A truck usually leaves a construction site, gravel pit or a dump with an average of 7 Kilos dirt on the tires. A frequency of 100 trucks per day can transform a public road into a potential source of danger and trouble for residents and road users. Wheel-wash systems provide the necessary cleaning. For 28 years FRUTIGER Company AG with their Wheel Washing Systems MobyDick has grown and is the market leader in the world-wide market.
In the year of 1986 the first wheel washing system was successfully installed and operating at a Swiss test customer, Kies AG Aaretal. In the following first years Frutiger was only active in the Swiss market. In 1988 the company took the step to Germany. Within one year 50 tire wash systems in Switzerland and south Germany had been installed. But a product, which calls itself simply “wheel washing system“, was hardly a brand, which was suitable for a professional, international marketing. The special brand name “MobyDick” was established by the current managing director Urs Frutiger, while playing with his daughter and a toy squirting rubber whale.
Until the middle of the 90’s only roller units were in use. With this principle the truck tires are positioned between two rollers and washed during the rotation by a coordinated nozzle system. Different models with two, three, four or a multiplicity of roles were developed. The largest system consists of 24 rollers and was conceived for the cleaning of complete trailer trucks. In December 1995 FRUTIGER achieved the international break-through with the worldwide first drive through system. With this innovation it was no longer necessary for the trucks to stop on the system for cleaning the tires. With this system a truck drives at walking speed through the wash range and is washed by a nozzle system consisting of ground and side nozzles.
In the following years the international demand constantly increased and required an expansion of the group of firms. Through the establishment of own companies, sales office as well as world-wide dealers, FRUTIGER became the worlds market leader and offers now for years a global competent service network. In 2006 “MobyDick Dragon“, a compact and easy to install but nevertheless also an efficient tire wash system, won the bronze medal at the innovative competition at Intermat in Paris.
But not only trucks have to be washed. An increasing number of construction machine companies have the need to wash heavy dirty track vehicles or tires. For this reason the MobyDick specialists conceived in 2008 the innovative washing system “MobyDick HD1 “. It consisted of an optimally coordinated nozzle system of fixed, mobile and oscillating nozzles, which squirts a high water volume with low pressure. A solid steel construction to hold the massive heavy mud provides the necessary stability for construction machines.
Also for the construction industry the modular concept MobyDick ConLine (Construction Line) was presented in 2010. These drive through systems assured with a solid construction, high functionality, quick installation and a high mobility. The most important advantage is based on the easy transformation from a model into another model variant. With this system a machine can be transformed with a change package for a totally different site conditions.
Along with the wash effect, the water preparation is the main point for the success of a wheel washing system. All models include a water cycle option. The water preparation can occur by the addition of a flocculent and the sediment dirt will be taken out of the recycling tank by a scraper conveyor or an excavator.
Thanks to the many years experience in world-wide projects, a varied product range with rolling and driving through systems were able to be developed. Together with the different options, the MobyDick specialists can supply for each project the optimal wheel-washing system. The company has sold approximately 3,300 MobyDick Wheel Washing Systems in over 38 countries and solved the problem of dirty highways.
For more information: www.mobydick.com