Unimog
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The 1,000-litre liquid manure drum (which has of course been thoroughly cleaned) delivers water for the fields A “millionaire” in the bush Father Manfred Förg has run the Nyangana mission in Namibia’s north since 1962, and for an equally long period has used a Unimog in the African bush on the Okavango river near the border with Angola. The priest and his helpers use the vehicle to negotiate rough terrain and reach the more than fifty mission communities with 22,000 Christians located in a 100-kilometre radius. The Unimog is equipped for these journeys with a 200-litre water tank, a 50-litre spare can of diesel, a camping stove and a plank bed. Father Förg occasionally drives to the Namibian capital of Windhoek on the 1,000- kilometre road strewn with potholes. A large drum of water is often installed on the platform instead, to supply missions where the water supply has broken down. Sometimes, the carefully cleaned-out liquid manure trailer is filled with almost 1,000 litres of water so that the hand-planted gardens and fields can be watered. This Unimog has already covered more than a million kilometres, largely without any problems. Only the filters have had to be replaced from time to time. Luckily, minor repairs could be carried out at the mission. As veteran cars more than 40 years old aren’t subject to taxes in Namibia, Father Förg doesn’t have to pay tax on his Unimog any more. This saves 250 Namibian dollars, which is a lot of money for a missionary. His second Unimog – a U 416 with the U 406’s cab and engine – which the Father assembled with help from the locals, is still subject to tax. Fortunately, Father Förg can now rely on expert help for both of his “universal motor vehicles”: In Rundu, some 100 kilometres away, a mechanic of German origin has opened what is alleged to be the “best Mercedes truck workshop in the country”. ■ Advertisement 22 Unimog 2|2003
UNISCOPE An off-road expert Farewell to Hans-Jürgen Wischhof Hans-Jürgen Wischhof was CEO of the Unimog Division for more than twelve years – longer than any of his predecessors – and on his retirement leaves a healthy company behind him. Dr. Klaus Maier, Head of the Mercedes-Benz Truck Division, held the official farewell speech on Thursday, October 9. In his words: “You could always rely on Hans-Jürgen Wischhof and he was and remains a true friend of the Unimog. He was always the company’s foremost engineer and salesman.” There were many speeches and therefore memories of Hans-Jürgen Wischhof’s activity, lasting almost 25 years, on behalf of the DaimlerChrysler Group. What was constantly evident was that he would accept every job and consider it “his task”. He came to Gaggenau in the spring of 1990 with this attitude, and set to work right away, making the necessary urgent decisions and leading the Unimog through one of its more difficult phases. With the help of his team and with the backing of the Group headquarters, the Unimog has entered the 21st century in great condition. During the Wischhof era, two product lines for different customer target groups were introduced – the off-road U 300 - U 500 implement carriers and the extreme off-road U 3000 - U 5000 transport vehicles – and the U 500 USA was also the first model to be launched in North America. Wischhof set the signals in many important areas with a view to making the division more economical. Strategic re-orientation of the Unimog – which is in fact the world’s best-known Mercedes-Benz truck – culminated with relocation of the Unimog production facilities to the truck assembly plant in Wörth. “Now that I’m leaving, I’m absolutely positive that it has all been worthwhile,” said the former Unimog CEO. The festive environment in Gaggenau, with a vehicle parade through the factory and standing ovations for his emotional final speech, was a last and certainly pleasant highlight of an interesting and successful career. ■ Gisbert Hindennach, author of several books about the Unimog that mainly deal with its driveline technology and extreme off-road situations, has now written another book entitled “Unimog Off Road Driving School”. It describes what can be done with the off-road Unimog. An off-road specialist from Freudenstadt in the Black Forest, Hindennach describes how to maintain preconditions for safe driving in extreme off-road terrain by appropriate driving techniques and by taking full advantage of the Unimog’s driveline technology. On 224 pages with 400 colour pictures, the author conveys many useful facts on how to look ahead and adopt the appropriate driving style, on basic physical principles and realistic assessment of risks. The book is obtainable in German and English, from: Ingenieurbüro Gisbert Hindennach Keplerstrasse 3, 72250 Freudenstadt, Germany Phone +49 (0) 7441 - 91150 Fax +49 (0) 7441 - 911519 E-mail: gisbert.hindennach@t-online.de www.hindennach.com Flowers for Mrs. Wischhof and a heartfelt thank-you for Hans-Jürgen Wischhof (centre) from Dr. Klaus Maier (left) Unimog 2|2003 23
- Page 1 and 2: www.mercedes-benz.com | January 200
- Page 3 and 4: Contents Symposium 20 “Rescue, Re
- Page 5 and 6: The Bayreuth road maintenance autho
- Page 7 and 8: Anniversary Château Calisanne near
- Page 9 and 10: Sampling the Unimog U 5000: Command
- Page 11 and 12: Water authorities preciation it des
- Page 13 and 14: Road-rail applications off the road
- Page 15 and 16: Report An example of best-practice
- Page 17 and 18: DaimlerChrysler Worldwide ing the e
- Page 19 and 20: Advertisements Technology that grab
- Page 21: Martin Flammer of the Unimog sales
UNISCOPE<br />
An off-road<br />
expert<br />
Farewell to<br />
Hans-Jürgen Wischhof<br />
Hans-Jürgen Wischhof was CEO of the<br />
<strong>Unimog</strong> Division for more than twelve<br />
years – longer than any of his predecessors<br />
– and on his retirement leaves a healthy<br />
company behind him. Dr. Klaus Maier, Head<br />
of the Mercedes-Benz Truck Division, held<br />
the official farewell speech on Thursday,<br />
October 9. In his words: “You could always<br />
rely on Hans-Jürgen Wischhof and he was<br />
and remains a true friend of the <strong>Unimog</strong>. He<br />
was always the company’s foremost engineer<br />
and salesman.”<br />
There were many speeches and therefore<br />
memories of Hans-Jürgen Wischhof’s activity,<br />
lasting almost 25 years, on behalf of the<br />
DaimlerChrysler Group. What was constantly<br />
evident was that he would accept<br />
every job and consider it “his task”. He came<br />
to Gaggenau in the spring of 1990 with this<br />
attitude, and set to work right away, making<br />
the necessary urgent decisions and leading<br />
the <strong>Unimog</strong> through one of its more difficult<br />
phases. With the help of his team and with<br />
the backing of the Group headquarters, the<br />
<strong>Unimog</strong> has entered the 21st century in<br />
great condition.<br />
During the Wischhof era, two product<br />
lines for different customer target groups<br />
were introduced – the off-road U 300 - U 500<br />
implement carriers and the extreme off-road<br />
U 3000 - U 5000 transport vehicles – and the<br />
U 500 USA was also the first model to be<br />
launched in North America. Wischhof set<br />
the signals in many important areas with a<br />
view to making the division more economical.<br />
Strategic re-orientation of the <strong>Unimog</strong> –<br />
which is in fact the world’s best-known<br />
Mercedes-Benz truck – culminated with relocation<br />
of the <strong>Unimog</strong> production facilities<br />
to the truck assembly plant in Wörth.<br />
“Now that I’m leaving, I’m absolutely<br />
positive that it has all been worthwhile,”<br />
said the former <strong>Unimog</strong> CEO. The festive<br />
environment in Gaggenau, with a vehicle<br />
parade through the factory and standing<br />
ovations for his emotional final speech, was<br />
a last and certainly pleasant highlight of an<br />
interesting and successful career. ■<br />
Gisbert Hindennach, author of several<br />
books about the <strong>Unimog</strong> that mainly deal<br />
with its driveline technology and extreme<br />
off-road situations, has now written<br />
another book entitled “<strong>Unimog</strong> Off Road<br />
Driving School”. It describes what can be<br />
done with the off-road <strong>Unimog</strong>. An off-road<br />
specialist from Freudenstadt in the Black<br />
Forest, Hindennach describes how to<br />
maintain preconditions for safe driving in<br />
extreme off-road terrain by appropriate<br />
driving techniques and by taking full<br />
advantage of the <strong>Unimog</strong>’s driveline technology.<br />
On 224 pages with 400 colour<br />
pictures, the author conveys many useful<br />
facts on how to look ahead and adopt the<br />
appropriate driving style, on basic physical<br />
principles and realistic assessment of<br />
risks. The book is obtainable in German and<br />
English, from:<br />
Ingenieurbüro Gisbert Hindennach<br />
Keplerstrasse 3,<br />
72250 Freudenstadt,<br />
Germany<br />
Phone +49 (0) 7441 - 91150<br />
Fax +49 (0) 7441 - 911519<br />
E-mail: gisbert.hindennach@t-online.de<br />
www.hindennach.com<br />
Flowers for Mrs. Wischhof and a heartfelt thank-you<br />
for Hans-Jürgen Wischhof (centre) from Dr. Klaus<br />
Maier (left)<br />
<strong>Unimog</strong> 2|2003 23
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