The old Goethe university city in Thuringia’s Ilm district is a place where snow falls all a regular thing during wintertime, so local snow-clearing companies in the region have a particularly hard time there.
“We can expect to have a proper winter here from the end of October right up to mid-April,” says Jens Seiner, owner of Autotechnik Seiner. The company has been responsible for clearing not only motorways and roads but also hiking tracks throughout the region. The process that is almost constant through the winter months also includes the 861 m high Kickelhahn, Ilmenau’s famous mountain where Goethe wrote his 'Peace lies over all the tree tops' poem.
Thus, Seiner hold his Unimog 400 off-roader in high praise for not giving out, despite “the incredible amounts of snow. It is perfect for driving through the woods and extremely reliable although it ‘s been working for us for almost seven years,” he said, praising his vehicle. He also added that the diesel consumption of about 11 liter per working hour makes it cheap to run and provides sufficient range on a full tank of fuel.
The 130 kW ( 177 HP) strong U 400 also makes sure that the nearby ICE-railway line construction site is kept clear of snow, just like the city’s recreation areas. During the rest of the year, the Merc’ off-roader is kept busy fetching wood from the forests, cleaning roads with its mounted water tanks, changing over to its mounted crane to help out on construction sites or simply towing away parking offenders.
“We can expect to have a proper winter here from the end of October right up to mid-April,” says Jens Seiner, owner of Autotechnik Seiner. The company has been responsible for clearing not only motorways and roads but also hiking tracks throughout the region. The process that is almost constant through the winter months also includes the 861 m high Kickelhahn, Ilmenau’s famous mountain where Goethe wrote his 'Peace lies over all the tree tops' poem.
Thus, Seiner hold his Unimog 400 off-roader in high praise for not giving out, despite “the incredible amounts of snow. It is perfect for driving through the woods and extremely reliable although it ‘s been working for us for almost seven years,” he said, praising his vehicle. He also added that the diesel consumption of about 11 liter per working hour makes it cheap to run and provides sufficient range on a full tank of fuel.
The 130 kW ( 177 HP) strong U 400 also makes sure that the nearby ICE-railway line construction site is kept clear of snow, just like the city’s recreation areas. During the rest of the year, the Merc’ off-roader is kept busy fetching wood from the forests, cleaning roads with its mounted water tanks, changing over to its mounted crane to help out on construction sites or simply towing away parking offenders.