Derby CC operates a mixed fleet of around 500 vehicles, ranging from cars for essential users to 26 tonne refuse collection vehicles, while its street cleansing fleet comprises a total of five sweepers.

The new Swingos were procured under the North East Procurement Organisation (NEPO) framework agreement, and were supplied with the latest Euro 6C diesel engine generating 62kW (84hp), with a modern exhaust after-treatment system, closed particle filter, plus AdBlue and SCR catalytic converter, to ensure nitrous oxide (NOx) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are as clean possible.

The four-cylinder Euro 6c engine and AdBlue tank have been integrated by Schmidt engineers onto the same wheelbase as previous versions, so that the manoeuvrability of the Swingo is not compromised.

The new Swingos, which operate out of the main Stores Road depot in Derby, work in three shifts around the city centre starting at 4.00am, five days a week. Thanks to the large volume 2m³ hopper, the Swingos deliver a significant sweeping capability so that trips to empty the hopper are kept to a minimum and the machines can work for longer.

Paul Neville, fleet and depot manager at Derby City Council said: ‘I’ve had experience of the Swingo in my previous role before joining the council, and so I was very pleased to see them on our street cleansing fleet.

‘The Schmidt compact sweeper product has a long history of reliability and has proven it can operate under any conditions, making it ideal for those we find in the city centre of Derby on a daily basis.

‘That’s why it was an obvious choice for us to renew the ones we had on our fleet. Coupled with this, the machines are reliable with innovative technology, and are widely liked by the drivers/operators which is key from our point of view.

‘In addition, the aftersales support from Schmidt is excellent, particularly from a technical, training and parts perspective.’

Aebi Schmidt areas sales manager, Matthew Elderkin, who is responsible for the relationship with Derby City Council, said that the Swingos had been supplied to replace existing models on the street cleansing fleet, and that they were specifically designed to meet environmental concerns.

‘Although the Euro 6 compliant diesel engine has very low NOx and CO2 thanks to its sophisticated exhaust after-treatment systems, it can be easily modified to run on hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) if required in the future which reduces greenhouse gas emissions by 90%.’