Shorts Group gives Schmidt Street King 660 vote of confidence

Bracknell-based Shorts Group is totally confident that the two Schmidt Street King 660 truck-mounted sweepers that it operates deliver exceptional service and represent excellent value for money. Driver operators like its sweeping power, the larger capacity and the greater payload which means that they have to make fewer trips for tipping, helping to keep costs down. Continue to read and learn what else they like.

Family-owned Shorts Group has a pair of Street King 660s on its fleet to provide an array of services across its various divisions which include waste management, demolition and materials. The two truck mounted sweepers see most work within the waste management division, where they carry out a range of sweeping duties for civil sector clients including local authorities, typically within a 16-mile radius of the head office within Berkshire.

Highly rated by the Group’s driver operators and management

Both Street King 660s are mounted on Volvo 16-tonne FL 4x2 chassis and work a 6.30am to 4.30pm shift five days a week, unless clients ask for exceptional or out-of-hours work. Shorts’ Head of Transport, Damian Ayling, explained. “I knew how good the sweeper was having had one previously, and the senior management team trusted my recommendation to purchase another one. We use the pair, which are operating at near full capacity to carry out a wide range of sweeping duties from the Wentworth Estate to contracts with Silva Homes and some high-profile building contractors. “However, we also carry out out-of-hours work for clients at car parks, for example, where it would not be possible to clean during the working day. We have a number of our own waste sites with several approach roads which the sweepers also keep clean and debris-free, “he said.

Damian Ayling, Head of Transport at Shorts, alongside one of the two Street King 660 sweepers operated by the company.
Damian Ayling, Head of Transport at Shorts, alongside one of the two Street King 660 sweepers operated by the company.
A Street King's wander hose in action, available on the rear door or as a roof-mounted version.
A Street King's wander hose in action, available on the rear door or as a roof-mounted version.
Cyclonic hopper design optimizes capacity, reducing emptying frequency.
Cyclonic hopper design optimizes capacity, reducing emptying frequency.

He continues and says that the Street King 660 was highly rated by the Group’s driver operators, who liked its sweeping power, the larger capacity and the greater payload which means that we have to make fewer trips for tipping, helping keep our costs down. They also like the ease with which the sweeper can be cleaned out at the end of the day, with easy access and a low pressure hose to ensure we can get rid of all debris. And they also find the wander hose very useful for tackling inaccessible areas where the main sweeper body can’t reach.”

Maintenance package avoids unpleasant surprises

Damian Ayling said the sweepers were backed up by excellent support services from Aebi Schmidt. “Our drivers have been very happy with the level of training and support that Aebi Schmidt has provided with the Street King which they have found very helpful and useful,” he said. “We have the five year maintenance package which covers virtually every eventuality and Schmidt engineers are very quick to tackle any issue, while the support and service we get from our account manager, Matt Elderkin, is first rate,” he added.

Close dialogue with customers leads to continuous development

The Street King 660 boasts quite a few special features and stand-out USPs, designed to give faster working times and lower operating costs. The new specification, which, in many cases, has been added in response to customer requests and operator feedback, features two LED working lights which provide a crescent-shaped arc of illumination and which has proved very popular with contractors who handle clean-up and sweeping operations at night. Amongst its USPs are an automatically self-lowering filter screen for ease of cleaning at the end of a shift, which can be completed with the low-pressure fireman’s hose and makes cleaning simple and straightforward.