AUSTROFOMA 2015 - EPSILON Master Drive honored with Innovation Award
2nd place at AUSTROFOMA Innovation Award for Master Drive
The new comfort and safety concept of the Master Drive including EPSHOOD achieved the second place at the award ceremony of AUSTROFOMA Innovation Award. The focus of the jury at the award was on significant improvements in the areas of safety and ergonomics, relevance in practice, as well as energy efficiency. As these issues are very important subjects for the product development at EPSILON as well, it was special treat when managing director Stefan Oberleitner accepted the price. "After several years of development, we were able to present a concept which defines new standards in the areas of ergonomics, safety and work efficiency", explains Oberleitner at the award ceremony. Hannes Steindl, also Managing Director and responsible for strategic research, adds: "Up to the present, the needs of crane operators have been taken into account nowhere near enough in the industry. With our new Master Drive we are the first to tread new ground by combining the areas design, comfort and technology for new product developments that bring tangible simplification for operators in their daily work."
39 innovations submitted at the award ceremony
The approximately 150 exhibitors of the largest forestry machinery exhibition in Austria have submitted a total of 39 new products, out of which the jury nominated 13 innovations for the first selection. In the finals, Koller Forsttechnik received the first place with a cable carriage system with built-in energy recovery. In the fields of ergonomics, relevance in practice and safety, the EPSILON Master Drive concept scored for place two, while the new JENZ Cobra Hybrid Chipper became third.
The EPSILON Master Drive – an all-new seating concept
The Master Drive is an all-new seating concept, which was first introduced with the new EPSILON M-series. The new command centre provides a vertical and horizontal mechanical suspension seat from Grammer with superior seating comfort. The multifunctional armrests allow a more comfortable seating and working position as well as improved accessibility of all necessary functions. Furthermore, the EPSILON Engineers developed an innovative solution to offer even more precise operation controls: Thus the new Master Drive package offers the opportunity of hydraulic servo joysticks which are reacting particularly sensitive to every command. For optimal protection of the operators, the Master Drive got equipped with an additional cover made of extremely durable technical thermoplastic. In addition, the engineers have developed an equally novel protection cab - the EPSHOOD. This exceptional weather shield really completes the innovative seating concept and protects the operators from wind, weather and sun. For the transport position the EPSHOOD is simply folded in a matter of seconds and thus forms a perfect protection for the seat and controls when the truck is on the road.
EPSILON innovations facilitate the work noticeable
Various conversations with the visitors clearly indicated that both, the new M-Series, as well as the Master Drive seating concept are taken on with great enthusiasm by the end customers. According to their feedback, the investment for a new EPSILON crane not only amortises in time, but all the new improvements are really noticeable at the daily work.
