For a highly traveled international airport located in north-central Colorado, speed matters when it comes to snow and ice removal operations on runways, taxiways and ramps. The Denver metro area gets an average of 57 inches of snow annually, with significantly higher snowfalls in the surrounding mountain areas. Denver’s airport serves nearly 80 million passengers a year, many of them flocking to the area in the winter, snow-laden months for the fabulous ski slopes. The airport needs to have top-notch snow clearing capabilities to keep flights on time and people safe.
In early 2023, Jessie Carr, MB Airport Maintenance Products Western Regional Sales Manager, met with Denver’s airport operations leaders to discuss snow operations challenges at the airport. They were using front-end wheel loaders with cupping ramp plows to clear the airport’s gate ramps. With the top speed of a wheel loader at 19 mph, snow clearing was too slow. Crews were spending 25% of their shift simply moving the equipment from one place to another, meaning only 75% of their time was spent actually clearing snow – marking a sizeable inefficiency in the process.
Carr immediately enlisted the help of MB Director of Engineering, Jim Steiner, to develop a more efficient cupping ramp plow solution. It was not as simple as putting the ramp plow on an MB chassis that can travel at speeds up to 45 mph. The MB2 chassis is built to push a 25-foot front plow; since cupping ramp plows have a greater plow width and generally weigh two times as much as a regular plow, some engineering was needed. Steiner’s team developed reinforced framing to enable the MB2 to effectively push the larger plow. Carr introduced the concept to airport operations managers, and they immediately bought in. So far, seven MB2s with cupping ramp plows have been delivered.
Feedback from the airport includes high marks in all areas. The equipment has an aggressive drive train with a 496 HP, electronic turbocharged diesel engine and features full-time four-wheel drive with front- and rear-axle locking differentials and all-wheel steering for optimum maneuverability. With its increased speed, operators say it pushes snow very quickly. Additionally, drivers have much greater visibility in the MB2 compared to the front-end wheel loader since the MB2 cab sits high over plow – this increases safety for the operator and anyone on the ground. During the production process, the airport dubbed the equipment the RRRV, or Rapid Ramp Response Vehicle, and they continue to use this moniker.
The MB2 chassis can also be equipped with various tow brooms, underbody scrapers and de-icing equipment, making it extremely versatile. The airport will continue to use its front-end wheel loaders in combination with the MB2s to lift and stack snow since the loaders can do that more effectively without the need to travel farther distances.