ZETOR tractors take care of roads in the Hradec Králové region

Road Maintenance of the Hradec Králové Region a.s. operates throughout the whole region, its headquarters are in Hradec Králové and it is further divided into 5 works and 15 road branches. We decided to visit one such road branches to look at the road-modified PROXIMA HS 110 in a new design.

Rokytnice in Orlické Mountais is located in the eastern part of the Orlické Mountains in the Rychnov nad Kněžnou district. The area was not difficult to find, it is located right at the entrance to the village and from a distance it was possible to see the fleet in a typical orange road colour.

The road branch in Rokytnice has a total of 17 employees who have to manage a difficult task - to procure almost 260 km of territory stretching from Říčky in the Orlické Mountains to Rychnov nad Kněžnou. The employees are helped by their wide fleet of vehicles, which, in addition to Tatra, Liaz and Mercedes trucks, also consists of ZETOR tractors.

I was attracted to Rokytnice by ZETOR PROXIMA HS 110 in a new design inspired by the ZETOR by Pininfarina concept. Road Maintance of the Hradec Králové Region a.s. ajusted the PROXIMA to the typical matching color combination orange / black. Since it is the period of mowing, PROXIMA has a Berti FB / P 500 ditch arm mounted on the rear three-point hitch.

The PROXIMA driver, Mr. Vladimír Štěpánek, maintains curbs and ditches in a wide area with it. "The arm has a reach of 1 m and I have to take the ditch five times, 1 shot in the section of 20 kilometers from Rokytnice to Rychnov and back it will take me a whole shift. I mow twice, sometimes three times a year, " says Mr. Štěpánek. The comfort and convenience of the new PROXIMA is therefore essential for him.

The driver has all the controls conveniently near the hand, which increases the safety and comfort of the operator. The steering wheel is adjustable in height and length, the driver's seat is pneumatically sprung and the air conditioning boasts higher efficiency compared to its predecessor.

But mowing the grass is not the only activity for which they bought PROXIMA in Rokytnice. The village is located at an altitude of 580 m and there is a lot of snow for removal in winter. Roads here are often narrow and winding, moreover very busy, and it is necessary to have a deft and powerful machine, which PROXIMA is without a doubt. For the winter, he fits the front municipal DIN board with a snow plow and after the winter season, when it is necessary to collect all the crushed sand and gravel again, it is replaced by a sweeper. Mr. Štěpánek highly praises Mitas tires with a communal tread, which this machine is equipped with: “I drive a tractor mostly on asphalt and these tires are much more stable on it than their agrarian variant. In the winter it will not be necessary to put on the chains so often.“

And what about the maintenance of the ZETOR tractors? PROXIMA HS 110 was delivered to Rokytnice by Agrico, s.r.o. from Týniště nad Orlicí. The proximity of the service undoubtedly played a role in deciding to buy the tractor. One of the conditions of the tender was a warranty period of 36 months, which Agrico, s.r.o. was able to offer under the conditions of regular service inspections for the entire duration of the warranty. The first of such service inspections is waiting for PROXIMA, following 100 mth or within 6 months of commissioning.

I already know that in Rokytnice they have two PROXIMA HS 110 from 2020 and PROXIMA Plus 8541, but I was interested in how many and what types of tractors they use in the whole region. I learned that 99% of the 37 tractors they use are the ZETOR tractors. The oldest of them are even from 1970. In addition to the PROXIMA HS 110, the newer models also include the FORTERRA HD 150, which is more powerful in performance and therefore also more suitable for higher-class roads.

Purchase of tractors for Road Maintenance of the Hradec Králové Region a.s. is awarded to a public contract. And why is ZETOR winning these public contracts? "We compete on technical parameters, purchase value, length of warranty and quality of service work. We almost always enter the tractor into the tender with aggregation ", says Mr. Přemysl Noháček, Operations Deputy for Road Maintenance of the Hradec Králové Region a.s..

The company Agrico, s.r.o. therefore, it had to adjust PROXIMA to successfully meet all the required parameters. It was painted with communal orange RAL 2011, fitted with a front PTO shaft, a front DIN plate for attaching front tools (snow plow, sweeping brush, etc.) and 3 hydraulic circuits with a free return to the front of the DIN plate. To monitor the side mowers at the barriers, it was necessary to place additional rear-view mirrors on the side of the tractor, a light LED ramp with control from the driver's seat and two beacons were mounted on the roof. Last but not least, it was necessary to supplement the tractor equipment with a car radio and a device for monitoring fuel consumption and position via GPS.

PROXIMA tractors have undergone a number of modernizations during their existence, and we were able to convince with this customer that PROXIMA tractors can find their use not only in agriculture and forestry but also in the municipal sector. Simply to all customers who appeal to the simplicity and reliability of the machine.