The council bought the Schaffer 4048 loader to use mainly to pick up green waste from verges, which is recycled and re-used as mulch. John Howley, the council’s waste services manager, said the machine had been selected for the work because it met the council’s requirements for a small, articulated front loader, weighing around three tonnes. “We move 125 tonnes a week of green waste off verges,” he said. “We needed a robust but light weight, manoeuvrable machine, with a reasonable road speed. It has to travel over the entire city, servicing 1600 to 1700 houses a week. If it was too small, it would be battling to get the distance.”
Mr Howley said several other features of the loader had impressed council staff. He said it was well built and met Australian safety standards. And the fact that parts are available locally will help to ensure that the machine remains operational (it has a Kubota diesel engine and Bosch hydraulics). “The machine has been performing well,” he said. “It has a low profile and works well on verges, with no impact on lawns. We’re very happy with it.”
Mr Howley said feedback from the operators of the machine had been very good. He said the operators had had input from the start of the selection process and had commented that the machine was working very well. “They can’t fault it,” he said. It’s comfortable and very operator friendly”
The council had a special grab bucket made in which hydraulically driven tines hold the waste material in the bucket.
Contact in Australia: Cameron Moir 0417 669 707
Boya Equipment, 16 Foley St. Balcatta. Rob Cendron 0419 957 978.
* Postscript: In nearly 18 months the Council has had no downtime.
CANNING City Council, Australia, bought a German-built Schäffer loader.
