Skip to main content

Volvo cuts it close among the trees of Germany’s Rheinland-Palatinate

German contractor Autobahnamt Montabaur is maintaining highways and roadside woodland – all with the support of Volvo CE’s redesigned EW160E wheeled excavator. The Volvo EW160E wheeled excavator’s compact design is perfect for confined highway construction job sites. Stretched across the heart of central Germany lies a network of often tree-lined highways. Nestled among the woodland and amidst the Rhenish Massif mountain range, is Westerwald, meaning ‘Western Forest.’ The city’s 13,000 inhabitants and 4
January 4, 2016 Read time: 3 mins
Volvo EW160E: standing ready for action
German contractor Autobahnamt Montabaur is maintaining highways and roadside woodland – all with the support of 359 Volvo CE’s redesigned EW160E wheeled excavator.

The Volvo EW160E wheeled excavator’s compact design is perfect for confined highway construction job sites. Stretched across the heart of central Germany lies a network of often tree-lined highways. Nestled among the woodland and amidst the Rhenish Massif mountain range, is Westerwald, meaning ‘Western Forest.’  The city’s 13,000 inhabitants and 40,000 district residents rely on the highway for economic growth and so must be maintained to the highest standard.

The authority – Mobility Rheinland-Pfalz (LBM) – designs, builds and maintains the 18,000km of highways, federal state and county roads in Rheinland-Palatinate. Of this total route network, 877km are being maintained by Autobahnamt Montabaur. With over 700 employees, the company’s duties include tree-cutting and salt dispersion to pavement rehabilitation and warning sign placement.

However, during the tree-cutting months from October to March, Autobahnamt Montabaur is primarily tasked with wood maintenance along the tree-lined highways.

To complete tree-cutting projects in a timely and efficient manner, Autobahnamt Montabaur uses the Volvo Construction Equipment (Volvo CE) EW160E wheeled excavator. Formerly rented solely for the tree-cutting months, Autobahnamt Montabaur recently added the wheeled excavator to their permanent fleet, joining the 11 Volvo L35G compact wheel loaders the company also operates.

As arguably the most advanced multitool carrier in the industry, the wheeled excavator is ideal for jobs that require flexibility, independence of movement and operational safety. To further aid productivity and reduce fuel consumption, the machine is powered by the robust Volvo Tier 4f engine that features automatic idling as standard, which not only cuts fuel use but noise pollution too.

When in timber management configuration Autobahnamt Montabaur uses a HABBIG HS850 Schnitt-Griffy hydraulic hedge shear and extraction gripper – allowing the operator to secure, cut and remove branches and trees quickly, accurately and safely.

To enhance the safety of operations, Autobahnamt Montabaur has added the optional Volvo Smart View system to its new EW160E. The system uses cameras attached to the front-right, front-left and rear of the wheeled excavator which provide a bird’s-eye view of the machine operating from above.

The 360 degree view of actual footage happening in real time allows the operator to see his surroundings and ensure safe rotation.

Related Content

  • New ADTs offer low emissions performance and fast cycle times
    December 2, 2014
    Its incredible versatility means that the articulated dumptruck (ADT) has become a popular piece of equipment for quarrying or earthmoving applications. For quarrying in particular, the machines are highly useful as they are able to cope with steeper ramp hauls and tougher terrain than rigid haulers offering similar payloads.
  • Responsive roadsign developed by student
    August 22, 2013
    A UK student hopes his new lenticular road signs which ‘pulse’ at drivers will lead to a revolution in the way motorists are given information on the roads. Meanwhile, a leading road marking firm is helping keep tourists safe in a spiritually significant town in Umbria, Italy. Guy Woodford reports You may think Charles Gale’s vision of creating the first ‘pulsing’ lenticular road sign was the result of months, even years, spent studying traffic and driver behaviour on the roads of his adopted student c
  • High performance, high mobility of wheeled pavers
    February 14, 2012
    New generation wheeled pavers aimed at use in territories such as the UK, Italy, South Africa and Southern Germany are now coming to market. Pavers in these countries are often expected to be driven from one part of a site to another or for short distances, which is why the additional mobility of the wheeled machine is preferred in many instances over similarly-sized tracked models. This preference for wheeled units comes in spite of the greater stability offered by tracked machines. BOMAG, Caterpillar and
  • Sandvik adds to DC hammer drill line
    January 6, 2017
    Sandvik Construction has added the DC125R to its DC family of compact top hammer drill rigs. The remote-controlled self-propelled rig has a four-wheeled carrier that can also be equipped with rubber tracks for added mobility in difficult terrain. Capable of drilling 22-45mm diameter holes, the machine is capable of up to 300-400m3 in an eight-hour shift. The 3,150kg mini rig is powered by a 37kW engine that drives a 5.5kW rock drill. Designed primarily for foundation drilling, road cutting, trenching, line