Roland Maier talks about the leap in efficiency achieved with the new Arocs

Business & Logistics

Robust and smart.

The new Arocs remains true to its virtues – it is still as robust and reliable as ever. But thanks to groundbreaking innovations, it is now even more efficient. The test at Meichle + Mohr in Radolfzell has shown that MirrorCam and Predictive Powertrain Control are only two of the many innovations that make it even more economical.


Gently rolling green hills, with some proper mountains now and again. Winding roads through an ever-changing landscape, with a different view opening up over every crest and behind every bend, the rising sun burning away the morning haze – welcome to Hegau in the far southwest of Germany, one of its most beautiful regions.

It is also a region where there is a great deal of construction going on. Good for Meichle + Mohr and their 18 locations spread around Lake Constance, supplying customers in the construction industry with gravel, crushed stone, concrete and precast concrete parts. “A crucial factor in our service delivery is logistics,” says Roland Maier, the fleet manager of the group of companies which was established in 1924 through the merger of two family-owned businesses and is now being managed by the fourth generation.

And this is where the new Arocs comes in. Maier looks out of the window of his corner office on the first floor of the unassuming administration building at the Radolfzell site and nods with satisfaction. Almost all of the company’s 106 Arocs and Actros are on the road. There is a constant hustle and bustle around the silo, the weighbridge and the concrete mixing plant. 6×4 tipper trucks, four-axle truck mixers and articulated dump trucks arrive in a constant flow, are cleaned, loaded and weighed before setting off again. One of them is the new Arocs 1846 that is being operated here at Meichle + Mohr as part of the customer trials – the last major road trial before it goes into serial production.



Full capacity.

“When it comes to asking a lot of a vehicle, we can certainly offer that,” says Maier. On the one hand, the Meichle + Mohr vehicles always depart from the yard with a full load – on the other, with all its beauty the topography of this region around Lake Constance is also quite challenging. “Here you can’t just drive in a straight line from A to B. We constantly have to cope with gradients and steep descents, winding roads, crossings, roundabouts and speed limits,” says Maier, who started his career behind the wheel of a truck.



This made him all the more interested in two key innovations on the new Arocs. The first of these is the optional MirrorCam: the new Arocs is fitted with cameras to the left and right of the roof frame. The cameras send the visual information they capture to displays mounted on the A-pillar inside the driver’s cab. The driver’s rear view has turned digital – the rear-view mirrors have gone.

The other innovation is the Predictive Powertrain Control system. This latest generation of cruise control and transmission control now uses even more accurate digital road maps that include data on topography and on the precise geometry of curves, intersections and roundabouts, as well as on traffic signs.

This means that use of the system is no longer restricted to motorways and expressways; it will also assist the driver on regional routes. It optimises the driving style even on winding roads, where the use of cruise control had previously not been advisable.


“Even a highly skilled driver who is familiar with the route cannot match the consumption figures of the Arocs with Predictive Powertrain Control”.

– Roland Maier, fleet manager of the Meichle + Mohr group of companies



The speed is right.

Felix Amann, the driver of the new Arocs, is very enthusiastic. He makes a brief stop and talks about his experiences so far. “Driving round corners, junctions, roundabouts – Predictive Powertrain Control always selects the right speed. All you have to do is watch out for other vehicles having the right of way – apart from that, you can just keep on rolling. And I am equally relaxed when I am approaching speed limits or signs marking the beginning of a built-up area. The speed is always spot on when I pass them.”

Amann wants to find out what the system is really capable of. Earlier this morning he had put it to the test: he drove from the shores of Lake Constance all the way to and over the mountain pass on the Schiener Berg, at an altitude of over 700 metres, with the Predictive Powertrain Control system activated. Driving over a mountain pass using cruise control might seem a bit of a stretch, but Predictive Powertrain Control is much more than just a simple cruise control system. “As a precaution I set the cornering speed to minus five – because almost 27 tonnes of gravel do press very hard around tight corners. Even so, the Arocs was just cruising stoically up the mountain and through the forest. This really is as good as can be,” said Amann, a driver with 24 years’ experience. Whenever I think, ‘I would reduce speed about now’ the system kicks in – or sometimes it will let the Arocs roll on just a moment longer, which then results in a higher average speed, with lower consumption.



Fleet manager Roland Maier shares Felix Amann’s enthusiasm. For Meichle + Mohr, using resources in a sustainable manner is a matter of course. This applies to the extraction of raw materials in wet mining and quarries as well as to energy efficiency and fuel consumption. Over the past 10 years, intensive driver training has made it possible to reduce fuel consumption by around 15 per cent. “But that can only happen if you also invest in the latest technology at the same time,” says Maier. Which means this trial vehicle arrived at just the right time. “We have recorded a consumption benefit of several per cent,” he says. Without Predictive Powertrain Control, even a highly skilled driver who is familiar with the route cannot match the consumption figures achieved by the Arocs. “Then there is the added factor that no human driver is able to maintain top form for nine hours at a stretch. Using this system, the drivers can achieve optimal consumption values on every kilometre,” adds Maier.


Great all-round view, unobstructed vision. Felix Amann at the wheel: MirrorCam and the displays on the A-pillars replace the rear-view mirrors.
Great all-round view, unobstructed vision. Felix Amann at the wheel: MirrorCam and the displays on the A-pillars replace the rear-view mirrors.
Robust and matter-of-fact. The Arocs – tailor-made for the diverse range of tasks in the construction business.
Robust and matter-of-fact. The Arocs – tailor-made for the diverse range of tasks in the construction business.

Safety enhanced.

The MirrorCam is also an important factor here. The streamlined mounts for the camera on the left and right-hand sides of the roof frame and the absence of large rear-view mirrors reduce the aerodynamic drag of the new Arocs. “This also contributes to the reduction in consumption,” Maier explains.

The driver, Felix Amann, also considers the MirrorCam a significant improvement in terms of convenience and safety. “The two displays on the A-pillars to the left and right are completely within my field of vision, and that makes it easier to be aware of what is going on around the vehicle. To look at the rear-view mirrors I have to turn my head, but here I don’t,” he says. As a result, he can decelerate more quickly in situations where a vehicle is overtaking him and he can see that things will end up a little too tight out front. At roundabouts and when cornering, the advantage is that the driver can keep the entire trailer in view throughout because the camera image is panning along.


Safety counts.

When manoeuvring the truck, the fact that the display automatically switches to provide the optimal overview is a big plus. Another advantage is that the view diagonally forward near the A-pillar is unobstructed as there are no huge exterior mirrors. This makes manoeuvring easier and improves visibility in tight corners.


Expanded Predictive Powertrain Control.
Expanded Predictive Powertrain Control.
The system now also selects the right speed for regional traffic automatically …
The system now also selects the right speed for regional traffic automatically …
… – even in roundabouts.
… – even in roundabouts.

For the fleet manager Roland Maier, it is yet another point in favour of the new Arocs: “We operate a considerable number of large and heavy vehicles in this region, also on minor roads and within built-up areas. For us, safety is an extremely important factor, because we are ultimately dependent on being accepted by the locals”. He makes sure that the drivers employ not only an economical driving style, but also a defensive one. What is more, at Meichle + Mohr putting pressure on the drivers is taboo.

This is how Maier sums it up: “We use every means at our disposal to use resources as carefully as possible. The new Arocs lets us take another leap forward in terms of fuel efficiency. CO2 emissions are also reduced, and this is another important factor for us and for many of our customers. Given also the benefits in terms of safety and the avoidance of accidents, we plan to switch to the new Arocs as quickly as possible.”



Photos: Christoph Börries
Video: Alexander Tempel

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