A nice Finnish story
It's usually necessary a virtuous combination of elements for a commercial proposal to become a sale, as it happened in Finland with our K39H concrete pump: a resourceful area manager, an attentive and active dealer and, it goes without saying, a machine that perfectly matched the requirements of a competent client, such as Betonivuori Oy, which from Finnish translates as "Concrete Linings", when they say destine in the name, from Vantaa, a city of around 200,000 inhabitants a bit northern from the capital Helsinki.
Let's proceed in order though, obviously talking first about the main character of this story: K39H, which we went to see at work on the construction site, where our client was realizing foundations for an industrial deposit of almost 900 m3 of surface, in the suburban area of Kirkonummi, a small town of around 37,000 inhabitants, west of Helsinki.
K39H XRZ, Italian mechatronics conquers the Finnish
Nice machine, the K39H Carbotech! We're not saying it to ourselves, this is, in short, what the owner of Betonivuori told us, while manoeuvring it himself. And, between us, he's not wrong. K39H is the only truck mounted pump on the market with this boom extension (5 sections for 38.1 m total in height and 33.8 m of maximum horizontal opening) that can be mounted on a 3 axles chassis, specifically a Mercedes-Benz 10,534 mm long, which guarantees beyond doubts a great manoeuvrability even in construction sites less accessible than this one in Kirkonummi. But this "unique selling proposition" was not the only thing to convince the customer. Our mounted pump has a pumping unit designed to reduce consumptions and minimize vibrations during all phases and conditions of pumping, that guarantees a theoretical maximum output of 140 m3/h of concrete and has a 600 l hopper, features that allowed the company to easily complete the laying job in less than two working days.
Beside purely mechanical aspects, a crucial role that lead Cifa to success is with no doubt related to the electronic "heart" of our machine. The Smartronic system rules and controls K39H as well. The software interacts with the operator through an LCD screen, communicating in real time the situation of the pump functioning and providing, if needed, advanced auto diagnostics. Add to this, obviously, the Full Stability Control, the electronic system for pump stability control during the operational phase that allows to keep the boom movement safe, whatever the real position of vehicle stabilization decided by the operator himself is.
The actors of the story
Despite the fact that the Finnish market is technically demanding and rather restrained in terms of possible use for this kind of machine, K39H was fully appreciated by the client for its mechanical and electronic features, also thanks to the great joint job between the area manager and the local dealer, Talhu Oy.
This is what we felt when we arrived at the construction site, accompanied by Talhu General Manager, while in a rare clear sky morning, at least for Finland in November, the sun had not yet risen up from surrounding hills and K39H was already working at full speed. Indeed, conditions and tight working times in a jobsite open in winter months, usually lead technicians and workers to tension and for sure strangers, not working, onsite do not help to improve the mood. What impressed us most was the peace of the people working on Kirkonummi jobsite. We like to think that one of the reasons is connected to the apparent ease of use of K39H, manoeuvred, like we said, directly by the owner of Betonivuori, who during a break – rare by the way, due to the extreme closeness of the concrete production plant, located at less than 500m from the site, told us to particularly appreciate the nimbleness in moving the distribution boom and fluidity and speed of the pump casting. In fact, still according to what declared by the Finnish manager, in less than two working days, his company would have very well completed casting of foundation for the entire 900 m2 surface.
After leaving the boss of Betonivuori "having fun" with K39H, we had the chance of a few words, literally given that Finnish people are known to be very thrifty with words, also with the General Manager of Talhu. Out dealer is a pretty relevant brand in the Finnish scenario, with sales and after sale services related not only to mixer pumps and truck mounted pumps market, but also to many other kinds of machines and construction equipment, from platforms to scaffolding, from cranes to shovels, with activities that beside Finland, include the Saint Petersburg area, in Russia, and Estonia, for a declared turnover of 9 million EUR per year. With such a wide picture at disposal, the GM confirmed us the not very happy moment for the Finnish constructions market, but he's however optimist about possibilities of truck mounted pumps, especially those over 41 m. All we can do is close then, setting a date for next year, still around Helsinki, who knows…maybe to see K45H at work.
Betonivuori Oy – The customer
Betonivuori Oy is a Finnish concrete pumping and transporting company that was founded in 2006. We are a young and dynamic company combined with many years experience in concrete business. We do different types of concrete casts, starting from small few cubic meters stair casts to demanding industrial horizontal and vertical concrete castings, including different concrete floor installing. Our customers' satisfaction is a matter of honor for us and we want to be worth of their trust. We are proud of our skilled employees since they redeem the promises that are given to our customers. Betonivuori Oy has four mixer pumps and one pump all Cifa branded. Betonivuori Oy belongs to the Finnish Tilaajavastuu.fi –program and we are a member of The Association for Finnish Work and one of its Key Flag company.