Aebi Schmidt enlists Mercedes-Benz to help keep the RAF flying
RAF bases around the world are being kept in ‘fighting fit’ operational condition by a new fleet of Mercedes-Benz-based airfield sweeping and snow clearing vehicles.
The trucks were commissioned by Aebi Schmidt UK, a specialist manufacturer of airport, winter maintenance and road sweeping equipment, after it won two prestigious contracts from the Ministry of Defence.
The first, which is worth some £6 million, is for 30 high-speed AS 990 runway sweepers with snowploughs, which are mounted on 18-tonne Mercedes-Benz Axor 1824 chassis. Most of these units have already entered service.
The second, £9-million order is for 28 snow clearing units, the first two of which have already been delivered. In this case, the equipment is based on 4x4 Mercedes-Benz Actros 2032A chassis with 20 tonne gross vehicle weights, which then undergo extensive conversion at Aebi Schmidt’s production facility in Germany’s Black Forest.
An approved Mercedes-Benz bodybuilder of many years’ standing, Aebi Schmidt has a history that goes back more than 90 years. The company’s UK headquarters are in Peterborough and its chassis are being supplied by local dealer Intercounty Truck & Van, with support from the Fleet Truck Sales department at Mercedes-Benz UK.
Mike Moore, Key Account Manager responsible for Aebi Schmidt UK’s relationship with the MoD, said: “Mercedes-Benz trucks are premium products, just like our own, with a well deserved reputation for the all-important reliability and durability required of vehicles that have to perform such a crucial role.
“The fact that our own equipment is powered by an auxiliary Mercedes-Benz engine also makes life easier from an after sales perspective by limiting the number of parties we have to deal with.”
The MoD’s decision to entrust its coveted order for replacement sweepers to Aebi Schmidt marked the culmination of a process lasting seven years that included a detailed tender. This included strict performance tests because not only must an airfield sweeper clean to a more stringent standard than a conventional road sweeper, it must also do so a lot more rapidly. The tests required sweeping units to pass over and collect a variety of materials at 25km/h, although Aebi Schmidt’s equipment can perform effectively at up to 40km/h – road sweepers typically crawl along at around 10km/h.
The RAF’s new Mercedes-Benz Axors are equipped with rear-mounted suction boxes, side brushes/blowers and 9.5 cubic metre hoppers manufactured from stainless steel; they are also fitted with 2.4-metre permanent magnet bars for picking up metal debris, which can easily be demounted and replaced with 3.0-metre snowploughs.
Meanwhile, the Actros-based snow clearing units represent the latest evolution of the Aebi Schmidt Compact Jet Sweeper, a concept that has been in production for more than 20 years. Around 350 of these machines are currently in operation worldwide.
To accommodate the 4.2-metre brush and ancillaries beneath the chassis, the Actros boast outsized wheels and tyres, while each vehicle is also equipped with a 5.6-metre snowplough and a very powerful blowing nozzle, which is positioned behind the rear axle.
“This order was also won in the face of intense international competition,” Mike Moore continued. “Our Compact Jet Sweeper is a high performance snow clearing machine with an impressive track record. It is very versatile and manoeuvrable, which is a big advantage given that some hardened aircraft shelters can be located in tight, compact areas. Working in pairs, these vehicles can clear an airfield of snow very quickly indeed.”
Full training on the new equipment will be delivered at RAF bases in the UK, while all vehicles will be maintained under a 15-year Aebi Schmidt service support contract; indeed, the bodybuilder’s ability to provide such comprehensive back-up for equipment that also fulfilled all of the MoD’s technical requirements was key to its success.
Mr Moore added: “Intercounty’s Fleet Truck Sales Manager Steve Sinnott has supported us as our link to MBUK and we now tend to think of him as an extension of our own business.”
