivity has been achieved at a cost much lower than using dedicated, single-purpose vehicles,” says Graham Hay of Wiltshire County Council. |
For most local authorities it’s the usual story. The taxpayers demand excellence and there’s a forthcoming Best Value review – all at the same time of restricted budgets.
In Wiltshire this scenario has, however, given senior Council officers the opportunity to invest in Mercedes-Benz Unimogs and attachments that not only save money, but also give residents a county they can be proud of.
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Wiltshire is an average size county, but it has a high number of A roads that are not trunked and the County Council recognised the need to cut back overgrowth on the roadside verges, kerbs, channels and rural footways, some of which had not been treated for a number of years. This is over and above the highways maintenance work carried out by the term maintenance contractor.
It was this desire to offer Wiltshire something different, as well as the fact that the contractors were fully employed on day-to-day highways matters, that pointed officers towards the Unimog.
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| The concept of a multi-task operation grew out of the need to make more use of Wiltshire’s winter road maintenance fleet. Four fifths of the prime movers were lying idle for eight or nine months of the year because they were fitted with fixed spreader bodies, and this was clearly unproductive. The Unimog, with its ability to carry salt and grit spreaders, grounds maintenance equipment and other implements – and provide the hydraulic power to drive them – was the natural solution. It was also an investment that could be justified through the benefits of increased mechanisation and, as a result, efficiency. |
Whilst the Unimog is recognised as a purpose-designed implement carrier, it is much more than simply a ‘tree’ on which to hang Mulag front-mounted tools. When the Unimogs are not working on summer-type tasks they are fully equipped for winter road maintenance activities with a front-mounted DIN plate capable of carrying a range of snowploughs as well as a new 2.4 cu. metre demountable salt and grit spreader on the rear.
Wiltshire’s first Unimogs not only achieved their performance targets in winter and summer, but they also helped germinate an idea by Paul Smith and Graham Hay – the officers responsible for bringing in the Unimogs. If the chassis could work in winter and summer – what else could they do? |
Wiltshire County Council is recognised as one of the UK’s leading operators of multi-tasking chassis – all based on the versatility and reliability of the Mercedes-Benz Unimog.
The Council was the first local authority to:
• Introduce de-mountable vegetation management products on a Unimog U 400 and U 500, including verge mowers and hedge cutters, to replace winter spreaders and snowploughs after the winter sesason;
• Operate a special unit, developed by Mulag, to vastly improve the efficiency, productivity and cost-saving involved in cleaning roadside signs and bus stops; and
• Purchase the innovative Schmidt Savalco ‘Road Repair Patcher’ – a clean, quiet and fast permanent solution to potholes and other road faults – mounted on, and operated by, a Unimog U 500.
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Model ranges
