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drives
have already been used for a long time in floor conveyor vehicles. And whereas more and more complaints have recently been made in the automotive press that especially the German car companies had gotten involved in hybrid technology much
too late, local floor conveyor manufacturers are world leaders in this sector.
For example, VOLK delivered the first tow tractor with a hybrid drive 20 years ago, in 1987. At that time the vehicle had the serial number 260696. When
three hybrid tow tractors will be delivered to the Belgian ground handling company Aviapartner at the beginning of July, it will have the serial number 263454. In the last four years alone, VOLK has produced more than 100 hybrid tow
tractors – a very remarkable number in this segment.
“Today we look back at approximately half a million operating hours experience with hybrid drives”, says the Managing Director of VOLK, Dr. Matthias Baur, not
without a sense of pride. This wealth of experience led the com-
pany to a number of European patents and to multiple innovation awards.
He has a plausible answer to explain this lead compared to global car manufacturers with
their huge multibillion R&D budgets: “Whereas especially battery technology represents the biggest obstacle to a breakthrough for hybrid technology, very heavy batteries in tow tractors are not a disadvantage at all for reasons
of traction.”
This is not the only difference to the automotive sector: especially in view of the current debate on climate change, the discussion there is mainly concerned with environmental issues and fuel consumption. In
the industrial truck sector, on the other hand, another advantage usually represents the main decision to purchase: tow tractors with a hybrid drive are mainly used where operating conditions require transportation over comparatively long
distances outside as well as entry into closed buildungs.
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