The municipality of Waltenhofen is located in a scenic part of Allgäu, southern Germany. It has around 10,000 residents and is a popular holiday destination in summer, but also for cross-country skiing in winter.
The municipality had a demonstration of the Multihog in 2020, organised by the local dealer for the region, Knoblauch-Wohlgschaft. Following on from the successful demo, Waltenhofen rented the Multihog’s compact model, the CX, for the 2021/2022 winter season.
The Multihog CX was fitted with a Westa snow blower, a straight plough and a salt spreader. The municipality changed the front attachment from a blower to a plough (and vice-versa), to best suit the weather conditions as they evolved. Fabian Berchtold and Andreas Trunzer are Waltenhofen’s Multihog operators, and both are very happy with the snow blowing power of the Multihog CX.
Fabian explains what their winter maintenance entails: “We take care of winter maintenance on approx. 180 km of roads in the area and we’re one of the biggest municipalities in the county of Oberallgäu. We have a lot of footpaths and wander trails to maintain, as we have a lot of winter tourism here. Being a popular winter destination doesn’t leave much room for mistakes or slacking – our residents and tourists have high expectations when it comes to snow removal. With the Multihog and the snow blower, it helps us to live up to these expectations. We have really been astounded by the power of this combination, it has so much more torque than our old machines.”
The old machines Fabian refers to are two tool carriers produced by another manufacturer. Waltenhofen also used to use contractors to carry out their winter maintenance, but some time ago they decided to bring the job in-house and do it themselves. “With our old machines, we just had so many problems. They were always broken down, and we had oil leaks and issues with the temperature. They were simply very unreliable. Now we’ve brought the job under our remit, and we have the right machine to do it well. In comparison to our old machine, the Multihog is simply deluxe, and as operators we really love it. Most importantly, it’s reliable, but it also has the power we need for snow blowing. Other plus points in my opinion are that it’s very quiet when operating, it has a solid build and a super comfortable cabin with heating to keep me warm in winter.”
Fabian is also complimentary of the support from their local dealer. “Knoblauch-Wohlgschaft have been there for us any time we’ve had a question about the machine, and good service and after-care is hugely important for a critical piece of winter equipment like this. We’re very happy to have a good partner locally, that’s for sure.”
“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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