"It scrapes really clean"
The month is April and the thermometer indicates just a few degrees above zero. There’s a real snowstorm blowing and we are travelling along road 342 close to Lidsjöberg, 70 km north of Strömsund in Jämtland, a county in northern Sweden.
Roger Näsström is ploughing the road at full speed. He is using the company’s Volvo FH12 truck fitted with Mählers’ latest plough, the Flexiway.
“It feels incredibly stable and scrapes really clean,” says Roger behind the wheel, while we pass Gubbhögen at full speed.
“We haven’t actually used this plough that much yet, but both dad and I agree that Mählers’ have got it spot on with this concept,” continues Roger.
Long standing habits in this company
Roger, together with father Alf and brother Mikael, run the family company Ringvattnets Gräv & Schakt AB. A company with long standing traditions within road maintenance and contracting.
“Dad started the company together with his brother Bernt long before I was born,” informs Roger, who is 27 years old and raised on the family business.
At Ringvattnet where the company has its garage and offices, Alf’s wife Carina fixes the paperwork and accounts.
The machines available consist of the previously mentioned truck, which is used for snow ploughing and construction work, together with a Volvo EC210CL excavator and a Volvo L70 wheel loader.
“I’d never have managed it with a conventional plough”
The company’s main customer is PEAB. They are also responsible for maintenance of the Strömsund road network, which includes the Näsström’s ploughing contract. Other Ringvattnets Gräv & Schakt customers are Svevia, SCA and Holmens. On top of these, a large number of smaller jobs usually turn up during the year.
“Look here – this is another function I really like,” says Roger as he swings into a parking bay while at the same time laterally shifting the Flexiway plough.
“Watch now – thanks to the lateral shift and full width of the side plough, I can plough the entire parking bay in one go. I’d never have managed it with a “conventional” plough,” says Roger.
After a lucky break in the snowstorm during our ploughing run, the snow fall resumes again with renewed speed. Before we reach the end of the ploughing run, we’re in a snowstorm again. A perfectly normal day in April in the north of Sweden can mean that Roger and Alf can look forward to yet another plough run, directly after the current one is finished.