A Unimog for every eventuality.

200 operating hours in just three weeks – 5,000 kilometres of mileage with a snow-clearing attachment and full grit spreader tanks. Not a bad workload for a new vehicle that still practically has the price tag on it. "You couldn't get to know a vehicle any better," sums up Martin Storr, who is giving his Unimog half a day's "rest" after it has been tirelessly on snow-clearing duty since the previous week.

Extreme winter service – even in Bayrischzell, the popular winter sports resort on the Wendelstein, this is a real exception. Paradoxically: while in recent winters lower-lying ski resorts often needed artificial snowmaking, the people responsible were literally taken by surprise this year. For the amount of snow that fell on Bayrischzell in the first half of January 2019, even the Alpine foothills were hardly prepared.

Over a meter of fresh snow in 48 hours – which meant round-the-clock shifts for Martin Storr's team. "We basically ran six consecutive twelve-hour shifts to get the roads cleared," reports the 36-year-old entrepreneur, not without pride. The only problem was that temperatures were actually too warm, especially during the day. The Gmeiner body on the new Unimog is equipped with both a brine tank and a gritting salt container. "We had to constantly change plans and, following the road traffic authority's guidance, decide which combination of spreading materials to use," says the winter service professional. Brine used together with gritting salt only provides its lasting anti-icing effect down to about minus two, at most minus three degrees Celsius. If it gets colder at night, the winter service must switch immediately to gritting salt to ensure safety on the roads.

How demanding the job at the wheel of the Unimog is can be seen on an inspection run a week after the disaster. Georg Scharmann is just turning off the main road between Bayrischzell and Schliersee onto a side road. On both sides the cleared snow has been piled into banks just over 1.5 meters high.
Nevertheless the snowplough has to clear the asphalt of thin fresh snow and ice. "You have to drive very precisely here, because if the plough jams against the snowbank on the right or left, there is a tremendous jolt," comments Scharmann.

A little later we set off on an inspection run towards Sudelfeld. Today the sun is shining, which draws many Munich skiers to use the perfectly groomed slopes in the ski area or to explore the winter‑wonder landscape on touring skis. "What the ski area's grooming machines do between the lifts, we do all around
the ski area," explains contractor Martin Storr. Because in addition to the access roads to the ski area car parks, he also has to clear the car parks and numerous supply and service routes of snow and ice.

When Martin Storr founded his company in 2006, he was more likely to be on skis than clearing access roads as he does today. "Basically it all started with an idea in a ski hut," recalls the successful entrepreneur. At the time a friend asked him whether, because of the strategically advantageous location of his farm,
he wouldn’t consider acquiring a vehicle for regular wood-chip transport. Said and done – a first tractor was purchased, and from then on Martin Storr hauled wood chips. This was followed by a fleet expansion and a dedicated wood-chip storage facility.

After just two years he was fully established in the business. His company now also includes a wood-chip combined heat and power plant that supplies his home municipality with energy and heat year-round. Over the years a second plant followed in the neighbouring town. That made another fleet expansion necessary – the plants' own demand already amounts to around 50,000 cubic metres of wood chips per year. So today two 40-tonners with roll-off containers and what is now the third Unimog are part of the Storr fleet. The versatile entrepreneur is completely satisfied with them: "Thanks to the first-class support from Harald Medl of Henne Nutzfahrzeuge, the new U 530 fully meets our expectations. The driving comfort and handling – even in extreme weather conditions – are impressive. We also got the details right with the additional equipment, such as the central tyre inflation system and the Scharmüller trailer coupling."

When asked whether he has to seek new business to keep his fleet busy, the self‑made entrepreneur smiles. "In our line of business you usually get long‑term contracts on stable terms — provided the performance is right and you have a team that is willing to work hard and regularly put in long hours." Only one worry plagues Martin Storr occasionally: "Even out here in the countryside you can hardly find drivers anymore who are suitable for the demands of our job." Storr's contracting company has six permanent drivers. But even when orders are stagnant, there's definitely room for two more transport professionals, the boss reveals as he pulls back into the company yard. To handle the countless cubic metres of wood chips that Storr trades, burns and transports to supply his now numerous customers in Bavaria and Tyrol, the Unimog will hardly be idle even in the summer months. For the warm season, when Martin Storr fills numerous woodchip depots for the next winter, he needs the 530 as a nimble and fast towing vehicle for his walking floor semitrailer. That gives him a combination ideally suited to the demands of woodchip logistics. After successfully passing its winter‑service trial with flying colours, the fleet's new star will be able to show what it can do again next summer.