ON THE COVER
BOBCAT ‘ONE TOUGH ANIMAL’ CLEANS HUGE MONDELLO BEACH A new Bobcat T76 track loader equipped with a Sand Cleaner attachment has proved to be the winning combination for this famous Sicilian beach The Bobcat SC200 Sand Cleaner attachment, mounted on a new Bobcat T76 R-Series compact track loader, has proved to be an unparalleled combination for cleaning one of the most beautiful and widest coasts in Italy: the Sicilian beach of Mondello (PA). Offering 1500 m of very fine white sand, the Mondello beach is a well-known and sought-after destination on the national and international scene. The very high performance T76 compact track loader, combined with this new Bobcat attachment specifically for beach cleaning, was recently purchased by the Mondello Italo Belga company, which has been taking care of the Mondello area for more than a hundred years, helping to preserve the uniqueness and the original splendour of this location. With the completion of land reclamation operations in the early 1900s, the Mondello Italo Belga company transformed this coastal district into a renowned seaside resort, based around the long white sand beach. The work on Mondello beach is important to the local economy as it is the only sandy beach in Palermo, a crowded city which is only 11 km away, meaning it is one of the most coveted beaches by Palermo people as well as by tourists from all over the world.
16
Bulk Solids Today
MONDELLO BEACH REQUIRES STATE-OF-THE-ART EQUIPMENT
Dedicated to continuous development of the area, Mondello Italo Belga company also wanted to adapt its equipment to support soil protection. “The choice of the Sand Cleaner to protect the beach is linked to the desire to achieve a technological evolution in the equipment,” says Antonio Gristina, CEO of Mondello Italo Belga company. “The maintenance of Mondello beach never stops. To avoid the creation of dunes and to remove organic debris carried by the wind and tides, maintenance is required throughout the year, before, during and after the seasonal peak. The investment we have made combines the company’s interest in being able to carry out the cleaning work in a more rational and advantageous way, with the environmental and sustainability needs of the area.” The decision to purchase the Bobcat Sand Cleaner, despite the fact that the company already had other suitable means to carry out this work, is primarily due to the need to ensure a thorough cleaning of the beach and therefore also of the sea. The machine and attachment are used continuously at the beginning of the season and during the entire summer period, passing on a daily basis between the rows of umbrellas, thanks to the compact dimensions of the T76 loader and its high manoeuvrability. Mr Genova, responsible for the maintenance of the Mondello beach for over 50 years now, and therefore an expert in the most suitable means for doing this, was a strong supporter of the purchase of the T76 loader combined with the Bobcat Sand Cleaner. “As soon as we understood the potential of this vehicle in terms of speed of work and saving of resources, we chose to replace our existing machines,” says Mr Genova. “To be fully convinced, we also tested competing proposals. None of them managed to match the performance of
