MANmagazin edition Truck 1/2016 International

1/2016
E
xtending two metres into the
ground, the fence surrounding
the living quarters is designed
to protect its inhabitants from bears. Even
though they presumably are in hibernation
these days in the wild Taiga of Western Siberia,
it is still better to play it safe. And while the
bears are resting, it is high season for the men
and their MAN trucks: A broad network of
crude oil drilling stations is currently under
construction on the frozen swampland, with
dozens of 50-tonne trucks deployed 20 hours
everyday to transport 20,000 cubic metres of
sand to the drilling stations daily.
It’s just shy of eight o’clock am and morning
has just broken. The dark silhouette of fir
trees emerges from mixed woodlands, their
branches dipped low underneath hefty
mounds of snow. A bright red MAN dump
truck rolls through this glistening white landscape,
snowflakes swirling around its wheels.
The safety regulations for oil extraction mandate
a speed limit of 30 kilometres per hour,
which represents a true challenge considering
the track gradients in snow and black ice. Yet
the MAN TGS was designed precisely for handling
off-road situations in winter. It takes
merely a few minutes to load the tipper vehicle
with sand. After the digger carefully flattens
the pile of sand one last time, the truck
with its four axles and 480 hp already heads
back out of the sandpit. Driver Artjom Nurgaliev
flashes a satisfied smile: “I’ve got a good
feeling about the truck, for it has a stable
chassis and powerful engine. It’s really important
to assess the driving situation correctly,
then choose the best speed and engage the
right differentials. We therefore participate in
training sessions on a regular basis,” explains
the 25-year-old.
Hard work: The MAN trucks
were designed for off-road
situations in winter.
Home base: The men
working for Sibitek in
Siberia sleep in a
caravan camp.
Photos: Frank Herfort
Relies on his MAN: Driver
Artjom Nurgaliev values the
stable chassis and strong
powertrain of his truck.
“MAN technology
simply is the
most enduring.”
Sergej Chernov, Technical Director for SIBITEK
Untiring: The MAN trucks transport
sand 20 hours per day to lay tracks
and develop drilling stations.
- 42 °
Celsius
is not unusual during the wintertime in
Western Siberia. Northern Russia is one
of the world’s coldest regions.
Western Siberia
The snow cover reaches 150 centimetres
and the temperature has fallen to minus 28°
Celsius. Northern Russia demands tenacious
people and robust technology. “Only allwheel
drive vehicles are deployed here. Other
trucks would never be able to handle these
conditions,” comments Sergej Chernov. The
38-year-old works as Technical Director for
the construction company Sibitek. “MAN
technology simply is the most enduring.”
Chernov is a draughtsman by training, a hobby
race driver and has been a car buff since
childhood. He manages the fleet at Sibitek,
which comprises 86 MAN trucks. “When we
decided to switch to European dump trucks
five years ago, we compared a variety of
brands. We finally chose MAN because the
company had developed one of the first 6x6
all-wheel drive trucks in Europe, and brought
specific in-depth experience to the table,”
adds Salambek Maigov, CEO of Sibitek. “First
introduced at Germany’s bauma 2013 trade
fair, the 8x4 truck happened to be an exclusive
50-tonne vehicle designed for Chile. At
that trade show, we made arrangements with
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