During the cold season, the night always ends early for Markus Kessler and his father Helmut. Because already at four o'clock it goes into the company's own hall. The new Unimog U 427 with Schmidt snow plow and spreader is already waiting there. Since 1959, the men from Kessler Holztransporte have been clearing the streets of the community of Häuser in winter - now in the seventh generation. For this purpose, Unimog are used in the family business without exception. Because only the all-rounders from Mercedes-Benz combine reliability and maneuverability with a high level of driving comfort. And not just in winter.
The Unimog comes back every year.
While 36-year-old Markus Kessler starts the six-cylinder diesel and sets out on his first clearing loop, which is around 25 km long, in order to make a local connection passable, Kessler senior starts clearing the busy routes in town. An older Unimog U 1400 takes care of that. Because when the local bakery opens at six o'clock, the way to the breakfast rolls should already be clear.
With snow chains and spreader. When the first lap is over, which can take about 3 to 4 hours depending on the depth of the snow, you head straight up into the Black Forest to make the necessary hiking trails recognizable and accessible. The Unimog shows its strengths off-road. "We have to clear dangerous inclines here in some cases, so we put snow chains on both Unimog - despite the good grip MPT tires," reports Helmut Kessler.
The hydraulically driven Schmidt Stratos spreader can be easily attached to the Unimog U 427 thanks to its modularized interface: “With a 10 g / m² spread rate, the spreader with its 2 m³ capacity lasts quite a long time until I have to go over to the road maintenance depot. There are two high silos with 300 t each. With ice or freezing rain, of course, I set the amount of salt to 30 g / m² or more, otherwise the roads will never be clear. "
Seven generations of Kesslers and Unimog. Markus Kessler, who had completed a motor vehicle apprenticeship at Mercedes-Benz in Titisee Neustadt before joining his parents' timber transport company, was fascinated by the Unimog from an early age. It runs in the family. His father Helmut Kessler remembers: “Our first Unimog was a 411, still with a tarpaulin, but it was an incredible relief when it came to clearing snow. Although it only had 30 hp, it was manoeuvrable because before that there was only the long timber truck with a K5 wedge plow. Before that, horses and oxen had to run. "
The Kessler company is the oldest company in the municipality of Häuser. Founded 200 years ago by Markus Josef Kessler, the timber transport company is now in the seventh generation - fittingly with the seventh Unimog in a row. A Mercedes-Benz Actros with a long timber body and crane has also been used to transport wood since 2000. The Kesslers now supply a customer base within a radius of around 100 km, which includes many sawmills and wood processing companies in the southern Black Forest.
The winter service experts want to remain loyal to the Unimog. The enthusiasm is unbroken: “Not only are the features of the new Unimog U 427 ingenious, but also the driving comfort,” praised Markus Kessler. And with the support of his team, he continues to ensure snow-free roads between Schwarza and Albstausee.
