NEWS & MEDIA
15.11.2011
THE CS140 TWINACTION ROAD SWEEPING MACHINE PROMOTED WITH FULL HONOURS
Interview with Massimo Mossenta, Head of Sales for the Sweeping Machine Division of Comac Spa.
- Mr. Mossenta, what stage are we at with the launch of Comac's CS140 TwinAction road sweeping machine?
“The machine is fully ready. After a whole year of tests - both in the autumn/winter on damp, muddy ground covered with leaves, and in the spring/summer on dry, dusty ground - we're now convinced that the CS140 TwinAction can really work in any sort of weather conditions. We've calibrated the vacuum turbine at top speed, to guarantee the best flow rate of aspirated air, cleaned of all the fine dust particles over a good 50m²of filtering surface.
We're participating in public tenders to supply road sweeping machines for some important municipal concerns and Italian municipalities and, after letting certain potential customers try out the machines, we're now also negotiating the sale of a number of CS140 TwinAction models in Germany and certain Middle East and Latin American countries”.
- The machine has been presented during many exhibitions and events over the past few months: how did it all go?
“The CS140 TwinAction has been tested by a good number of users; they've all recognized the qualities of the TwinAction system that allows the machine to be used on dusty ground without actually raising the dust and, above all, without needing to use water to reduce the dust or lubricate the vacuum channel. The use - or, to put it better, the "waste" - of water is something that has a notable effect on both the autonomy of the machine (which has to be frequently stopped in order to fill the spacious tank), and on the environment. Water is increasingly becoming a precious commodity, and the municipal administrations realize that the use of water in sweeping machines, as an attempt to reduce the dust raised by the brushes, is no longer acceptable. We've calculated that by not using water in our machines, it's possible to save up to 100,000 litres of water a year. The CS140 TwinAction was purposely designed for dusty, sandy environments (like the Middle East), and to clean cement works and foundries, where water cannot be used”.
- What about the demonstrations given abroad, even in hard environmental conditions? Were they useful?
“Without a doubt, the working demonstration during the Frankfurt Motor Show was particularly successful. Inside the trade fair area, the CS140 TwinAction worked with the minimum noise levels (thanks to the fine tuning of the powerful suction turbine) along the pathways used by the visitors, removing every sort of residue without using water and without causing any disturbance to the people nearby. On the occasion of that visit to Germany, the CS140 TwinAction was subjected to a series of strict, intense tests carried out by an independent body (the SGS Institut of Taunusstein) within the sphere of the PM10 emissions certification program of EUnited Municipal Equipment (the association of the main European road sweeper producers). The CS140 Twin-Action demonstrated its effectiveness in both sweeping (in other words, the ratio of the material on the ground before the test to the material actually collected up) and, above all, in the total filtering of the PM10 fine dust particles. The strict test confirmed what we had already suspected for a long time; the water sprayed onto the brushes can reduce airborne dust, but also causes some of the dust to adhere to the ground. This is not picked up by the sweeper and when the water evaporates the dust problem returns. The high brushing efficiency values confirmed that the best system is the dry one, that removes dust with the central brush and a powerful vacuum. The very low values relating to the concentration of fine dust particles in the tensile structure after the use of the CS140 TwinAction showed that the only system that's really effective in fighting PM10 emissions is one that completely filters all the aspirated air before sending it back out into the environment”.
- Mr. Mossenta, what stage are we at with the launch of Comac's CS140 TwinAction road sweeping machine?
“The machine is fully ready. After a whole year of tests - both in the autumn/winter on damp, muddy ground covered with leaves, and in the spring/summer on dry, dusty ground - we're now convinced that the CS140 TwinAction can really work in any sort of weather conditions. We've calibrated the vacuum turbine at top speed, to guarantee the best flow rate of aspirated air, cleaned of all the fine dust particles over a good 50m²of filtering surface.
We're participating in public tenders to supply road sweeping machines for some important municipal concerns and Italian municipalities and, after letting certain potential customers try out the machines, we're now also negotiating the sale of a number of CS140 TwinAction models in Germany and certain Middle East and Latin American countries”.
- The machine has been presented during many exhibitions and events over the past few months: how did it all go?
“The CS140 TwinAction has been tested by a good number of users; they've all recognized the qualities of the TwinAction system that allows the machine to be used on dusty ground without actually raising the dust and, above all, without needing to use water to reduce the dust or lubricate the vacuum channel. The use - or, to put it better, the "waste" - of water is something that has a notable effect on both the autonomy of the machine (which has to be frequently stopped in order to fill the spacious tank), and on the environment. Water is increasingly becoming a precious commodity, and the municipal administrations realize that the use of water in sweeping machines, as an attempt to reduce the dust raised by the brushes, is no longer acceptable. We've calculated that by not using water in our machines, it's possible to save up to 100,000 litres of water a year. The CS140 TwinAction was purposely designed for dusty, sandy environments (like the Middle East), and to clean cement works and foundries, where water cannot be used”.
- What about the demonstrations given abroad, even in hard environmental conditions? Were they useful?
“Without a doubt, the working demonstration during the Frankfurt Motor Show was particularly successful. Inside the trade fair area, the CS140 TwinAction worked with the minimum noise levels (thanks to the fine tuning of the powerful suction turbine) along the pathways used by the visitors, removing every sort of residue without using water and without causing any disturbance to the people nearby. On the occasion of that visit to Germany, the CS140 TwinAction was subjected to a series of strict, intense tests carried out by an independent body (the SGS Institut of Taunusstein) within the sphere of the PM10 emissions certification program of EUnited Municipal Equipment (the association of the main European road sweeper producers). The CS140 Twin-Action demonstrated its effectiveness in both sweeping (in other words, the ratio of the material on the ground before the test to the material actually collected up) and, above all, in the total filtering of the PM10 fine dust particles. The strict test confirmed what we had already suspected for a long time; the water sprayed onto the brushes can reduce airborne dust, but also causes some of the dust to adhere to the ground. This is not picked up by the sweeper and when the water evaporates the dust problem returns. The high brushing efficiency values confirmed that the best system is the dry one, that removes dust with the central brush and a powerful vacuum. The very low values relating to the concentration of fine dust particles in the tensile structure after the use of the CS140 TwinAction showed that the only system that's really effective in fighting PM10 emissions is one that completely filters all the aspirated air before sending it back out into the environment”.
