Geraldine Faulkner goes to Basingstoke to witness the Borough Council’s Aebi Schmidt Swingo 200+ sweepers in actionJust as Tony Blair told the Labour Party conference in Blackpool in 1996, “Ask me my three main priorities for government and I tell you: education, education and education”, so does Simon Stringer, area sales manager at Aebi Schmidt UK, believe in “service, service and service”, particularly with a public sector client like Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council.“The old salesman doesn’t exist any more; instead you enter into a dialogue with the authority. I sell service. I visit the client and I am a very good listener and I understand what is wanted. I am passionate about keeping these guys on the roads,” states Stringer emphatically.This is music to Jeff Strudwick’s ears. As assistant street cleansing manager for Basingstoke & Deane Borough Council, it is his job to keep his 22 staff and their sweepers operational.The council currently runs four Aebi Schmidt Swingo 200+ sweepers.“I would love another two machines at least, but we do what we can with what we’ve got,” says the assistant street cleansing manager.

1. Schmidt Swingo Manual Instructions

“We have 245 square miles of borough to cover and we have Hart District Council as well, so we are quite a big borough.”What distinguishes the Swingo 200+ from the rest of the herd?Offering flexibility and a compact body, the lowerable undercarriage enables sweeping in confined spaces like multi-storey and underground car parks. Maximum manoeuvrability is said to be part of the package thanks to sweeping brooms attached to the front with an automatically regulated broom ground pressure control. The machine also comes with a 2m 3 large hopper designed for an even greater coverage and a longer sweeping operation.A characteristic of the Swingo 200+ that is particularly appreciated by Strudwick is that it drives like a car with a speed of up to 50km/h. “This means the sweeper can get to its location as quickly as possible and that’s important for us, especially when there is a lot of leaf-fall.”The relationship with Aebi Schmidt began when Basingstoke & Deane’s previous machines came to the end of their life and the council undertook a procurement process in which Aebi Schmidt threw its hat into the ring.“We had to go with a 60-40 split,” recalls Strudwick. “The ratio is 60% cost and 40% on what the vehicle can do. Aebi Schmidt’s machines had everything we needed for the specs we put in and more.

When we put out a procurement process, the tender is treated fairly and we pay great attention to the criteria. People tend to stick with what they know, but you have to go with the best option at the time. We have not looked back since we opted for Aebi Schmidt’s sweepers,” says the assistant street cleansing manager, who is not only a manager at Basingstoke & Deane – he is the trainer as well.

This ensures he knows exactly how to deal with any hiccups encountered by his team when they are on a job.“I am also the trainer on the sweepers so I understand the problems that may arise. For instance, if they cleaned the screens better, it doesn’t clog up. This helps me understand the guys when they encounter an issue when using the machines.

Schmidt Swingo Manual Instructions

I lead from the front and get my hands dirty,” explains Strudwick, who had a background in grounds maintenance before coming through the ranks and ending up in management four years ago.