Bianchetti Group acquires four new Arocs 3348
Economics & Logistics
Gruppo Bianchetti Costruzioni has successfully diversified its operations in the construction sector. And the company's four new Arocs 3348 vehicles are just as multifaceted.
Building construction and demolition, road-building, moving earth, environmental protection work and development work: the strength of Gruppo Bianchetti Costruzioni from Gussago in the province of Brescia is the diversity of its operations within the construction industry. "We managed to ride out the economic slump in 2008 thanks to this process of diversification which enabled us to shift our resources away from the property sector and into road infrastructure, for example," explained Ivan Paderni, who runs the company together with his brothers Celesetino and Fabrizio, having taken over from its original founders – his father Mario and his mother Erminia.
A further factor in the success story of the company is a fleet of equipment and vehicles which allows the company to operate fully independently. It includes ten rigid trucks and an equal number of four-axle tractor units, which are all approved as construction vehicles. "We've always invested in the fleet in order to always keep it efficient and modern," explained the entrepreneur. This is also reflected by the latest orders placed by Gruppo Bianchetti: four Arocs 3348 LS tractor units with dump truck semitrailers. "I bought them after having read the brochures, or should I say after simply studying the technical data," said Paderni. "I really liked the innovative design. But of course, that's not enough. It was the engine performance that impressed me, and particularly the Mercedes PowerShift 3 automated transmission."
Before buying the Arocs, Bianchetti only used vehicles with a manual
tranmission: "I had tried out automatic transmission vehicles
from other brands, but in the quarry they weren't good enough. The
Arocs transmission was a pleasant surprise because it's really fast,
even on the trickiest of gradients," said Paderni. His most
experienced driver, Attilio Frigerio, can confirm this: "In the
past I always drove vehicles with manual transmissions. I was very
sceptical of the automatic transmission in the difficult quarry
terrain. That's why, when I first sat behind the wheel, I put the
truck to the test and drove up a steep ramp with a full load. Mercedes
PowerShift switched to tenth gear, and while it was climbing it
changed down by two gears each time, reaching the highest point
without the slightest difficulty."
Difficult conditions. The Gruppo Bianchetti trucks operate in quarries, as shown here, and also in historic town centres – places where the Arocs has always shown its true value.
Also, Paderni is pleased with the lower fuel consumption – a factor which has top priority when he chooses his vehicles, and something he checks each day. "Up until a few years ago, diesel costs weren't at the top of the list of construction business priorities, but due to constantly rising prices, companies now pay attention to fuel consumption." The businessman is happy with the values which the Arocs provides and also points out another bonus point: "The robustness of the chassis and the axles. Thanks to these qualities, Mercedes-Benz takes first place for its range of vehicles suited to quarry work, roadworks and construction tasks."
Paderni's assessment is particularly important, because he has to be able to use the vehicles for a wide range of tasks under the most difficult of conditions: on the unpaved tracks in the quarries, where aggregates are mined in readiness for transport to building sites, or on the busy asphalt roads of Lombardy, and even in historic town centres: "An important part of our work is maintaining the roads in Brescia and a number of boroughs in the province. This means that we drive through towns and villages, and that is why it is important to have environmentally-friendly engines such as the new Euro VI engine of the Arocs."
The company from Lombardy has also been operative in creating public works of national importance, such as the Brebemi motorway, which connects Brescia and Milan, and the Milan eastern bypass. Paderni explained: "If you want to be successful in this business today, you need to have a solid financial base, your own equipment and customers who have good financial means at their disposal, but you also have to be firmly based in the region."
Photos: Michele Latorre
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