19 August 2015, 10:40
Johnston has launched the brand new ES351 mechanical sweeper in North America, the first mechanical sweeper produced by Johnston since the 1950s.
The new machine has been designed by Johnston’s design team in the UK principally for the North American market where the design is still favoured, and its launch at the American Public Works (APWA) exhibition in Toronto was the culmination of more than two years’ development and testing at Dorking.
Johnston consulted forums of North American dealers and contractors in order to understand what the market required, with the outcome that a very simple machine was required, similar to the Mobil Athey sweeper which was a best-seller in the USA in the 1970s and 80s.
The sweeper works by way of a full-width 4 foot diameter broom at the back of the machine, and gutter brooms on each side, which collect the material and flick it onto a full-width chain driven elevator with rubber flights. The sweepings are then deposited into the hopper mechanically. It’s fairly old technology but, ironically, completely new for Johnston – at least for the last couple of generations of our engineers!
This project, together with the redesign of the hydrostatic engine, engineering for the new Euro 6 C201, launch of the new Euro 6 VT651 and introduction of the latest C401, means that Johnston’s Engineering team has been kept very busy recently, so thanks and congratulations to them all.