Rental company buys 10 hybrid concrete mixers

'You still want this one in ten years' time'

Rental company Mixer2Rent from Joure is expanding its fleet with ten MAN concrete mixers. Just as
90 percent of the vehicles in the fleet are these equipped with a hybrid body. New, however, is the even more complete equipment, with navigation, camera system and parking heater. This allows electric loading and unloading even in exceptionally cold weather conditions. "This is the concrete mixer of the future."

"The hybrid concrete mixer has significant advantages over the conventional concrete mixer," said Jan Johan Kamstra, relationship manager at Mixer2Rent. "The hybrid drive provides 25 to 35 percent fuel savings. When loading and especially unloading concrete, work can be done quietly and cleanly. Drivers no longer have to work in their diesel haze or shout to get above the noise of the diesel engine. They can now even hear cyclists approaching." Behold the main reason why Mixer2Rent chose hybrid concrete mixers. In the fleet, 90 percent are equipped with such a body, from different suppliers.

Reliable

So now 10 new vehicles are added to that. The electric drive is supplied by Wierda Hybrid Technologies, also from Joure. Depending on the need and the possibilities, these mixers can run on the conventional drive or on the electric motor. Compared to the existing fleet, these new vehicles have undergone a significant improvement. "Our customers reported that in extreme weather conditions drivers chose not to switch off the diesel engine," says Kamstra. "That's why we equipped the new vehicles with a parking heater as standard. Eventually the customer can choose to use it and/or expand it with a roof air conditioner. Of course, the batteries have ample capacity to power both mixer and air conditioner for a full working day. Reliability is key."

Fully electric

All vehicles come standard as 4-axle trucks. Some of them have Mixer2Rent converted to 5-axle vehicles at Wierda Voertuig Techniek. But certainly not all of them, Kamstra emphasizes. "At the moment, the market is mainly asking for 5-axles, because of the greater payload and thus efficiency. But there are cities that deny access to trucks longer than 10 meters or at least make it more difficult." After several years, the phased replacement of Mixer2Rent concrete mixers will begin. "Hybrid concrete mixers are currently the most sustainable solution available," said Kamstra. "The new addition to our fleet will remain in that vanguard for the next 10 years." At the end of this year, this vanguard will be expanded to include a prototype all-electric concrete mixer. An innovative development ready for testing.

With the current Euro 6 concrete mixers - 90 percent of which are also hybrids - Mixer2Rent currently has the cleanest and most modern fleet in the Netherlands.    

Text and image | Mixer2Rent