The company Schmitz Straßen- und Tiefbau GmbH, founded in 1968 and located in Neubörger to the south of Papenburg in the Emsland district has its second generation of managers, Guido and Petra Schmitz. The main activities are road and canal building, civil engineering and earthworks. There has been, for over 10 years, a very close relationship with Hyundai Baumaschinen Nord, in Bad Bentheim, 85 km away. 

 

The fleet of machines at present has 10 wheel loaders from 2 to 22 tons and 12 excavators up to 26 tons. Guido Schmitz met Willem Akkermans, manager of Hyundai Baumaschinen Nord, at Bauma 2011. There has been a close business relationship since then. At present the following Hyundai machines are in service at Schmitz Straßen und Tiefbau GmbH:

• Crawler excavators HX260, HX145LCR with adjustable boom (short tail swing excavator)
• Wheel loaders HL955 and 757-9A
• Compact excavator R25Z-9AK

"Our machines are operated by well trained drivers", says Guido Schmitz. "The larger excavators and wheel loaders provide us with 600 to 1,000 hours annually. Good contact with the supplier is important, not only during procurement but also for repairs and adjustments. I am very satisfied with HBN, since I am not just a number but a partner and it's almost like a family. We are helped within three hours, and unplanned outages do not happen."

Schmitz Straßen und Tiefbau GmbH equips its machines with centralised lubrication, the Hyundai HX145LCR short tail swing excavator has Roadliner pads to avoid damaging the road surface. Also, we use the Hyundai Hi-MATE monitoring and analysis system that can be used free of charge for five years from procurement and makes usage and machine data available in real time via the cloud.

The latest acquisition in 2019 is the Hyundai HL955 wheel loader with 149 kW power and around 15 tons weight, with a 2.5 m3 shovel. The main task is removing material from the mobile crusher and various loading operations at the depot and on the recycling areas of Schmitz Straßen- und Tiefbau GmbH. 

Also in 2019, the 14 t heavy HX145LCR with adjustable boom and 700 mm wide floor plates (also fitted with Roadliner rubber pads) was ordered at Bauma. This very versatile short tail swing excavator proves itself in narrow roads and canal sites because it does not have a rear reach so it only needs one lane in moving traffic. 

The 14 t heavy short tail swing excavator produced in South Korea is powered by a stage IV Perkins motor. High-quality pumps and valve blocks from Hyundai and Kawasaki ensure accurate working - all hydraulic circuits (including those of add-on equipment) are fully proportional. The modern and very spacious air-conditioned infotainment cabin offers the operator a quiet, low-vibration workplace with plenty of windows. Depending on the application, attachment and environment, the excavator operator can choose from three working modes:

• P mode (Power): maximum speed and power for heavy work
• S mode (Standard): performance and fuel efficiency for general work
• E mode (Economy): control for light work.

The operator selects the working pressure and oil flow for up to 10 attachments via the LCD display. The AAVM (Advanced Around View Monitoring) system and the Moving Objects Detection system that warn about people in the working area considerably increase the safety of the machine – optional equipment subsidised by the Employer's Liability Insurance Association (BG). The HX145LCR comes as standard with the Hi-MATE electronic evaluation system, which transmits machine data and consumption values via UMTS on request, thus enabling the operator to monitor the machine data continuously.

Short tail swing excavators are the "Swiss pocket knife" on the works site. The 4,900 mm adjustable boom can be combined with two bucket arms of 2,100 to 2,500 mm. With the longest arm, the machine reaches a digging depth of about 5,000 mm while maintaining high breakout forces. It has a bulldozer blade as standard. It acts as a support in heavy lifting work (such as lifting trench shoring) and for bulldozing work. 

For complicated work the fine-swivel option (precision work with the upper structure) can be ordered. Like all Hyundai construction machines, the HX145 LCR is fully equipped at the factory. The standard equipment includes, among others, a speaker phone, air conditioning, touch screen for operating and adjustment, parameters and eco-display, double-acting pipework for two-shell grab and much more. Guido Schmitz has also ordered the Hyundai-designed AAVM safety system that gives the operator a 360° view round his machine - a very important safety feature, especially in confined sites and with people working near the excavator.