The trees and the beast.

"We are often out in rough terrain," says Maximilian Salzer of Bremer Baumdienst, describing his varied working day. The company, which he has run since his father Dirk Salzer's death in 2016, manages trees across northern Germany. The notorious "stiff breezes" of the north regularly keep the phone at Bremer Baumdienst ringing. For example, deployments to deal with trees blown down onto roads and Deutsche Bahn lines are not uncommon.

This is a challenge, because the affected sections of track are often away from paved roads. "A Unimog is perfect for this because it is all-terrain and, despite all the attachments, impresses with stable handling," says Maximilian Salzer about his new acquisition.

The orange Unimog U 430 was purchased last December. The special truck is fitted with a tipping body and features a removable combination from Ufkes Greentec, consisting of the front-mounted chipper Cheetah 30 and a wood grapple. “When we fell trees or carry out clean-up work, we can shred the wood waste on site and make it ready for transport,” explains Maximilian Salzer, describing the Unimog in operation.

As an ideal complement, a telescopic crane can additionally be transported on a low loader: “With the crane the trees are gripped, and the branches are then simply fed into the chipper at the front of the Unimog by an integrated grapple arm.”

Maintenance and preservation of green spaces to ensure long-term and sustainable quality of life in the future — that is the mission the Bremer Baumdienst has set itself. "Especially the old trees need special care during the hot summer periods," says Maximilian Salzer, who studied arboriculture in Göttingen and is a state-certified agricultural specialist in tree care and tree rehabilitation. "Ultimately, tree care is becoming increasingly important and more prominent in times of climate change; particularly in urban areas it is essential to preserve green spaces."

The efficient work with the versatile, compact and all-terrain Unimog also benefits tree stands: less ground damage from the operations and a vehicle that can drive close to the work site enable minimally invasive felling. The decision to expand the fleet with a Unimog was therefore an easy one.

"With our 'Beast' we can carry out all the work steps in a single pass and need one, at most two employees for it," explains Maximilian Salzer. "The wood chipper can also be operated by remote control." Perhaps over time Maximilian Salzer will come up with a different nickname for his Unimog, one that sounds less brutal and more like a faithful helper. At least he christened his new trio of excavators Tick, Trick and Track.

Project implemented with Unimog partner: Schelling Nutzfahrzeuge GmbH