Emission-free and safe weed management with the HWC1000
By Selina de Lang
Monday 3 October
Weed management
Emission-free and safe weed management: the HWC1000 in action
For Van Doorn Buitenruimte, we went to work on the further development of the HWC1000: a machine for working completely emission-free on location while meeting all safety requirements. Weed management at its best! Kees-Arie Visser of Van Doorn talks about the company's experience with the HWC1000: "The machine has been further developed from a concept from 3 years ago and changes are made with great focus on details. It's a machine that has really been thought through."
Durable, quiet and safe
The HWC1000 has been developed to control weeds as sustainably, quietly and safely as possible. The machine consists of a double-walled, insulated tank that can carry 1,000 litres of hot water at a time. The two pumps on the unit spray dosed water and there is a spray boom at the front of the vehicle and a hose at the back. This allows you to spray hard-to-reach areas by hand. The tank is mounted on an electric vehicle. As the whole thing runs on a battery pack, the machine is silent and you are working on site completely emission-free.
The procedure is simple: the user loads hot water according to protocol, drives to the spot where weeds need to be controlled and then flips 2-3 switches. Then the flow boom is positioned and work can begin. As the flow boom is electrically adjustable, the user does not need to touch it and safe working is guaranteed.
The necessary experience
That piece of safety is exactly why Van Doorn Buitenruimte chose a machine from Empas, says Kees-Arie Visser. "Our employees are working with boiling hot water all day, so a machine like this simply has to meet all safety requirements." For example, the parts must be made with the right materials so that the constant contact with the hot water does not damage the machine and accidents do not happen. "That's why we wanted to work with Empas: because they have the necessary experience in-house in working through hot water."
Managing weeds with an eye for the environment
Van Doorn mainly works for public authorities and takes total care of green space maintenance for many municipalities. "We used to do that with burners and brushes, but with those you have quite a few emissions. We also worked with pesticides, but these are of course bad for the environment. There had to be a solution that was better for the environment."
Kees-Arie went looking for the right system and, after his research, ended up at De Heer. There, Empas built a machine similar to the HWC1000 three years ago. In 2022, Empas delivered a completed version of the machine to Van Doorn. This to the company's great satisfaction. "We have been working with the HWC1000 for about 2 months now and are very satisfied. You can take a lot of water in one go and the machine is neatly finished. It has really been thought through." One example is the electrically operated boom: "Our employees don't have to touch the boom to aim it, so they don't come into contact with the hot water either."
And because the HWC1000 is custom-made, there is plenty of room to suggest adjustments from daily practice. Thus, Van Doorn asked its employees to think along about possible improvements. Kees-Arie: "We picked up our ideas for adjustments together with Empas, which is going very well."
Interested in managing weeds with a machine from Empas?
Would you also like to get started with Empas products or would you like more information about our machines? Then contact us at verkoop@empas.nl or by phone at +31(0)318-525888.