GHH setting new standards in mining machinery with biodegradable hydraulics
First super-clean Stage V diesel, then electric drives and now flame-retardant and biodegradable hydraulic fluids: GHH, the manufacturer of civil engineering and mining machinery, is setting an impressive pace in protecting people and the environment.
The company has already devoted itself to the immediate protection of drivers: GHH’s loaders, dump trucks and special vehicles are well known for their safe, ergonomic and ROPS/FOPS-certified cabs.
With hydraulics, the focus is now shifting to an area that is more important than often thought. For example, the hydraulics of GHHs flagship MK-42 have a capacity of around 325 litres: a leak in this load dump truck with a payload of 42 tonnes would not only cause serious damage to the environment, but would also entail extensive cleaning measures on the site.
Thermally highly stable hydraulics
“We are therefore offering vehicles with biodegradable hydraulic fluids with immediate effect,” says CEO Dr Jan Olaf Petzold. The fluids, supplied by the German specialist Fluid-Competence, are 98 percent biodegradable. Petzold points out a further advantage: “Because they are flame-retardant, we also reduce the risk of accidents for the operators, machines and the production site by not allowing the flame to propogate.”
In view of the enormous advantages, Petzold considers the low additional costs to be justifiable. The new fluids are to be introduced successively for all product groups. The option is a safe choice for the customer: “Hazemag machines have been running with these for years.” Like GHH, this manufacturer belongs to the Schmidt Kranz Group, one of the major suppliers of machines and services, especially in mining and tunnelling as well as in raw material processing. The new hydraulic fluids would offer excellent lubricating properties, very high thermal stability and extremely high corrosion protection, told the company.
Pioneer for environmental and personal protection
GHH is taking a leap forward in the industry, as in the past with its “Stage V – Initiative,” the comprehensive commitment to maximally clean diesel engines, as well as its extensive expansion of the share of electric vehicle drives, GHH now also wants to set an example on the “side stages” of environmental and personal protection.
Most recently, GHH attracted attention by winning the Red Dot Product Design Award 2020 and by supplying maintenance vehicles for a mine of the world’s largest copper producer in the hot Atacama desert.
