FAE Stories - Luxembourg
Preparing for take-off in Luxembourg
An FAE SFH/HP 250 hard at work in airport construction
Find out more
We meet in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, in the heart of Europe between Belgium, France and Germany. A country that belongs with a total surface of 2,586 km2 to the smallest of the world. Despite its size, Luxembourg is known for its steel industry and financial sector beyond these borders. However, this country is predominantly rural and there are still a large number of agricultural enterprises.
Descended from a farming family, Claude Thein completed his studies in 1990 and immediately began working as a farmer in the family business. Quick, he noticed that the family business was too small to support two families at the same time. As a result, he began to carry out agricultural work for others. Being entrepreneurial, he created the company Gieweler Holzknacker in 2006, which exclusively offered wood chipping services.
Today, this company presents itself as a complete partner in terms of Wood-Energy and, in addition to wood grinding, also offers a range of wood processing and logging services, felling and forest cleaning, transport service, supply of bark and ornamental chips. For this, the company Gieweler Holzknacker currently employs 26 people and has a fleet of vehicles that makes it possible to respond effectively to all types of work, whether in the private, public or industrial sector. A fleet that includes 2 FAE machines, purchased in 2019 from Belgian retailer Van Laecke Group: a DML/HY 125 mulcher for excavators and a multi-functional SFH/HP 250 machine.
FAE’s machines, famous for “opening up new roads everywhere”, can sometimes even open up new flight paths in the skies over Europe. This is what happened in Luxembourg, where the company Gieweler Holzknacker used its FAE SFH/HP 250 to prepare a runway for take-off and landing at an airport.
The latter was used to help build a private airport in Luxembourg.
The FAE SFH/HP 250 is a stone crusher, mulcher and forestry tiller with a fixed-tooth rotor for tractors of up to 500 HP. On the airport building site, it was used to crush stones of up to 20 cm in diameter, resulting in a granulometry of 10-20 mm. This was a matter of great importance to the customer, because any stones remaining on the runway could actually end up in the engine of the airplane as a result of the airflow during take-off, compromising the safety of the aircraft.
Therefore, in order to ensure an excellent result, it was decided to use a brand-new SFH/HP 250, delivered to the client in December 2019. The machine was operated with a Claas Xerion tractor: a winning combination which enabled an average working speed of 1 km per hour and a fuel consumption of 72 liters. All while working the land at a depth up to 35 cm, for a surface area of 42 km.
So, what did the client have to say when the work was finished? “This machine is the BEST!”
“The result from the processed material was particularly appreciated: extremely fine and even, just as the specifications required,” recalls dealer Van Laecke Group, who distributes the FAE brand in Belgium with satisfaction. “The SFH/HP also won us over with its quality and sturdiness: when we sell this, we know that it will be a really long-term investment for the client, who will be able to use it gainfully for many years!”
With thanks to vanlaeckegroup.com for their kind collaboration.
To find out more: holzknacker.lu
Share your story with us! Contact: [email protected]
