News

RotoTop delivers for civil engineering specialist

The challenges in sewer construction are becoming increasingly complex: more and more existing supply lines make it more difficult to lay new lines safely. The lack of personnel creates further challenges. Lück + Wahlen from Düren, Germany, meets this situation, among other things, with excavators that are much more flexible and efficient with the help of the RotoTop.

Stronger, better, faster and above all “accurate to the millimetre” is how the civil engineering specialist Lück + Wahlen from Düren would like to handle its projects. The company lays many lines on behalf of various utility companies, but also works for private clients. Mario Klefisch has been employed in the family business for 18 years, working as foreman for seven years, and often works with the excavator himself.

He has made the experience that in recent years laying cables has become more and more demanding, as new cables are constantly being added without the old ones being removed. In addition, due to the shortage of skilled personnel, smaller and smaller crews are being formed for the individual construction sites, so that more tasks have to be managed with fewer employees. Lück + Wahlen counteracts to the lack of personnel with employee benefits, a good working atmosphere and very modern machinery: Well-equipped machines do not only make work more attractive and pleasant for employees, they also help them to get the job done better and faster.

RotoTop for each excavator
In the meantime, each excavator at Lück + Wahlen is equipped with a RotoTop, which ensures a permanent increase in work performance, as Klefisch explained. “With the RotoTop, you are more flexible and can adapt to the conditions much better due to the great freedom of movement when backfilling or excavating. This saves us a lot of time and manual labour. For example, I can backfill right up to the edges of a building with the excavator, because with the help of the RotoTop I can turn the bucket endlessly and thus will not bump into anything.” This way, the ability to work much more filigree with the excavator replaces most of the manual work. It is also possible to reach pipes from the side without having to move the excavator all the time.

A current example is the laying of a gas pipeline in Düren on behalf of the municipal company called Leitungspartner. The supply pipeline with a diameter of 560mm, which was laid at a depth of 2m, had to be renewed. The challenge here was to not touch any of the water, electricity and data lines laid at a shallower depth during the works. Here, the Lück + Wahlen crew first worked with their suction excavator, then the excavator with the RotoTop came into play: Since the bucket had endless rotation and thus maximum freedom of movement, it was possible to get the material out from under the other pipes and safely remove it from the excavation pit via a newly created gap.

Dealer service
A few years ago, the company was convinced of the advantages of the Holp rotary drive after taking part a demonstration and testing it itself. With the intensive cooperation with Hans Warner in Niederzier and the positive experiences, it became a standard for Lück + Wahlen that a RotoTop is always permanently installed on every excavator.

Got a news story? Email news@earthmoversmagazine.co.uk.