For sport lovers the city of Basel offers a wealth of facilities including around 50 football pitches for amateurs as well as for the professionals of FC Basel, ice rinks, ice hockey pitches and artificial grass pitches. Basel City Sports Department looks after the maintenance of these which includes mowing in the summer season and snow removal in winter and five Multihogs are making these tasks more cost effective and efficient.
Sports Facilities Manager Eric Hardman saw the Multihog at an exhibition and was immediately struck by its potential to fulfil an outstanding niche in the market: “The combination of its compact size, but with a roomy cab, robust build and powerful performance was just what we were looking for to meet our requirements of operational cost savings whilst retaining a first class service.”
Much better snow clearance from the turf and artificial pitches, from the ice surfaces as well as the paths around the sports grounds has been achieved thanks to snow blowers fitted to three of the Multihogs. Mr. Hardman says: „With our older, less powerful snow blower we needed to deploy two tractors plus an extra vehicle to take the snow away, three members of staff and also had to reckon with half a day’s work to clear one pitch. Now with 1 man and 1 Multihog it is all done and dusted in 1½ hours. Due to the number of pitches we clear we also used to have to work nights but this is no longer necessary.”
The mowing of turf pitches is the most expensive aspect of their maintenance and thanks to the Multihogs’ hydraulic power and speed they are 30% quicker than the old mowing equipment which translates into substantial savings in the warmer months of the year too. The first cut of the relatively long grass in spring is carried out using a rotary mower and the Multihogs are then fitted with their summer attachments: four are kitted out with 5 gang cylinder mowers for use on smaller sports grounds and the fifth uses a 7 gang cylinder mower. This ensures a very fine and particularly high quality finish where required and also prevents the grass drying out too quickly.
When it comes to comfortable working conditions the 25 trained drivers are more than satisfied. According to Mr. Hardman they have plenty of room in the cab and don’t feel hemmed in as is the case with other types of machines – this of course is a major benefit during long shifts, and excellent visibility contributes to safer operations.
Mr. Hardman is full of praise for the versatile machines: “The Multihog system is simply better all-round, from a cost-performance ratio it is unbeatable and the savings made to the municipal budget are positive for everyone concerned.”
“My operators love the Multihog. Even the bigger operators tell me how much more comfortable it is."
"We’re cleaning the streets more efficiently, so that is definitely an environmental benefit for our city."
"The Multihogs were ideal for us. As they’re much lighter than our old machines, we can use them to remove snow from our boardwalks and sidewalks."
"The driving experience absolutely convinced me. I love driving it, the suspension is amazing. To be honest, the comfort level could not be better."
I knew it must be a really good piece of equipment, and my instincts were right - our two machines have been operating flawlessly.
“Since the purchase of our first Multihog in 2019, they have proven to be a valuable asset in our machinery fleet."
"I recognized straight away that a Multihog could serve our city well. We’ve got 8 attachments for it, and it’s taken the place of multiple machines."
"Apart from the environmental benefits, it’s also really, really comfortable to drive and I'm relieved that it has improved our operational safety."
“Our cycle paths are very neat in just one sweep/working passage. This ensures the safety of our residents, especially during autumn and winter."
“From a maintenance standpoint we have far fewer problems and downtime than other similar equipment in our fleet."
“Our MH outperforms our older snow blower by at least 200%. It can handle all types of snow with a greater output and much faster.”
"The suspension really allows an incredibly high level of driver comfort, and we’re amazed by the performance of the PTO hydraulics."
"The Multihog has performed very well on the reliability front compared to other machines. It’s a really solid and extremely strong machine."
"My colleagues are so much happier using this machine. It’s more ergonomic, warm and comfortable for them."
"Our 2 machines can do so many things, and although they’re small and compact, they’re so well built that they do the work of much larger equipment"
"The Multihog puts us at a professional level that’s unmatched by our competition"
"The Multihogs are working really well for us. The operators have found them straightforward to use and we hope to add to our range of attachments."
"The Multihog doesn’t vibrate like our old machine, and it’s so quiet I don’t even need to wear ear protection - no post-shift fatigue anymore!"
DHL at Leipzig-Halle airport operate a fleet of 12 Multihog tractors equipped with combi snow plough & brush attachments, de-icing sprayers and V snow
"It’s one machine that does it all - safely and efficiently. Very comfortable in the cabin too, which makes work more enjoyable for the operator."
"The only way to compare the Multihog to other machines is to compare the comfort of an old vintage car to a brand new car. - there is no comparison"
"At that point the snow is super dense, icy and solid; it’s pretty hard to shift, but it’s no problem for the MX. This tractor is really, really good"
"Our asphalt grinding process is faster and more efficient now, we tested it and we’re definitely covering more feet per hour than before"
"The Multihog is a different animal from anything we’ve ever had – the articulation, rubberised tyres and 4-wheel drive ticks a lot of our boxes."
“We try to improve our operations with each new purchase of equipment & this has certainly been the case with the acquisition of our Multihogs"
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