6 unimog - Mercedes-Benz España

2/2000
Mercedes-Benz
UNIMOG
JOURNAL
Baptism of fire
At work in Eger
U 500 – a new performance class
Ideal logistics

Unimog-System-Partnerships agreed 4-5
U 500 – A new performance class 6
Star of the demonstration track 7
The baptism of fire 8-9
50 years of Unimog in 2001 17
New U 300 for Gaggenau’s public works department 17
Unimog Used Vehicle Center on the Internet 18
Versatility is in demand 18
New Unimog book/ Rally power with the Unimog 19
50 years of Herold 19
Publisher:
DaimlerChrysler AG, Unimog Division
Publisher’s responsibility:
Dieter Sellnau, Unimog Division
Coordination:
Martin Adam, Unimog Division
Editorial committee:
Martin Adam, Erwin Kirschner, Dieter Mutard, Karin Weidenbacher
Contributors to this issue:
Texts: Michael Brettnacher, Stefan Loeffler,
Dieter Mutard, Christine Karras
Photos: DWM Pressebüro und Verlag, Michael Brettnacher,
Unimog Division
Editorial office address:
DaimlerChrysler AG, Produktbereich Unimog
Vertrieb Marketing, 76568 Gaggenau, Germany
Production:
Dieter Mutard DWM Pressebüro und Verlag,
Ringstrasse 11, 89081 Ulm, Germany. Phone +49 731/9 62 89-0, Fax +49
731/96289-30
The next issue will be published in the spring of 2001.
The publisher assumes no responsibility for voluntarily submitted texts and
photographs. Printed on paper bleached without the use of chlorine.
P U B L I S H E R ’ S D A T A
Editorial
A new quality of cooperation 3
The new Unimog Generation
U nimog International
Premiere in Austria 11
Convincing technical superiority 12-13
Sales organisation
Ideal vehicle logistics with special trailers 14-16
UNISCOPE
Printed in the Federal Republic of Germany
WWW
UNIMOG HOMEPAGE:
www.mercedes-benz.com/d/ecars/unimog/default.htm
Cover photographs
The local authorities in the
Eger district operates the
Unimog, and the
management appreciates
its technical superiority
most of all
Company stamp
The 58th IAA Commercial
Vehicle Exhibition in Frankfurt
am Main is the stage
for the first appearance of
the Unimog U 500, which
can pull trailer loads of over
24 tonnes with ease
High volumes of transport and chronic
lack of space at the bus factory in Mannheim
are no problem for the Unimog.
It is a convincing towing vehicle thanks
to its manoeuvrability and power
The State Highways
Institute in Saxony has
been testing a U 400.
Conclusion: this newgeneration
vehicle withstood
its baptism of fire

The Unimog-System-Partnership:
A new quality of cooperation
Dear reader,
In the last edition of the UNIMOG JOUR-
NAL we described the main aspects of
Unimog-System-Partnership in connection
with the report on our official launch event
for the new Unimog generation in Mainz.
I would like to take the opportunity here to
present in more detail the aims and general
conditions of this new quality of cooperation
with regional or international implement
manufacturers.
Some of you may quite rightly object:
implement partnership at Unimog — this
is nothing new! DaimlerChrysler AG s
Unimog Division has maintained close
cooperation with selected implement
manufacturers throughout the world for
many years. We have actively utilized or
implemented the knowledge gained in
almost half a century in developing the
new U 300 - U 500 equipment carriers.
The end product was and is a sign that
the direction/design of the Unimog implement
strategy has changed, and now
pursues the following core objectives:
•To fulfil customer requirements as
effectively as possible
•The vehicle plus implement
must prove its efficiency
in operation and
permit quick implement
changeovers
and last but not least
•A major improvement in
the cost/performance
ratio of the vehicle plus
implement system.
You may realise from these specifications
that we set a very high standard for
ourselves. How could these aims best be
achieved?
A major success factor here was the fact
that we developed and tested the vehicle
and its implement from the very outset in
close cooperation with our implement System-Partners,
in order to match the drive
concepts and interfaces perfectly together.
Some of the experts discussion groups
lasted well into the night! But the effort
was worth it. Numerous innovative systems
have resulted or are in the offing, to the
advantage of the customer and with major
improvements in their cost-performance
ratio compared with previous solutions.
You can identify this innovation in our
system partners communications documents
by the logo illustrated here, which
at the same time confirms acceptance of
the implement system for the new U 300 -
U 500.
The new quality of cooperation with regional
or international operating equipment
manufacturers is being vouched for
and promoted by further sales activities:
¥ Mutual presence at specialist trade
fairs, demonstrations and special events
(see our article on pages 4/5)
•Joint presentation of the vehicle plus
implement system under the Unimog-
System-Partner quality seal
•Regular co-ordination when producing
communication media
Editorial
Hans-Jürgen Wischhof: “Close cooperation
with our implement System-Partners is a
major success factor for the new Unimog
generation.”
•Co-ordinated support and service
•Joint training programs
and above all
•Availability of the Unimog plus implement
system from a single source
through our Unimog sales organization.
As you can see, the new Unimog-System-Partnership
represents a central element
in our future marketing. A unique
alliance to your advantage as our valued
Unimog customers.
Yours truly,
Hans-Jürgen Wischhof
UNIMOG
JOURNAL
3

The Unimog Division
exhibition at the
International Specialist Trade
Fair for Recycling and
Disposal (ENTSORGA), held
in June in Cologne, Germany
Unimog-System-Partnerships agreed
In Hall 14.2 at the exhibition the new
Unimog U 300/U 400 model lines with
system solutions for mowing, cleaning
and winter services were on display. The
new product range is enduring proof from
Mercedes-Benz that the Unimog represents
an efficient operating system throughout
the year for towns and cities, road and
motorway maintenance departments and
private companies. Three of the new-gen-
➀ ➁ ➂
eration Unimog equipment carriers were
shown in exemplary fashion at the
ENTSORGA: a Unimog U 300 with a Mulag-
Schmidt HSK 1200 hedge clipping head on
the SB 500 boom, with which Product
Manager Erich Rid demonstrated live to
numerous specialist visitors the technical
innovations and subtleties; a Unimog U 400
with Faun AK 451 attachable sweeper and
a Unimog U 400 with VECTOR MS 33
There was a large
crowd of visitors
to the Mercedes-
Benz stand at the
International
Specialist Trade
Fair ENTSORGA in
Cologne
snowplough and STRATOS B27-21 silo
spreading device from Schmidt Winterdienst
und Kommunaltechnik.
All these combinations were developed
and tested together with these Unimog-
System-Partners. And the divisional managers
used the trade fair platform to officially
seal other partnerships. At a joint event,
Hans-Jürgen Wischhof, Head of the Unimog
Product Division, and Sales Director Winfried
Blum handed over the certificates for
the implement System-Partnership. At the
meeting, which took place in an informal
atmosphere, Joachim Oechsner, Managing
Director of Schmidt Winterdienst- und
Kommunaltechnik GmbH and Managing
Director Michael Leistikow of Joachim
Leistikow GmbH signed the relevant contracts.
Michael Häusermann, Managing
Director of the Automotive Division of
Bucher-Industries AG, and the Managing
Director of Faun Umwelttechnik GmbH

Advertisement
➍
& Co., Dr. Armin Vogel, strengthened future
cooperation with their signatures. All of
those present were in agreement with
Hans-Jürgen Wischhof that the Unimog-
System-Partnership , which we introduced
you to briefly in the last edition of UNIMOG
JOURNAL, represents a new quality in over
fifty years of cooperation with leading implement
manufacturers at home and abroad.
This will be of valuable assistance to you,
our customers, in the choice of practical
1 Winfried Blum (left) and Hans-Jürgen
Wischhof (2nd from right) with the General
Managers of Faun Umwelttechnik
GmbH & Co., Dr. Armin Vogel (2nd from
left) and Dr. Johannes F. Kirchhoff
2 Hans-Jürgen Wischhof with company
founder Joachim Leistikow (right) and
Managing Director Michael Leistikow
3 Hans-Jürgen Wischhof with Michael
Häusermann, Managing Director of the
Automotive Division of Bucher-
Industries AG
4 Left to right: Winfried Blum, Joachim
Oechsner, Managing Director of Schmidt
Winterdienst und Kommunaltechnik
GmbH, Hans-Jürgen Wischhof and
Schmidt’s Sales Manager Klaus Drescher
system solutions and also of financial significance,
since a much-improved cost/
performance ratio for the combination of
Unimog plus implement can be achieved
through this close cooperation.
The four companies that received these
certificates in Cologne all have many years
of experience in the field of local-authority
utility technology. For example, Schmidt
Winterdienst und Kommunaltechnik with
its head offices in St. Blasien, manufactures
The new Unimog generation
add-on implements for both winter and
summer requirements. Leistikow GmbH,
based in Niederdorfelden in the Federal
German State of Hesse, has been working
together with the Unimog Division for
many years now and specializes in highpressure
cleaning technology. Lower
Saxony s Bucher-Schörling GmbH, manufacturer
of interchangeable roadsweeping
machines and Faun Umwelttechnik GmbH
& Co., a manufacturer of refuse disposal
vehicles and roadsweeping machines based
in Lower Saxony s Osterholz-Scharmbeck,
are both new partners.
UNIMOG
JOURNAL
5

U500
The 58th IAA Commercial Vehicle Exhibition in Frankfurt am Main was the platform for the
first public appearance of the Unimog U 500. In contrast to the Unimog U 300 and U 400,
which were introduced in the spring, this implement carrier with up to 280 horsepower on
tap and a gross weight limit of 16 tonnes is, thanks to its operating profile, also a versatile
specialist when the need arises.
The European market for implement
carriers is a hard-fought battleground.
For success here one needs
products that comply with the customers
demand for a major improvement in the
cost/performance ratio. For this reason
the new, big U 500 also offers interesting
technical solutions such as a Telligent
gear shift or powerful Euro 3 standard sixcylinder
engines from the 906 model line.
On top of this it has a comprehensive
standard package with no fewer than 83
features extending from storage facilities
and lockers to additional side turn-indicator
repeaters.
Advantages compared with trucks
The question as to what operating purposes
a Unimog of this size (230 to 280
horsepower and 16 tonnes gross weight
limit) can fulfil that a medium-size allwheel
drive truck could not carry out
satisfactorily was naturally asked within
the DaimlerChrysler Group, the largest
commercial vehicle manufacturer in the
world, but is, however, quickly answered.
The successor to the heavy Unimog
U2100 to 2450 model line is a highly versatile
implement carrier for municipal
6 UNIMOG
JOURNAL
U 500 – a new performance class
services, trade and industry and the construction
and energy-supply industries. It
has conceptual advantages compared with
its truck competitors, which can largely be
explained in the following points:
— integrated implement carrier/tractor
— optimal drive and attachment facilities
— high torque and pulling power with the
Unimog 4x4 driveline concept
— high pulling power for winter clearing
— mechanical power take-off shaft at the
front with 150 kW power output
— 20 to 30 percent more front-axle load
available than a comparable truck
— semi-forward control design permits a
very good view of the appliances and
attachments.
Developed for multi-purpose operations
The new Unimog U 300 - U 500 models
have been developed for multi-purpose
operations. The U 500 on the other hand,
is a new vehicle dimension with regard to
its power and strength in heavy duty
operations. This can be seen from the snow
clearing work carried out by road and
motorway maintenance departments,
which use heavy equipment with high grit
and road salt carrying volumes on a daily
basis. But even with an add-on road
sweeper with a body of up to 6 cubic metres
in volume, the U 500 is in a new performance
category.
Heavy loads are no problem
Compact and manoeuvrable tractors
for heavy duty transport work are a special
type of commercial vehicle that is
constantly in demand in the industry. The
U 500 with its immense pulling power
has no problems here and the standard
all-wheel drive and differential locks are
significant plus points. In addition, the
short tractor is ideal for the movement of
extra-long material.
In the construction and energy industries,
the requirements are above all for
heavy implement operation, frequently in
off-road environments or confined areas.
The U 500 s compact dimensions and its
high payload of up to 9 tonnes are for instance
ideal when erecting mobile cranes
with load capacities of up to 40 tm. Trailer
loads of over 24 tonnes are also no
problem for this new-generation vehicle.

The new Unimog model
lines also prove their worth
in agriculture.
The Unimog Division
demonstrated this at the
DLG open-air event near
Magdeburg
Rottmersleben from 20th to 22nd June
2000. This location near Magdeburg
was the showground for the Deutsche
Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft (DLG)’s openair
event on these dates and is an information
platform for trends and the latest developments
in crop cultivation and protection.
The Unimog Division was among the exhibitors
and, as well as the familiar Unimog
all-wheel tractor program, presented with
various implement companies, demonstrated
the new Unimog U 300 for the first
time to almost 18,000 specialist visitors
with a Dammann sprayer attachment.
The response was overwhelming. With
its handling, excellent all-round vision
from the spacious, well-designed driver cab
and the low level of background noise,
the Unimog U 300 with Dammann sprayer
and exemplary linkage control was the star
of the demonstrations.
The Unimog Division displayed various
practical combinations of operating implement
with this supplement to the all-wheel
drive tractor program. Mercedes-Benz
Unimogs are predestined for use in largescale
agricultural operations by reason of
their design as well as their powerful technology
. This is equally true of machine
cooperatives and private companies, who
value the power and the excellent implement
properties just as much as the rapid
deployment from location to location. The
implement carrier from Gaggenau is a
purposeful and above all an economical
alternative.
The Unimog Division
and the Herbert
Dammann company
from Buxtehude-
Hedendorf present
their product range
Star of the
demonstrations
Incereasingly in demand recently are
once again Unimog s universal implement
operating facilities in large-scale agricultural
areas and in operations by the Agro-
Service Associations in the new German
Federal states. There is also demand from
farmers who, as a source of additional
Advertisement
Practical operation before
a large crowd of visitors.
The new Unimog U 300
demonstrated its strengths
for agricultural use most
impressively at this DLG
open-air event
income, accept commissions from the
Ministry of Agriculture, landscape protection
commissions, water authorities or
industrial companies, as well as by private
persons who perform countryside maintenance
or winter road clearing work.
Technology that grabs you!
The Type
M 215
Quick-action
Excavator
Attachment
UNIMOG
JOURNAL
40
7

The baptism of fire
Tests on the edge of the Erzgebirge mountains. Under the
supervision of the Saxon State Highway Construction
Institute, a U 400 with mowing implement was tested by
the Chemnitz Highways Department
The Central Implement Service Section
at the State Institute is responsible
among other things for the
purchasing of all vehicles and implement
and the maintenance and operation of
Federal motorways and Federal and State
roads in the Free State of Saxony. Emphasis
is placed on the testing of new products
as a means of assessment. For this
reason, a U 400 in combination with the
Mulag-Schmidt MHU 800
mowing attachment was
comprehensively tested for
an initial period of six
weeks from May this year
onwards by the highway
maintenance depot in
Gornau on the edge of the
Middle Erz Mountains,
not far from Chemnitz. The
U 400 is very near in its
specification to a tender in-
vitation that a U 1600 would
formerly have fulfilled, but
with major design changes:
• The mowing implements
8 UNIMOG
JOURNAL
The Mulag-Schmidt
mowing attachment is
controlled by a joystick
and keyboard
is no longer driven via the rear power
take-off shaft but via a power hydraulic
system. The rear power take-off shaft is no
longer utilized.
• Thanks to the new transmission design
with Telligent gear shift, a double clutch
is no longer required for operating heavy,
front-driven appliances; the power take-off
shaft is switched on and off electrically,
independent of the clutch.
• The panorama door and the
rotating seat for operating the
mowing implements are not for
retrofitting but can be ordered
ex-works from Gaggenau.
• With the VarioPilot interchangeable
steering it is possible
to control and drive the
Unimog conventionally from
the left or — after a quick
swap — from the right for improved
implement operation.
After a successful invitation
to tender, the Saxon Highways
Administration will buy
seventeen U 400s of almost
the same design. Not all the vehicles will
be equipped with VarioPilot¤, however. In
view of the large number of roads needing
maintenance, the Unimog with two mowing
implements and a two-person crew is
more efficient. The Mulag-Schmidt attachable
mowing implements is matched to the
new Unimog. It has an outreach of 7.3 metres,
CAN bus control and M htronic ,
with which the boom is automatically relieved
of load when meeting obstacles.
As a result, an average working speed of
5 km/h can be reached.
The U 400 also has a hydrostatic drive
which enables very low working speeds,
that can be precisely maintained both in
mowing and in winter road clearing with
a rotary snow blower or snow tiller.
The Saxon State Highways Institute’s
decision to buy the U 400 was not an easy
one, although it has already had a good
deal of experience with the Unimog midrange
and large model lines. Testing the
U 400 also served to define the specifications
for other Unimog vehicles in close
cooperation with Unimog-Agency Henne
Unimog GmbH in Wiedemar and the KLMV
customer service station in Rodewisch.
Result: the new Unimog has passed the
baptism of fire. And the driver is happy as
well with the latest developments!

Advertisement
Roadside grass can be maintained
in a one-man operation; the
U 400’s technology relieves the
driver of a large number of tasks
(above)
Comprehensive tests in road
operations were carried out with
a U 400 all around the town of
Gornau in Saxony (photo left)
The new Unimog generation
The mowing door and the
rotating seat give the operator
an excellent view of
the Mulag mowing attachment
(above)
The mowing unit is supported
directly above the rear
axle to dampen suspension-related
movement
UNIMOG
JOURNAL
9

Advertisements
10 UNIMOG
JOURNAL
E-Mail: unimog.ugc@mercedes-benz.de • www.unimog-ugc.de

Premiere in Austria
The new Unimog U 300/U 400 model ranges were on
display on 15th and 16th June at the Commercial Vehicle
Center of Georg Pappas Automobil AG in Vienna-Neudorf
There was enormous interest even before
the official presentation: over 600
visitors came to the Commercial Vehicle
Center to gain a first impression of the
Advertisement
Always at maximum
It’s so easy with the CLUTCHMATE
Less strain on the driver, less wear on the machine
• Because it reduces physical strain and protects
knees and backs
• It is ideal when stuck in traffic jams and city traffic
• It works like a “semi-automatic” transmission
• It allows drivers to concentrate more on the traffic
and the job in hand
new Unimog generation, and more than
200 test drives were undertaken. Guests
were welcomed by the owner of the Center,
Magister Georges König, member of the
CLUTCHMATE protects man and machine
• It is quick and easy to fit
• It requires no modifications to existing mechanisms
• It does not affect the licensing of the vehicle in any way
• It has no effect on any mechanical auxiliaries or hydraulics
• It is ideal for use with implements and attachments
• It might even allow a disabled person to be employed
U nimog International
Executive Board of Georg Pappas Automobil
AG, Unimog Sales Director at Daimler-
Chrysler AG, Winfried Blum, and Anton
Bucek, Unimog Sales director in Austria.
In the course of the event there was a
press conference on the new Unimog generation
where specialist Austrian journalists
— after the first presentation in March
at the DaimlerChrysler headquarters in
Stuttgart-Möhringen — were able to obtain
a detailed overview.
As well as numerous customers, such
as the Ministry of Transport, state governments
and lord mayors, a delegation from
Hungary also attended the presentation.
TÜV approved
Have you ever thought about how much strain is put on a Unimog driver’s left knee,
and how often it happens?
Depending on the type of work he might have to press the clutch up to three thousand times a
day.
And because human knees vary in strength and load capacity, serious injuries are always occurring.
Sometimes it means that a driver is off work for a while, but it could even lead to
permanent incapacity.
Why choose CLUTCHMATE?
Supply and installation by Unimog distributors only:
T.C. Systems bv, Schelmseweg 1, 6816 PA Arnhem NL
Tel: +31/2 64 42 23 43 Fax: +31/2 64 45 8136 Automatic coupling
UNIMOG
JOURNAL
11

Convincing technical superiority
If proof were needed that the Unimog is
appreciated at the highways administration
department of the Czech local
authority of Eger in beautiful Bohemia,
the crew of Director Radomil Havrda has
certainly delivered it in a convincing way.
Within a month — October 1999 — the
workshop employees restored and made
operational a U 900, which was left standing
in a corner of the yard in an almost
scrap-like condition.
Today the shiny as-new U 900 complements
the vehicle park of Správa a Údrzba
Silnic Cheb (SUS) — Eger s Highways Administration
and Maintenance Department —
and is being fitted with implements such
as a rotary snow plough and add-on
spreader or Schmidt s road-sign cleaning
unit and roadside mowing system. A total
of six Unimogs are in service, along with a
Mercedes-Benz SK 1824 and an Atego
1824 with drain cleaning system, which
will be delivered soon.
There are 72 highway administration
departments in the Czech Republic, some
are using Unimogs but none are so well
equipped with them as Eger. This fact is
astonishing and is making some speci-
The Mercedes-Benz fleet at the Eger
Highways Maintenance department
12 UNIMOG
JOURNAL
alists amongst Radomil Havrda’s colleagues
rather envious. In a country such
as the Czech Republic, where there are
four domestic manufacturers — Tatra, Liaz,
Karosa and Praga, all of whom have made
a name for themselves in the all-wheel
truck sector, it is extremely difficult to
find arguments for premium foreign products
such as the Mercedes-Benz Unimog
or other truck brands. But for Radomil
Havrda it is simply the technical superiority
of the products from the Black Forest and
the truck factory in W rth in municipal
work and road maintenance that counts .
Even the Department of Transport in
Prague, the highest authority of the highways
administration departments in the
Czech Republic, has accepted Havrda’s
Four-lane motorways, main roads and even
the historical market square in Eger,
the Bohemian town rich in history, are part
of the Unimog U 400’s operating area
Eger
Karlsbad
Marienbad
Prag
Tschechien Tschechien
Budweis
Mährisch-Ostrau
Brünn
opinion in the meantime. We could undoubtedly
save money at first if we bought
a competitor s product , says the Head of
the Highways Administration, but in
terms of performance, payloads and axle
loads, add-on implements, lifespan and
universal applicability we would have to
reinvest several times over the amount we
saved on the purchase in the course of the
vehicle s operating life. The Unimogs are
therefore a convincing argument with
their economical lifecycle costs and it s
really no wonder then that under these
conditions the first new-generation Unimog
U 400 has now been put into service.
At the official handover, Radomil Havrda
remembers that at the beginning of the
Unimog era in Eger one of the fitters remarked
on the sheer versatility of the Unimog.
I was fascinated because I d never
seen anything like it before. Today nothing
can surprise him anymore in this area.
The new Unimog generation offers a
great deal technically and ergonomically
that relieves the driver, but also improves
the vehicle s operational diversity. I was
impressed immediately by this equipment
carrier and its facilities, he explains.
The U 400 in a
historic setting in
Eger, where Albrecht
von Wallenstein was
murdered in 1634
(photo at top)
The oldest U 900
Unimog is 26 years
old, and poses here
with the new U 400
pose as a symbol of
26 years of Unimog
presence in Eger
(centre photo)

Features such as the VarioPilot® steering
and the power hydraulics pay for themselves
very quickly in regular operation.
The U 400 that the Eger Highway Administration
has now put into service is
equipped with the new Schmidt Stratos
spreader, but for year-round use other
attachments will naturally be added too.
The Eger region s road network that
the SUS cares for is 615 kilometres long.
Throughout the year, the most frequently
used appliances are for mowing and winter
road clearing.
In this respect, the often hard winters affect
roads in particular that in some cases
reach altitudes of over 900 metres. The
fact that four border crossings to Germany
(Schirnding, Selb, Waldsassen (Bavaria)
and Sch nberg (Saxony) are part of the
operating area requires constant readiness
in the interests of troublefree cross-border
traffic.
Another unusual aspect is in the fact
that 70 percent of all the roads pass
through water conservation areas (with
Advertisement
Maximilian Prinz von Croy (right), Head of
the Czech Unimog general agency, hands
over the keys to SUS Director Radomil
Havrda (left). In the center is Ing. Ladislav
Vybíral, co-proprietor of the general agency
the famous spa towns of Karlsbad and
Marienbad very near). The Highways
Maintenance Department therefore has to
be very careful with road salt: only the
most modern spreading technology brings
about the desired environmental effect.
U nimog International
HOCH- UND NIEDERDRUCKTECHNIK
FÜR DIE NEUEN UNIMOG-BAUREIHEN
U 300 / U 400
Unser Unimog-Lieferprogramm:
✻ Universal-Hochdruckreinigungsgeräte
für den Front- und Heckanbau
✻ Hochdruckflächenreinigungsgeräte
auch in Kombination mit
Frontanbaukehrmaschinen
✻ Hochdruckkanalspülgeräte zum
Aufbau auf den Pritschenhilfsrahmen
✻ Kombinierte Saug- und Spülbehälter
bis 7.000 l Gesamtvolumen
✻ Kommunale Schlammsaugewagen bis
8.000 l Gesamtvolumen
✻ Wasserbehälter bis 7.000 l
✻ Sonderaufbauten nach Wunsch
(z.B. Niederdruckgeräte, Gießarme,
Heißwassergeräte)
Specialists in the workshop
Every vehicle is only as good as its servicing,
according to an old saying. This is
equally true in the Czech Republic and in
Eger. SUS is a demanding customer, as
Maximilian Prinz von Croy, Head of the Unimog
general agency for the Czech Republic
in Rakovnik near Prague and his partner
Ing. Ladislav Vybíral will confirm. It s
also the reason why the experienced service
team at the general agency take
familiarisation with the new vehicle very
seriously. In Eger they always meet with a
team that is hungry for knowledge and
that understands technical information.
The 35 technicians amongst the total of 115
SUS employees are specialists. This is an
important factor, says Vladislav Holy, Deputy
Head of the Highways Administration:
The Unimog also succeeded with us because
we have a workshop team that cares
for these vehicles extremely well and thus
enhances the Unimog s qualitative
strengths.
Joachim Leistikow GmbH
Altkönigstraße 2
D-61138 Niederdorfelden
Tel. (0) 6101 / 5364-0
Fax. (0) 6101 / 33461
Internet: http://www.leistikow-gmbh.de
E-Mail: Vertrieb@leistikow-gmbh.de
UNIMOG
JOURNAL
13

Sales organisation
14 UNIMOG
JOURNAL
Efficient and perfectly
designed production
processes call for trouble-
free logistics. For this
reason, Unimogs are also in
transport service at the
DaimlerChrysler plants in
Bremen, Mannheim and
Ludwigsfelde. Their unique-
ness is in the special imple-
ment features that are finely
tuned for transport tasks
Ideal logistic vehicles with special trailers
It would be altogether too easy for
DaimlerChrysler production plants to
buy Unimogs simply so this Division
could improve its sales figures! In fact, internal
competition is too tough, since the
Mercedes-Benz Truck Division can offer a
variety of transport vehicles and hauling
These pictures show two features specific
to the factory’s vehicles. The platform body
(left) has been optimised for a better field
of view when uncoupling and manoeuvring.
The radio data terminal (above) is a module
in the TESS computer transport control
system at the Bremen plant
machines. Quite the opposite: the logistics
managers check the potential applications
scrupulously, for their sectors too are measured
in terms of functionality and efficiency.
The Unimog is very frequently the
ideal logistics vehicle when used with
special trailers. As a model for the many
other Group automobile production facilities,
we present here the internal Unimog
operations at the Bremen, Mannheim and
Ludwigsfelde plants.
Bremen
The transportation in the Logistics and
Communications Department (LVW/TW)
at the Bremen plant operates with a staff of
150 persons in three shifts to ensure an
all-encompassing transportation system.
Bremen is one of the most up-to-date car
plants in the world. 16,000 people work
here on a site with an area of 1,300,000
square metres. The production program
includes the Mercedes-Benz C Class cars,
the SLK, the CLK and the CLK convertible,
the C Class T models and the fabulous
SL Roadster.

High transport volumes and chronic
lack of space at the bus plant in
Mannheim are no problem for the
Unimog. It is thoroughly at home here
as a tractor due to its manoeuvrability
and power
In view of this extensive program and a
production volume of 1,000 cars a day,
much of the daily transport work that has to
be carried out involves movements from
outside storage facilities to the assembly
supply of engines, removal of empty material,
delivering material to and removing it
from the press shop and the assembly lines
and moving tools and fixtures to where they
are required. Holger Ahrendt, Transport
Manager at the Bremen plant, emphasises
the importance of the 14 Unimogs that are
utilized as tractors: We have excellent results
from all our Unimogs so far. They re
ideal for these short-distance movements
too, and help us to cope when the supply
situation changes. Everything has to
reach the assembly point just in time , so
absolute flexibility is what counts.
Short journeys or not, the Unimogs at
the Bremen plant average 2,600 kilometres
a week. Thanks to the Transport Operating
and Control System (TESS), they perform
45,000 individual transport tasks every
month, a third of these involving towing
work. Holger Ahrendt sums up the importance
of the Unimog for transport tasks at
the Bremen plant in the following unequivocal
terms: The plant logistics continue to
change, and so we have tried to achieve a
practicable mix between the various transport
systems. We shall certainly need the
Unimogs in the future as well, because for
certain types of load handling there s
simply no alternative to these vehicles!
The bodies in white from
the cathodic dip painting
process wait in front of
the omnibus paintshop in
Mannheim for further
processing
Manoeuvrability and
the ability to shunt are
essentials when “parking”
the body in white of a
15 m long, six-wheel
Mercedes-Benz Citaro
urban bus. The load can be
rolled off without any
problems by the driver
using the hydraulic lift on
the fifth wheel
The “Bremen Unicat”: a
U 2450 mit Zikun heavy
duty semi-trailer is used
to transport press tools
weighing up to 26 tonnes
Mannheim
Sales organisation
At the Mannheim plant, where DaimlerChrysler
buses are traditionally manufactured,
the experts from the General
Engineering department who are responsible
for plant logistics are convinced of
the Unimog‘s advantages. Let‘s hear what
Michael Krügel, Transport Team Manager,
has to say about the U 1400, U 1100 and
U90 models which he operates: They’ re
manoeuvrable and strong. We also need
their four-wheel drive, their power hydraulics
and their high braking power,
UNIMOG
JOURNAL
15

Combined rail-road Unimogs for shunting
rail freight cars, and the combined lift railvehicle
system developed by Mercedes-Benz,
make sure that all the different components
arrive on the essambly line when needed
because we have loads of up to 17 tons to
shift. The bus bodies-in-white are moved
on special semi-trailers made for us by the
Zikun company. These are designed for rapid
unloading with the aid of the hydraulic
fifth-wheel coupling, which can also be
tilted to one side.
Two-shift production every day means
that up to 100 bus movements are needed.
The buses have to be manoeuvred skilfully
through the narrower parts of the plant s
road system: from the body fabrication
area to the cathodic-dip coating unit, from
the interior fitting zone to the final assembly
line, but also after cathodic dip coating
directly to the rail sidings, because bodyshells
are also delivered to other bus
assembly plants in Ulm/Neu-Ulm, Ligny
(Lorraine) and Samano in Spain.
16 UNIMOG
JOURNAL
The delivery van plant in Ludwigsfelde (top
right) also uses the Unimog as a supply and
removal vehicle. The painted bodies of Vario
delivery vans are brought to the assembly
line in special trailers (above)
This specially designed drawbar (below)
enables the driver to attach and remove
the loaded or empty delivery-van trailers
quickly
Ludwigsfelde
The commercial vehicle plant in Brandenburg
builds the Vario delivery van
range and, starting next year, will also be
manufacturing the new “Vaneo”, a small
city delivery van. Much has changed at
this plant since it was taken over in 1990,
and the tasks now facing it call for numerous
changes in internal logistics.
Dietmar Felgentreu from the Logistics
and Transport department strongly approves
of the Type U 1200, U 1000 and
U 90 Unimogs he has in operation, particularly
because they are normally available
without restriction all the year round. He
explains: There are quite a few gradients
inside our plant, and when the first snow
falls we would have problems and possibly
production delays if it weren t for the
Unimogs. Loading pressings for cathodic
dip paint coating, moving painted bodies to
the assembly area, keeping the production
lines supplied with parts and removing
waste material — it s fair to say that the
Vario, the plant s end-product, depends a
lot on the reliability of the Unimog.

U·N·I·S·C·O·P·E
50 years Unimog
in 2001
It will soon be time to look back — so let s look
ahead first to 2001, when production of the Unimog
in Gaggenau celebrates its 50th anniversary. A
long weekend from June 8 to 10 will be devoted to a
three-day celebration event at the factory in Southwest
Germany s Murg Valley, with a retrospect of
the major successes in half a century s successful
history. This informal survey will be accompanied
by a presentation of the very latest generation of
Unimog models.
For many of those who have formed a lasting
friendship with this eternally young utility vehicle,
DaimlerChrysler AG is organising a long list of
other activities, including a display of historic vehicles
and the popular rally. The production facilities
in Gaggenau will also be opening their doors to
visitors, who will be able to see where not only the
Unimogs themselves but also transmissions, axles
and other vehicle components are produced. The
whole event promises to be a journey back in time
to 1951, and a chance for visitors to see how everything
was done then and how things have changed
since.
See our next issue for further information on
this event — and make a note of the date!
Advertisement
New U 300 for the city
of Gaggenau
Gaggenau is a name that springs to mind immediately in connection
with the Unimog. The town owes much of its reputation as a motor-vehicle
manufacturing centre to this world-famous utility vehicle. With the
local press in attendance, one of the latest models was recently supplied
to the local authorities. Erich Mahler, Unimog Western Sales Region
Manager, recently handed over the U 300 to Mayor Gerrit Grosse and
members of the staff.

Versatility is in demand
The town of Schwarzenberg in the Erzgebirge mountains of Eastern Germany
celebrated its 850th anniversary last August. Activities included a procession in
which a new U 400 took part. The local authorities of the town, which looks after
more than 250 kilometres of roads and tracks around Schwarzenberg, operates a
fleet of Unimogs including a U 1400 with crane bought in 1991, a U 1650 with a
Schmidt SK 340 road sweeper and a U 2150 L that was purchased in 1994 and is
mainly used for transport work. Since the department is also incharge of forestry
activities, another U 1000 is used for work on the forest and woodland path network.
All of these Unimogs are needed in the winter for snow clearing, with a plough
and a salt gritter. Günter Wezel, who has worked for the town authorities in
Schwarzenberg for 31 years, manages this variety of tasks with a staff of 26; he
has identified the advantages of the Unimog system and relies on its strengths
for the work that has to be carried out all the year round.
Unimog Used-vehicle Centre
on the Internet
The new UnimogGebrauchtCenter
(Unimog Used-vehicle Centre) is located in
Martinsrieth in the Harz Mountains region
of Germany. On its Internet page it presents
the various services and Unimog
vehicles for sale, secondhand or
from the rental pool. By calling
the address www.unimog-ugc.de
the specifications of a variety of Unimog
bargains can be checked out directly, and
the user can find all of this information he
needs.
U·N·
www.unimog-ugc.de

I·S·C·O·P·E
New Unimog book
It s a must for every Unimog fan:
Das Buch vom Unimog , published
in German by the Franckh-Kosmos-
Verlag in Stuttgart and selling at
39.80 Marks. Author Ralf Maile has
compiled a complete Unimog history
from 1946 until the present day. His
book is richly illustrated: 250 photographs
show just about every Unimog
type there has ever been, and also
many different versions of this utility
vehicle, some of them highly exotic
in character.
With full technical details and tables,
the book is also an excellent source of
reference. Commercial-vehicle fans
wont regret making space available
on their bookshelves for Das Buch
vom Unimog .
Rally power with the Unimog
Held again at the end of last June, the
legendary Berlin-Breslau Rally crossed
Germany and Poland in seven daily stages
including some 1,500 difficult kilometres
over land used for exercises by Poland‘ s
military forces. This year again the Hanover
driver Peter Cordey and his navigator
Dirk Petrich were entered for this adventure
trip, with support from Unimog General
Agent C. Wiesner. Among their competitors
were 14 rough-terrain trucks, 80
passenger cars and 70 motorcycles. After
the first few days the Unimog team led the
truck category. Immediately following the
introductory run through an area devoted
to open-cast coal mining, the standard-
50th anniversary of Herold
Established in 1950, the Unimog general agency
Ing. Kurt Herold currently has 28 employees and is
managed by Dieter Herold and his sister Annett Herold-
Behl. Since the firm began to trade, it can proudly claim
to have taken on 74 trainees. Such basic and follow-up
training is regarded by the Herold team as a matter of
course and part of the expert and competent service
that it offers its customers. Herold supplies every
aspect of the service expected of a Unimog general
agency: regular official vehicle inspection dates, for instance,
but also safety checks, work on hydraulic pumps
and systems and a variety of conversion and installation
work. In an emergency, Herold s teams are on call
24 hours a day to assist the customer.
specification U 1300 L confirmed its lead
by climbing an unbelievably steep gradient
that very few of the other entrants could
master. From the third day on, mudholes,
swampland and soft sandy tracks took over.
Wiesner s Unimog team helped a number
of other participants out of the deep pools
of mud and because of this was obliged to
surrender the lead again, but finished nevertheless
sixth in the truck category and
37th overall. Cordey and Petrich collected
a large number of bonus points for fairness
and for their willingness to help others, and
the Unimog itself withstood all this tough
treatment without causing any problems.
For more details, see: www.berlin-breslau.de