Circulus-Berkel’s new crane container vehicles

Waste and raw materials specialist Circulus-Berkel in the Netherlands commissioned three Volvo FM 6 x 2 Tag-XL crane container vehicles, with a special axle configuration that creates an extra 2.5 tonnes of payload.

The trucks are equipped with a Hiab crane and hooklift system

Volvo Trucks Nederland and dealer Harbers Trucks worked together to deliver the new units. Each one was specified with a Hiab crane and hooklift system.

Circulus-Berkel manages waste and recycling in public areas for nine municipalities, including Apeldoorn, Deventer and Zutphen.

Oscar Faber, Circulus-Berkel fleet manager, said, “Waste is increasingly separated, such as green waste and plastic, for example. A good thing, but also one with consequences. Because the light fractions (plastic) have disappeared from the residual waste, the weight of the residual waste increases. We therefore looked for a sustainable solution for transport and eventually came up with the Volvo FM 6 x 2 Tag-XL. A unique solution because, given the weights, we had actually assumed a four-axle vehicle.”

Ex-factory solution

Volvo came up with an ex-factory solution: a standard 6 x 2 rigid with a vehicle weight of 26.3 tonnes. In collaboration with Terberg Techniek, the trailing axle has been placed at 1.85 metres behind the drive axle, which means that it is regarded as a separate axle for the law. As a result, the legal vehicle weight has increased to a total of 28.5 tonnes.

“We are dealing with crane container vehicles that have a relatively high own weight. We therefore looked at the best axle configuration for this type of vehicle with Harbers Trucks and Volvo Trucks. If you would opt for a four-axle vehicle, you would have to deal with higher tire wear and a higher curb weight. The chosen solution with a 10 tonne front axle ex-works and a 10 tonne steered trailing axle, which Volvo Trucks has as standard, provides the desired increase in payload. This reduces the number of journeys, lowers fuel consumption and ensures a more cost-efficient vehicle.”

Full visibility

“The new Volvo FM offers excellent all-round visibility. In addition to Volvo’s systems such as the extra screen and the blind spot camera, the trucks are also equipped with a camera on the back of the body.”

Green ambitions

These Volvos may be the last diesel-powered vehicles for the company

Reducing fuel consumption and CO2 emissions is central to Circulus-Berkel’s sustainability goals. It has an ambitious plan to have 80 to 90 per cent of its vehicles electrified by 2030.

“This means that these Volvos may well be the last diesel-powered vehicles. We are always looking for electrical solutions for certain types of work. But we are also taking measures for the current fleet, for example with HVO 100 fuel, planning the journeys and always looking for optimal configurations,” Faber concluded.