Groomers
“Think Green in Red!”
Under its slogan “Think Green in Red!”, die Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG made a strong presentation of its commitment to sustainability at SAM 2012 in Grenoble.
“Think Green in Red!” relates to sustainable vehicle technologies as incorporated in the PistenBully 600 E+, the first snow groomer with diesel electric drive, or the integrated SNOWsat navigation system for snow groomers, and even training sessions for responsible groomer drivers.
Varied product range from PistenBully
At the French winter technology trade show, PistenBully presented its extremely varied range of products: From the PistenBully 100 to the PistenBully 600 W Polar and the Formatic 350, practically the full range was to be seen in Grenoble. In addition to a very full offering of new vehicles, accessories and services, visitors were also able to take a look at the PistenBully 600 Select range of almost new PistenBully 600s.
The PistenBully 100 has been redesigned and now has a chassis with an additional axle. That improves the distribution of weight and hence hill-climbing ability.
With its new winch, the muscular PistenBully 600 W Polar scores with even more power and longer service life for the gears and shaft bearings. The winch comes with 1,050 meters of cable as standard, with an extra-long 1,450 meter cable available from the company’s spare parts department in Laupheim on request. The new technology offers clear benefits in terms of fast and precise working.
The groomers on show at SAM also included the PistenBully 400 Park and the Formatic 350.
GreenIQ – green intelligence for PistenBully
When developing new vehicle technologies, Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG is always very much aware of their environmental impact. All the vehicles on show at SAM were powered by engines that meet the strict Euro 3B/Tier 4i exhaust standard. These 3B engines have more power: The PistenBully 100, for example, now comes with 210 hp, the 600 with 455 hp and the PistenBully 600 Polar with an impressive 510 hp. All the groomers can still be delivered with engines designed to the Euro 3A/Tier 3 standard, but availability is limited.
At Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG, GreenIQ is the label for PistenBully groomers with sustainable engine and exhaust control technologies, i.e. all PistenBullys with 3B engines, the PistenBully 600 E+ and the PistenBully 600 TwinPower, the first series-production snow groomer with a diesel-gas drive.
At SAM, Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG also presented its PistenBully 600 E+ with a hybrid diesel-electric drive. The new technology reduces fuel consumption by up to 25% and also lowers CO2 emissions. Attachments that were previously powered via the hydraulic system can now be powered electrically. The hybrid configuration turns the PistenBully 600 E+ into a kind of mobile power plant, with enough power to operate external electric tools, e.g. for repair work. The PistenBully 600 E+ made its debut in demonstrations on the mountain at the beginning of February.
New vehicle development is only one aspect of the company’s commitment to sustainability. With SNOWsat, Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG now offers an integrated navigation system for snow groomers based on GPS and the use of modern inertial technology. Apart from ski trail management, SNOWsat also provides valuable data on snow depth. This function facilitates precision snowmaking and trail grooming, with clearly positive effects in terms of resource management, e.g. through the use of less water and energy.
As far as operating economics are concerned, the PistenBully drivers themselves are clearly a key factor. In collaboration with an experienced partner, Kässbohrer offers drivers targeted eco-snow training sessions, which serve awareness-building for drivers with regard to their economic and ecological responsibilities.
PistenBully Select
PistenBully Select is the name of a limited sales program of young PistenBully 600 and 600 Polar groomers. The almost new vehicles are fully overhauled in line with the strictest Kässbohrer quality criteria and are supplied in fully restored condition, including certificates from Daimler and Dekra, and with a full range of equipment plus an attractive service package. Ski areas that take advantage of PistenBully Select to extend their groomer fleets need fear no loss of quality in comparison to new vehicle fleets. Not surprisingly, the extended PistenBully Select program has met with a keen response from the market.
In addition to PistenBully Select, Kässbohrer Geländefahrzeug AG also presented its other offerings of pre-owned groomers at SAM 2012.
PistenBully service
Kässbohrer’s service people were in attendance at SAM, providing useful advice and assistance. The service stand also gave visitors an opportunity to convince themselves of the quality of original Kässbohrer spare parts and to purchase various Kässbohrer merchandising items. And French drivers were also invited to register for the PistenBully Club.
