When a contractor purchases a Wirtgen Voegele paver, they can expect a quick and efficient after sales service.
Wirtgen Group prides itself on its training and product solution services that are made available to its customers following an equipment purchase. With workshops, technicians and spare parts available to its customers in every major Australian city, Wirtgen’s focus on customer service is a major point of difference for the equipment manufacturer.
“We’ll follow up with clients on each model we sell between three and four weeks later to make sure everything’s going well,” explains Ralf Peter, Voegele Product Technical Manager – Australia and New Zealand. The company provides on-site product training with its clients to ensure that their operators can use the machine to its full extent. “Most of our competition don’t offer too much in this area,” he adds.
With direct contact to the company’s headquarters in Germany, Wirtgen Group’s Australian arm can provide the best training and solutions straight from the manufacturer to its global clientele.
Part of the package when buying the latest Voegele paver – the Vision 5103-2 – includes this comprehensive after sales service, which Mr. Peter asserts, adds to the appeal of buying Wirtgen Group machinery.
The Voegele Vision 5103-2 is a powerhouse paver, built for efficiency and precision. The cutting-edge 8-foot class machine is ideal for a range of applications, including secondary roads and highways.
The model’s powerful six-cylinder, Tier 3 CUMMINS engine runs 170-horse power at 2000 revolutions per minute. It includes an ECO mode at 1800 revolutions per minute, providing low noise levels and fuel consumption.
The Voegele cooling systems with innovative air flow improve engine coolant and hydraulic oil temperature control, resulting in a low emission level.
The hopper holds 190 cubic feet of material and the machine’s powerful hydraulic drives on the conveyors and augers allow for high-laydown rates, ensuring optimal material handling.
The paver is designed for precise maneuverability and its 8-foot, 3 inches transport width also makes it easy to move from site to site.
The robust VF500V front-mounted screed on the Vision series has a working width of 2.5 metres to 4.8 metres. It’s capable of many screed profiles, with crown and sloping extensions as well as a berm option available.
The screed’s sturdy guide rods provide excellent stability and its two-stage guide system provides for zero flexing, even with the screed set to its maximum width.
The VF500V screed employs an advanced heating system, which ensures equal heat distribution all over the screed plates and resulting in shorter heating times. “Heat distribution is more even and it also has heated side plates, which is another unique aspect,” says Mr. Peter.
Perhaps one of the Vision 5103-2’s most innovative inclusions is its ErgoPlus operating concept. The innovative system prioritises ergonomic controls, ease of use and efficiency.
All of the core paver functions are clearly arranged in logical and comprehendible groups on the ErgoPlus operator console. Push buttons are easily identifiable by touch and the clear display screen shows the vital paving and machine-related information in one location.
The ErgoPlus Screed Console also means the operator has the whole paving process at their fingertips. It includes the optional cutting-edge Voegele system for automatic grade and slope control – Niveltronic Plus.
The ErgoPlus raised operator platform provides unobstructed visibility of the material hopper, steering guide, auger tunnel and screed. Operator seats swing out to the sides of the machine to provide maximum visibility of the auger tunnel, allowing the paver operator to see the head of material in front of the screed at all times.
Mark Cachia, Project Manager at Fulton Hogan knows all too well the benefits of using the Voegele Vision 5103-2 on site.
The company is undertaking the DP World Bentley Chemplex Redevelopment in Melbourne, which involves the expansion of container stacking areas and the realignment of truck roads. Mr. Cachia says that the project presented the perfect opportunity to test out the new Voegele paver in a relatively open area.
“The level system is far more advanced than the crew is used to, giving greater accuracy in hitting conformance,” he says. “The system is more user friendly and the computerised operation provides more efficiency.”
Mr. Cachia concludes that the paver’s integration of electronic systems, combined with Voegele’s great handover service, make it an efficient asset on the project.
The Vision 5103-2 is designed with efficiency and operator comfort at its core. Friendly and safe working conditions are further emphasised in the machine’s unique engine exhaust and fumes extraction system, which provides low noise and no heat at the operator station.
“It’s an ergonomic design, it’s very user-friendly and modern – it’s the smartphone generation of pavers,” says Mr. Peter.