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Snowstorm hits Zürich Airport

What are the main differences between the blowers and our Snowcuber?

Experience it for yourself! Last week, our Snowcuber was deployed at Zurich Airport. And see what the differences are. Convince yourself of all the advantages.

Check this movie! 

 

Extreme winter weather can cause havoc for airports and significant headaches for passengers as freezing conditions and impaired visibility see operations grind to a halt. Chloë Greenbank explores some of the latest developments to help air transport hubs maintain safe, efficient operations during the winter months.

Every year airports across the world are forced to temporarily close their runways and cancel flights in response to extreme winter weather conditions. In January this year, Manchester Airport – a key regional gateway to the north of England – closed its runways for around two hours due to heavy snow. While a two-hour closure doesn’t sound too bad on the surface, it had a knock-on impact on operations for a prolonged period as cancelled flights were rescheduled and delayed passengers had to be accommodated, causing further delays. Similarly, Sioux Falls Regional Airport in South Dakota in the US was also forced to close temporarily at the beginning of January amid major snowfall. Lingering flight disruptions continued into the following days as airlines cleared the backlog of flights. It’s a common scenario during the winter months. According to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), inclement weather conditions are the most significant cause of flight delays, making up nearly 70% of all delays exceeding

15 minutes in the average year. It also impacts safety. While human error is the most common cause of accidents, the weather is a primary factor in nearly 25% of all aviation accidents. Underlining the need to ensure airports can stay open, operational and safe during extreme winter weather, the FAA awarded more than US$72.6 million for snowploughs, de-icing equipment and new or upgraded buildings to store this equipment to airports across the US in 2022. The funding, which has been allocated from the FAA’s Airport Improvement Program, also recognises the financial challenges that regional hubs continue to face as they build back following the

PLAYING BALL

While maintaining smooth, safe operations for both passengers and staff is the primary aim for airports during freezing conditions, environmental requirements push airports to think outside the box when it comes to winter services, says George Mensonides, Managing Director at Snocom. His company has developed the Snowcuber as a revolutionary approach to more efficient and safer snow removal. “With environmental regulations forcing airports to reduce the risk of contaminating local sewerage systems, an increasing number of airports are being banned from disposing of snow into surrounding fields. Subsequently, we are seeing increased demand for the transport of snow to dump sites,” says Mensonides. To help address the issue of snow clearance at airports, Mensonides explains how the Snowcuber works by likening the process to making snowballs. “When you make a snowball, you probably don’t realise it but at that moment you take out all the air – in fresh snow there is around 90% air – to reduce the volume. On the apron, the air is still in the snow. We developed the Snowcuber to essentially replicate that process of forming snowballs.” By compressing the snow and getting rid of the air to make it more compact, the Snowcuber reduces the volume before loading it on to a truck. “This patented technology enables airports to preserve their capacity and reduce the number of dump trucks, as well as movements, operational expenditures and emissions,” says Mensonides. Amsterdam Schiphol Airport and Paris Charles de Gaulle already use the Snowcuber and Snocom is in discussion with Zurich Airport to order two of the snow machines. As Mensonides concludes, it’s no longer just a case of clearing snow and ice as quickly as possible. “Constantly changing weather conditions require airports to consider new innovations that not only help ensure safe, efficient operations but which will also enable them to respond to climate challenges in the future.”

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SME NEWS ANNOUNCES THE WINNERS OF THE UK TRANSPORT AWARD 2023!

We are incredibly happy that we have won the UK Award for the Most Innovative Transport Snow Removal Machine Manufacturer in Europe!

At some point in our lives, most of us have experienced the chaos and havoc that accompanies snowfall. With it comes city-wide delays, and a deployment of an excessive amount of snow dumping trucks in order to clear the roads and get everyone back to their usual routines. It’s time-consuming, and often incredibly expensive, and the emissions produced can have detrimental effects on the environment. SNOCOM strives to eliminate all of these issues, and has crafted a solution to city-wide snow matters that have never been tackled in such an efficient way.

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Some more pictures:

 

 

DEMONSTRATION “IMPROVING SNOW LOGISTICS” => VANTAA AIRPORT HELSINKI

Last week we had a very successful demonstration together with STARA and Vantaa airport Helsinki. All invited people were extremely enthusiastic.
How beautiful is that!

Some pictures:

Helsinki City Construction Services, STARA – Helsingin kaupunki, is a versatile expert in the fields of construction, environmental management and logistics. We had a very successful demonstration in Helsinki. STARA is extremely enthusiastic about the performance of the Snowcuber. With this next step STARA contributed to develop the Snowcuber and is the first company who will use it primarily in the city. STARA starts directly to reduce Co2 emission and operational costs!

We are proud of this beautiful partnership!

IT’S TIME TO CHANGE | +31 (0)6 – 20247856 | mensonides@snocom.com

DEMONSTRATION FOR REVOLUTIONARY SNOWLOADING => STARA HELSINKI

Helsinki City Construction Services, STARA, is a versatile expert in the fields of construction, environmental management and logistics. Last week we had a very successful demonstration together with STARA in Helsinki. All the invited people were extremely enthusiastic. How beautiful is that!

 

IT’S TIME TO CHANGE | +31 (0)6 – 20247856 | mensonides@snocom.com | www.snocom.com

WE ARE GOING TO HELP THEM WITH OUR SNOWCUBER

Last weekend’s heavy snowfall, coupled with the Valtteri blizzard that descended on the country, has resulted in copious amounts of snow piling up around the Helsinki region. City authorities had cleared away over 34,000 truckloads of snow from the streets. Last week, at its peak, the volume of snow removed reached 5,000 truckloads per day.

Imagine what our Snowcuber means for carbon emissions if you can reduce the number of transports up to 50%. We are going to help them with that.

HOW COOL IS THAT!

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Helsinki authorities struggle to deal with excess snow

Last weekend’s heavy snowfall, coupled with the Valtteri blizzard that descended on the country the previous Saturday, has resulted in copious amounts of snow piling up around the Helsinki region. City authorities had cleared away over 34,000 truckloads of snow from the streets by Monday. Last week, at its peak, the volume of snow removed reached 5,000 truckloads per day.

While this fell to below a thousand over the weekend, the city’s existing snow disposal facilities have proved inadequate. Winter maintenance staff generally plough snow to the side of the street to ensure that walkways and roads are clear. These snow banks are then transported to snow dumping sites. Helsinki currently has eight official snow dumping sites, located in Herttoniemi, Kivikko, Kyläsaari, Malmi, Maununneva, Oulunkylä, Viikki and Vuosaari.

In addition to these, city contractors can also transport ploughed snow to temporary sites in Mäntymäki, Etelä-Haaga, Kruunuvuori and Suutarila. The snow is brought to these additional locations in urgent situations where streets have to be cleared immediately to allow traffic, and the official areas do not suffice. The transported snow is not left there to melt, however, but has to be cleared away as soon as possible. “We had to use temporary sites because there aren’t enough official snow dumping sites. The distance to the sites should be shorter to ensure that things go smoothly,” says Tarja Myller, who works with the City of Helsinki’s street maintenance department.

Environmental concerns

In addition to eight permanent sites and several temporary ones, city maintenance authorities also dump snow directly into the sea at Hernesaari. This allows them to avoid transporting snow over long distances and ensures that inner city streets can be up and running quickly. However, the practice of dumping snow into the sea has raised several environmental concerns and criticism, as debris and pollution enter the ocean when the snow melts. City officials constructed a 500-metre-long protective barrier along the coast of the Hernesaari snow dumping site a year ago to minimise environmental damage.

However, the barrier sustained some damages following last week’s strong winds and is now in need of repair. According to Myller, while the Hernesaari site is an effective means of disposing of snow, the city is still in the process of determining whether the barrier is effective and whether it should pursue other methods of preventing snow debris from entering the sea. She also draws attention to the environmental impact that transporting snow outside of the main city area would have in terms of carbon emissions from trucks. In 2019, the City Council of Helsinki approved an initiative to stop dumping snow into the sea in the near future.

Source: YLE NEWS

The Snowcuber in Paris

In the winter season 2017-2018 SNOCOM delivered two Snowcubers to Aéroport de Paris – Charles de Gaulle. Both machines were successfully used during snow days this winter. Aiport de Paris was very satisfied with the use of the machines and the support of our service organization.

During winter we all make snowballs. You probably do not realize it, but at that moment you take out all the air (in fresh snow there is around 90% air) to reduce the volume. At your aprons and streets the air is still in the snow. So we developed the Snowcuber that helps you to do the same with your snow.

Our Snowcuber reduces the volume of snow before loading it in a truck, by pressing out the air from the snow. This patented technology enables airports and cities to preserve their capacity, reduce the number of dump trucks, movements, operational expenditures and emissions.

Would you like to know more about our Snowcuber please ask me for more information!

Transportation represents almost a quarter of Europe’s greenhouse gas emissions and is the main cause of air pollution in cities. Europe’s answer to the emission reduction challenge in the transport sector is an irreversible shift to low-emission mobility. By midcentury, greenhouse gas emissions from transport will need to be at least 60% lower than in 1990 and be firmly on the path towards zero. Emissions of air pollutants from transport that harm our health need to be drastically reduced without delay.

The environmental requirements also push winter operations for a different approach. Cities need to reduce traffic movements (congestion and CO2) while handling the snow and keep cities open during or just after snow events – as soon as possible. Our (volume) reduction technique is different and unique. It significantly helps to reduce emissions and movements. In an average winter, Helsinki’s snow dumping sites receive approximately 50,000 truckloads of snow. In Montreal every year, 13 million cubic meters (325,000 truckloads) are taken to disposal sites! It’s a real ballet of heavy machinery and trucks!

SNOCOM’s, Snowcuber ingests large amounts of snow and exploits the compressibility of the snow to reduce the snow’s volume by double the amount. Imagine what our Snowcuber means for CO2 emissions if you can reduce the number of transports up to 50%, this equates into tremendous savings for both the environment and operational costs. Customers refer to our machine as “The Money Making Machine.”

Start immediately with Snowcuber, don’t let the operational challenges that Covid19 has introduced lead the way. Snowcuber leads the way in technology and the future of snow removal; with reduced emissions, equipment movements, fuel consumption and costs for a cleaner, more efficient future.

Interested and like to know more about the Snowcuber? Ask me for more information!