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Losch Airport Services opts for

VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors

Stuttgart, 30.12.2008 – The company Losch Airport Ser-
vices GmbH has opted for VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors. The vehicles of type HFZ 30 NT were recently put into
use for baggage handling at Stuttgart Airport, the head-
quarters of Losch.

Losch has been in activity at Stuttgart Airport since 1990, first mainly in the area of non-regulated ground traffic services, for example airplane cleaning. In 2003 the company was granted a baggage handling license for Stuttgart Airport and has offered this service since then in competition with the local airport operator – the Stuttgart Airport GmbH – as a so-called third party handler.

The way for such third party handlers – and thus for more competition in the ground handling sector – was already paved in the mid-1990’s by the European Competition Commission with the so-called Ground Handling Direc-
tive (96/67/EC). This obligates the airport operators in
the member countries of the European Union to guaran-
Losch Airport Services Opts for VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors

At work day and night – The company Losch Airport Services has been in operation at Stuttgart Airport for almost 20 years, since 2003 in baggage handling

tee non-discriminatory market access to third party suppliers. The minimum number of third party handlers to be allowed varies in accordance with the traffic load of the airport – in Stuttgart it is one. In 1999 the French handling company Servisair was given the go-ahead. After this company pulled out just two years later, a European-wide call for tenders was required, in which Losch – for many a surprise – came through against the internationally active

Losch Airport Services Opts for VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractors

VOLK Hybrid Tow Tractor HFZ 30 NT with a Ground Power Unit (GPU) in tow – The customers of Losch include among others Swiss International Airlines

suppliers Aviapartner and FCC.

As controversially as this decision for the small local player Losch was initially discussed, people saw with time that it was a stroke of luck for Stuttgart. With a motivated team and numerous innovative ideas, Losch demonstrated its ability to win customers such as the commercial airlines Lufthansa, Swiss International Airlines, Germanwings and Air Berlin and charter operators such as TUIfly and Condor.

Parallel to the successive expansion of its range of ser-
vices and customer portfolio, Losch Airport Services GmbH also enlarged its geographical footprint. Today the company is in operation at the Munich and Berlin airports as well as the regional airports in Weeze and Memmingen. At this time Losch employs approximately 275 workers, of which about half are located at Stuttgart Airport.

The decision for VOLK was preceded by a long test 

phase. The model HFZ 30 NT distinguished itself here above all with its excellent performance data. The vehicles feature a three-phase asynchronous motor with 20 KW and a sturdy Deutz diesel engine with 47 KW. A maximum drawbar pull of 20.000 N would make it theoretically possible to pull trailer loads of more than 30.000 kg. If one keeps in mind that on German airport aprons a maximum trailer load of 11.500 kg is permitted (BGV C 10), the high

power reserves of the model HFZ 30 NT become appa-
rent. This is advantageous above all in the handling of charter planes with their large amount of baggage.

A further argument in favor of VOLK was the high quality of the vehicles. The model HFZ 30 NT is standard-
equipped with a zind-dipped frame and is well suited for rough airport use with its sturdy construction. After all, the vehicles at Losch Airport Services are in use approxi-
mately 2.500 operating hours per year. With such inten-
sive use, it is clear that maintenance aspects are of great importance. Here VOLK could not only present a central lubrication system, but also scored points with an especially long major maintenance interval of 1.000 operating hours and a maintenance-friendly rapid change diesel engine/generator module. Seats with air suspension and many further comforts were the icing on the cake for making the decision for VOLK vehicles appealing to the drivers as well.

With just over ten million passengers per year, Stuttgart Airport is currently the seventh-largest airport in Germany

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