trailer world Issue One 2013

Issue One 2013 23 Portrait Filling up with concrete – at Rüdebusch, it is possible to draw off even small amounts of the building material  A horn sounds, lights flash and machinery starts to whistle; the conveyor belt rattles: This is a machine for filling up, but not with fuel – it is concrete! The grey mass flows into the custom- er’s trailer from a height of two metres. One cubic metre, no more is required, he only wants to pour the foundation for a gar- den shed. Such small delivery amounts are no problem at the Rüdebusch filling station, indeed it has actually been specially designed for this: A concrete mixing plant in miniature format. The service is intended for private customers, gardeners and landscape designers. Often, they are unable to mix small and medium amounts of concrete on site, since this requires ma- chines that also need to be transported, and takes time. With the filling station, customers don’t need to worry about this. “We saw a facility such as this at a company that we know in Southern Germany, and decided to adopt the idea,” explains fleet manag- er Dieter Placzek. “It is a complete success, the demand is high.” On Saturdays, the customers queue up – always when the DIY crowd are starting their projects. The service is uncomplicated and rapid: You report in and state the amount of concrete you need. After paying, you are given a chipcard. Then you drive your vehicle or trailer underneath the loading conveyor. A chain hanging down indicates where the middle of the pile will be, showing where the concrete will be unloaded. The chipcard triggers delivery of the correct amount, the horn and flashing lights show when the “filling process” is starting and finishing – and after only 90 seconds you can drive off. »We have had great success with the disc brake, even in the harshest of conditions.« Dieter Placzek, fleet manager at Rüdebusch Baustoffe und Transporte e. K. to use biodiesel in its tanks. What is more, the fleet is completely replaced every three years – this also makes it possible to drive the latest and thus particularly environ- mentally friendly vehicles at all times. “Technology sets the standard, and we feel ourselves obliged to fulfil it,” says Placzek. “In addition, the vehicles are cheaper the more of them you have on the road.” Last but not least, consumption also drops: “Sev- en or eight years ago, our trucks were using something like 50 litres per 100 kilometres, whereas now is it 30 litres,” explains Placzek. The company is 35 years old: Founded in 1978 by Hans-Hermann Rüdebusch, an in- dependent driver on local goods deliveries, Rüdebusch gradually extended his fleet and founded more branches. The company opened its own training centre in 2007 for providing driver training. The company’s own driving school also puts fuel-saving driving on the curriculum. “We want to train our drivers according to the possibili- ties,” says Placzek. Whether they are able to put their knowledge into practice is indicat- ed by the telematics systems that all vehicles in the Rüdebusch fleet are equipped with: The devices not only indicate the current lo- cation of the vehicles, they also help the schedulers. They record data about the fuel consumption and braking distances, thus contributing to reducing pollution emissions and tyre wear. (jg) Photos:OlafMeinhardt

trailer world Issue One 2013

Pages