Another one-time innovative, yet under-capitalized manufacturer - HN Logistic - is fighting to win back market share, following the recent 100 percent takeover by RosRoca Environment group.
Germany-based HN Logistic that was only the second global manufacturer to design and build a truly 'multi-modal' demountable container/body waste collection system. And while the first design (by German manufacturer Haller) resulted in a cable-activated demount system that dragged the loaded body over the top of the compaction hopper, the HN Logistic design used more reliable hydraulics to slide the hopper unit away from the body container to enable either a stacker truck, forklift or overhead crane to lift the container/body clear.
But that is by no means the full extent of innovation in the HN Logistic range. The company was one of the first to see the benefits of demountable body 'pods' for both side loaders and front-end loaders (FELs) used on both commercial waste operations, but in the case of sideloaders, increasingly on domestic collections.
As it clearly isn't possible to deploy a full hydraulic 'hooklift' system on a side loader - due to the location of the fixed loading hopper (which would foul the action of the 'hook') - HN Logistic designers have produced a 'belt winch'. This is both lighter and quieter than either a hook, or a cable winch system, but still enables otherwise conventional hooklift demount containers to be used.
When the compaction body 'container' is fully loaded (payload is just under 10 tonnes on a 26 tonne three axle chassis), a hydraulic ram 'pops' the pod clear of the hopper. This is then tilted and rolled back off the subframe, held in check by the belt winch. The same belt - think of it as a giant car seat belt) is then used to haul a replacement empty container into place. Any standard hooklift truck can be used to deliver the laden containers to a recycling facility, of to landfill, ensuring the collection truck has a maximum 'on station' time, while partly laden body 'pods' used on 'single faction' recycling can be swapped and left in the depot as required.
The town of Horsham to the south of London, UK, has recently ordered twenty HN Multi-Modal Sideloaders - which can lift wheeled waste containers from 180 to 1280kg - based on rearsteer 6x2 Volvo 26tonne chassis. They replace a fleet of conventional fixed body compaction-type RCVs.
*More info from info@hn-schoerling.com
