A new Unimog for the hydroelectric power plant

At the Burghausen site, Wacker Chemie generates part of the large amounts of energy it needs itself, including around 10% of its electricity using five hydropower turbines at the Alzwerke GmbH power plant. The Alzwerke, founded in 1918, are a subsidiary of Wacker Chemie AG and are located on the company premises, directly on the border with Austria and right on the Salzach.

The Alzwerke take their name from the river Alz, the outflow of Lake Chiemsee. The Alz runs 63 km from Seebruck to its mouth at the Inn. At Hirten the 16-km-long Alz canal branches off, which is managed by the Alzwerke. Besides operating and maintaining the power plant, the 20 employees are also responsible for that stretch of canal. They are supported in their work by two Unimog: a moss-green Unimog U 406 with 90 hp from 1985 and a brand-new Unimog U 319 in Reflex Silver Metallic.

The implement carrier lives up to its name: piggyback behind the cab it carries a Palfinger loading crane (PK 10002 SH) and a flatbed, built by Werner in Trier. "The crane is supported at four points and equipped with a crane winch. In addition, we have a work basket," explains Matthias Unterstaller, deputy power plant foreman.

"The Unimog is indispensable to us because of its compact design, its power and, above all, its hydrostatic drive," says Matthias Unterstaller. On the factory premises, the Unimog U 319 is used, among other things, to maneuver the dam-beam crane. This is a mobile crane with which the employees place dam beams weighing up to 4 t around the turbines to be serviced. These dam beams keep the water from the tailrace channel, which flows into the Salzach, at bay, so that the Alzwerke team can carry out all maintenance work safely and carefully.

The Unimog is also indispensable for maintaining the canal's dam. Here, driftwood must be removed and repair and maintenance work carried out. For all operational transport tasks, the tandem three-way tipper from Müller Mitteltal that accompanies it is extremely practical for branches and debris of any size.

"Before purchasing the new Unimog, we also applied our requirements to heavy agricultural tractors. However, it was immediately clear that a tractor could never offer the many advantages of the Unimog. Above all, the crane and the loading area, as well as the immense flexibility we have with the Unimog, are unique," explains Matthias Unterstaller. On average, the Alzwerke in Burghausen generate 270,000,000 kWh of electricity per year. This corresponds to roughly the electricity demand of 90,000 households.

Project implemented in collaboration with Unimog general distributor: Henne Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH