The French Connection

Next Generation. Matis has recently won a contract to supply new Sicas vacuum sweepers to the city of Marseilles, based on the successful performance and reliability record of earlier 'Millennium' units in the fleet Due to the economic climate, sweeper manufacturer Sicas has been keen to expand further outside the Italian Home market. Such as in France, where 'daughter company' Matis has successfully supplied vacuum sweepers to the city of Marseille. by Malcolm Bates There is serious competition in the two cubic metre capacity compact sweeper market - not only from manufacturers with competing products, but also from brands offering smaller 'sub-compact' designs. And at the larger four cubic metre/purpose-built skid (chassis) level? In addition to competing designs, further competition comes from 7-10 tonne gross weight truck-mounted units. So over the last few years, Italian manufacturer Sicas has tried to both add to its product portfolio in order to win a greater market share in its home market, while also looking to broaden its appeal in other European and global markets. Sicas export director Luigi Balestrini also recognised that in order to win the increasing number of 'all seasons' infrastructure maintenance contracts that were becoming increasingly popular throughout Europe, Sicas needed products from a 'winter maintenance partner' to sell alongside the in-house designed-and-built 'E-City', 'Millennium' and 'SH4000' mechanical sweepers and street washer range. This lead to increased cooperation with Croatian-based manufacturer Rasco - to the point where the new Rasco 'Muvo' shared the cab structure with the Sicas E-City. There was also an opportunity for Rasco winter maintenance equipment to be marketed by Sicas. Unfortunately, the continuing recession in Italy has not helped and relations between Sicas and Rasco seem to have cooled in recent months. But in contrast, there is one area of market development that is most definitely 'hot' at the moment - in more ways than one - and that is the performance of Sicas 'daughter company' Matis, based in Beaumes-de-Venise in the south of France. Matis started life as a locally-owned independent dealership, but has now developed into the distributor of Sicas machines for the French market following purchase and investment by the Sicas Group. Having a direct line of communication to the factory, while retaining local connections has enabled Matis to compete successfully with all the other manufacturers active in France. In the nearby City of Marseilles, this has resulted in Sicas machines achieving a major presence in the fleet of Marseille Provence Metropole (MPM) - the city council. As Luigi Balestrini explains, the success of the Matis operation in France will now to be used as a template to promote market expansion in other European, and global markets. "The Sicas Group is one of very few manufacturers worldwide to offer both vacuum and mechanical sweeping machines, so through local daughter companies like Matis, or our independent dealer partners, we can make a clear assessment of the equipment best suited to the customer's requirements," he explains. Obviously, losing the ability to sell Scarab truck-mounts in Italy when Scarab became part of Fayat Group (sales went to the existing Fayat dealer in Italy) was a setback, but as Luigi Balestrini points out, this has lead Sicas into discussions with new partners - and a new range of truck-mounted vacuum sweepers suitable for sale in wider markets. Under control: Millennium features simple yet effective central dash read-out to give driver information on both automotive and hydraulic sweep systems. Steering wheel/pedal assembly can be switched from one side to the other Although negotiations were not completed by the time WMW went to press, this should enable Sicas - and daughter companies like Matis - to offer a full product range of sweepers from two to twelve cubic metres capacity - enabling the company to also compete in the industrial and airport facility management sectors, for the first time. "We're very exited at the prospect of being able to provide cleansing solutions to a wider cross-section of potential municipal and contract customers and compete more widely in different global markets," Balestrini confirms. THE NEW MILLENNIUM MAN Latest Sicas Millennium - seen here as Aspijet specification demonstrator - features diesel power unit from MAN truck range giving improved fuel consumption at reduced engine revs. The unit sits within the wheelbase (under the raised hopper), so cooling efficiency has had special attention in order to meet global conditions It was time for me to find out just how 'hot' the compact sweeper market is in the South of France, by testing the compact E-City and the 4 cubic metre Millennium in outside temperatures of 35°C. Thankfully, both machines are recent designs and have the benefit of effective cab air conditioning, but what really makes the latest generation Millennium stand out, is the new levels of refinement that result from the installation of the 4.6-litre MAN DO834LFL diesel engine. This truck-based unit (initially to Euro-5 spec, but shortly to be Euro-6 with 'AdBlue') has both a larger capacity and increased power output compared to the power units used by competitive four cubic metre machines. As a premium-grade unit, it does cost more - but while that may seem like an odd choice to make in these austere times, it actually makes a great deal of sense. "What do you think of it, then?" asks Balestrini, once I'd been out and swept the streets of Beaumes-de-Venise. There's no doubt that the MAN diesel is well up to the job - it is in fact running at little more than 60% of its potential maximum output. It develops more than enough power at reduced RPM, which in turn, produces excellent fuel consumption levels of just five litres-an-hour and reduced CO2 emissions by using automotive standard EGR technology and PM-KAT filter. My drive in the latest generation Millennium confirms the MAN diesel puts it in a different class - the unit develops plenty of torque at just 1400rpm and with a noise level of just 70dBA. It's really impressive. FLEXIBLE THINKING? Template for success: Together with Luigi Balestrini and commercial director Thierry Robin, technical manager at Matis, Patrick de Oliveira, has the job of matching customer needs with the widening range of Sicas sweepers. More Sicas 'daughter companies' and dealer partners are planned to enable Sicas to compete in wider European and global markets And the little two cubic metre capacity E-City? Articulated machines have lost some market share over the years with rigid chassis four wheel drive/steer options now in favour with many city authorities. Having regularly tested both types, personally, I'm not so sure. One of the big advantages the articulated machine has over a 'rigid skid' is that the driver's cab is in the front part. And the power unit is located on the rear part, which helps reduce noise and vibration from both the power units and the vacuum fan. 'Stability' is of course a key issue with any small machine - especially when driven at 'transit speed' on the highway. And it was on this aspect of the E-City where I needed to update my experience, having previously only driven the prototype a short distance. The verdict? I was instantly 'at home' and soon found myself sweeping out the debris in some difficult corners that had been missed by the Commune's own sweeper. Thanks to a really responsive third brush, I was able to sweep down the footpaths (sidewalks) and close-up to walls and fences alongside the highway - without the risk of damage. Working in small towns and villages is one thing of course - but how well do these latest Sicas machines stand up to the much harder life of working in the 'heat' of a big city? The local 'big city' is of course Marseille, so the next day I set off downtown to meet Jean-Marc Stahl, director de moyons techniques (street cleansing and highways) at Communaute Urbaine Marseilles Provence Metrolpole - the city authority. The Marseilles area is home to over 1.2 million people with 800,000 living in the central area. It is also a major tourist destination in summer as well as being a key port and business centre for the whole region - and a European City of Culture, too, I'm reminded. As soon as I step out from the air conditioned comfort of my car, I realise that word 'hot' comes into play. It is only 9.30 am, but the heat really hits you. KEEPING MARSEILLES CLEAN My first question to Jean-Marc then, was what is the biggest single issue that makes his job so challenging? Clearly, I'm expecting 'heat' to feature in the answer - but to my surprise, his answer is 'parked cars' and the constant traffic congestion. The whole downtown area is a mass of ancient narrow streets and unlike in many other large cities, a large number of people seem to live in the downtown areas - it's not just shops, restaurants and corporate offices. Although there are plenty of those too, of course. To help overcome the congestion a new tram system is being built - but ironically, it's construction is currently adding to the hold-ups! So what are Jean-Marc Stahl and his team doing to combat this problem? "Two significant changes. Firstly, we are shifting to night working, but to increase the quality of street cleansing in the downtown areas, we are also now co-ordinating the work of our refuse collection crews, with our sweepers," he explains. Hard at work: Waste Management World's collection and transport correspondent tries out the third brush option on the compact, articulated 'E-City' sweeper. The good visibility, reduced noise levels and up-to-date cab of this two cubic metre capacity make it a viable alternative to rigid-skid four wheel steer machines It seems that within the wider city area, amazingly, there are several street markets on during every day of the week, so it makes sense to collect the refuse first, then sweep the streets. But how? "At present just 70% of the refuse collection in the downtown area is undertaken at night, but shortly, this will increase. So with all the collections completed before dawn, it enables our 250 sweeping machines to get out and clean the streets before the morning rush-hour," he adds. But there is a problem - with so many residents living in the downtown area, the narrow streets are full of parked cars at night and early in the morning. This is overcome by using a street washer with high pressure lance to blow all the debris off the pavements and from under parked cars, so the sweepers can pick it all up in one pass. But this then raises another 'issue'. "We naturally have to take resident's quality of life into consideration," Stahl continues. "So we are looking for the most efficient, quietest machines available and where possible, increase the number of natural gas-fuelled units in our fleet." I'm told that the performance of the Millennium-MAN is well liked by the drivers. But in addition to the 'lazy' power characteristics of the MAN diesel and its low fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, the switch to night/early morning shift working looks set to have a 'double whammy' benefit - with savings for both the environment footprint and reduced operating costs. Based on initial figures, the shift to night time working looks like reducing the fuel consumption of MPM's fleet by some 10%, while making a further significant reduction in CO2 levels as both sweepers and garbage trucks are able to work free from traffic hold-ups. As savings go, you could say that is 'really cool'.