Pure snowmanship Kassbohrer Gelandefahrzeug

PURE SNOWMANSHIP

Kassbohrer Gelandefahrzeug AG is a global leader in the design and manufacture of speciality vehicles for snow and cross-country track grooming. The company continues to expand and strengthen its position as the global leader in the supply of all-terrain vehicles for recreational markets, as Philip Yorke reports.

The Kassbohrer all-terrain company was founded in 1893 by Karl Kassbohrer and began by producing buses and vehicle transporters. By 1969 it was Germany’s biggest coach and truck-trailer manufacturer. However, in 1994 the Snow-Groomer vehicles division was spun-off and now leads the field in its sector, setting the industry standards worldwide. Headquartered in Laupheim, Germany since 2002, today’s company produces premium ski slope and cross-country grooming vehicles. This is in addition to Beach-Tech vehicles for beach cleaning and grooming and other speciality vehicles for naturerelated applications.

Today the company employs over 500 people worldwide and has a global network of distributors and agents in over 100 countries as well as in the Antarctic region. Kassbohrer also has more than 130 customer service centres worldwide and in 2014 recorded sales of more than €215 million.

Unrivalled innovative technology

By far the most recognisable brand in the snow and cross country grooming market is ‘PistenBully’, which has been dominating ski slopes and ski domes worldwide for more than 45 years. PistenBully

is the global market and technology leader in snow grooming equipment. The brand represents quality, innovation, reliability and customer satisfaction. From the smallest track-setter; the PistenBully Paana, to the most powerful model; the PistenBully 600W SCR, which packs 510 hp, all models offer the highest standards of reliability and costeffectiveness, as well as achieving very low environmental impact.

The new diesel-electric ‘eco’ PistenBully 600E+ represents a milestone in snow vehicle development. Environmental considerations remain a key focus for the company and last winter, for example, the company was the first snow-groomer manufacturer to introduce the new Tier4 final exhaust standard for significantly reduced emissions.

As a leader in recreational vehicle innovation, the company continues to develop market-specific vehicles. The PistenBully 400ParkPro for example is a highly specialised vehicle designed exclusively for the world’s fun parks. Today many ski resorts are relying on adventure trails, funslopes and family parks to boost their appeal to skiers and snowboarders and the latest vehicles from PistenBully meet these challenges and increase customer satisfaction.

Another first from PistenBully is its market-leading Snowsat fleet management system with its snow-depth measurement control and satellite-guided positioning. This is an integrated system for the guiding and real-time monitoring of snow-groomers and snowmo-

biles. The system uses GPS data to produce cartographical images of slopes, including cable-car poles and snow guns, as well as any potential danger spots. The position of vehicles is conveyed to the company headquarters in real-time.

Furthermore, the company is also expanding its strong position in North American commercial vehicle market for extremely robust equipment racks to handle payloads ranging from 3 to 15 tonnes. These can be relied upon under even the toughest and most hazardous conditions. These are used for particularly remote or sensitive work, such as pipeline building or soil surveys, and can be customised to suit precisely an individual customer’s needs.

This integrated solution supports the driver’s work, optimises quality control of operations and improves safety for people during work operations. Snow-sat offers improved productivity through its time savings thanks to its easy positioning and independence from weather and visibility conditions. Other advantages include prompt communication,

with data conveyed during work via an interactive menu and efficient management, achieved through a comprehensive analysis of the data and the simplification of workload using computer-aided planning.

First in beach cleaning

Alongside the latest PistonBully technology is the company’s BeachTech division, which has also become the number one brand on world markets. Today the company’s BeachTech beach cleaning vehicles are utilised in over 80 countries worldwide and they can be found wherever perfectly cleaned beaches are required. The impressive technology at the heart of each machine sets today’s global standards in this growing niche market.

Beach Tech equipment is also the first choice for oil disaster clean-up operations. The best evidence of their capabilities is their performance in the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. A fleet of 30 BeachTech beach cleaners were able to remove the vast majority of the oil clumps from the affected beaches in a very short time. Global support

It is well known that if a snow-groomer vehicle breaks down, the situation can become problematic very quickly, which is a big concern for any ski-resort. To minimise the risks, the company has been investing for decades in a fast-response, globally available service network, which guarantees the availability of engineers and original spare parts within 24 hours. The company’s 130 service stations provide fast advice, support and spare part shipments around the clock.

Customer service is at the heart of the company’s business. From the development of new innovative solutions, to services and spare parts, all employees follow the same clear goal, which is to consistently exceed customer expectations. All the company’s customers can be sure that that they can rely on motivated staff who are intensively trained in the latest technologies. n

For more details of Pistenbully’s innovative products and services visit: www.pistenbully.com