TOILET AND WATER
emissions and using clean energy, it was
decided to develop a fully electric-powered
vacuum aircra lavatory servicing vehicle,”
says Je Wu, COO of TLD Asia. e
electric LSP-900-V-E lavatory service unit
boasts lower gas and noise pollution than
a diesel, and is more economical thanks to
savings on fuel, lubrication oil and lter
replacements. “With a 900 gallon capacity,
the unit incorporates a vacuum system
capable of nishing the job within seconds.
e positioning of the cabin, meanwhile,
enables a frontal approach towards the
aircra , which helps to prevent aircra
damage,” asserts Wu. “ e LSP-900-V-E
is able to service one A380, three A330s,
almost 20 A320s, 35 B737s or two 747-
8s before the waste must be disposed of.
Furthermore, a high capacity (600Ah)
lead-acid battery enables the equipment to
travel for at least 75 kilometres whilst fully
loaded and on a single charge.”
ere is also an option for a lithium
battery, capable of providing more than 8
hours’ operation in a single shi , while the
heating system ensures that the LSP-900-
V-E works well in temperatures as low as
-20 °C.
Electric evolution
At the InterAirport Europe show in
October 2019, Scandinavian manufacturer
Vestergaard also pledged its environmental
commitment, announcing its goal to
supply CO2 neutral equipment by 2030.
e company presented its rst Vacuum
Toilet Service unit, built on its own electric
chassis at the exhibition. “Water and toilet
service units can be mounted on the new
electric chassis and the rst units will be
tested with customers during 2020,” says
VP Sales and Marketing Lars Barsoe.
Suitable for a number of GSE applications,
the fully electric 12 tonne chassis is
NEW TO THE FOLD
France-based Miloco GSE has recently added a lavatory service truck to its portfolio, which
also includes bespoke dollies and trailers, to meet customer demand, relates Export Sales
Manager, Antoine Coatmellec. “The cleaning unit is set up on an electric ZE chassis, with
a choice of lithium battery or petrol engine vehicle. Appropriate wastewater treatment is
provided according to aircraft type, thanks to control panels adjusted by the operator,” he says.
Elsewhere in France, Sovam has also added a lavatory truck and fresh water replenishment
vehicle to its GSE line, both equipped with a de-freezing system. “These two units were
launched mid-last year,” relates Managing Director Alain Péru. “For the time being, our offer is
limited to western Europe as a version suitable for extremely cold environments still needs to
be developed. This is our plan for the end of this year/early 2021. The range of this product
family will be extended in the meantime, too.”
equipped with a 40 kWh lithium-ion
battery, capable of operating for 12 hours
and covering up to 50 kilometres.
Its water and toilet service units in
general continue to sell well to customers
all over the world, Barsoe continues. “In
2019 we produced a large order for a
European customer. is order includes
the new Data Transmission System
solution for water and toilet service units.
e last unit of this order was delivered in
January 2020.”
French ground handler OVID recently
took delivery of the last four units from
an order of 34 Vestergaard toilet and
water trucks. COO François Harel o ers
feedback. “We received the rst two in
July 2017 to test and adapt them to our
activities in collaboration with Vestergaard
before ordering the entire eet. e last
four were delivered in January 2020.”
OVID made the switch to Vestergaard a er
su ering ongoing problems with the units
from its previous supplier, with whom
they had 30 trucks, Harel reports. e
handler’s high volume operation presented
an opportunity for Vestergaard to further
develop its equipment, he adds.
Tailored off ering
Potable water and toilet service vehicles are
a staple of the Mallaghan product portfolio,
too. Designed to suit all aircra types, tank
capacities range from 1,000-4,500 litres and
units can be customised to suit the needs of
the customer, explains Marketing Manager
Sebastian Koellner. “Our toilet service
trucks o er signi cant value proposition
to the market, with a robust vacuum
system that allows operators to reduce both
aircra turn times as well as maintenance
events driven by blockages,” he relates.
e design continues to evolve in
response to customer feedback, with
additional features such as steam
generators and batch control systems
recently introduced. Vehicle winterisation
systems have been further developed to
suit extreme weather conditions of up to
-40°C, meanwhile. More than 30 units
with the Arctic Winter Kit and customised
con guration have been delivered to
clients in North America, Poland, Russia
and Slovenia since 2018.
Fraport Slovenia is using Mallaghan’s
water service unit at Ljubljana airport. Says
Karol Ahcin, Ground Handling Technical
Manager, “We are very satis ed with
the provided winter package and good
insulation. e steam generator device for
de-icing icecaps on the aircra ’s connector
is working excellently.”
Owen McKenna, Sales Director at
Mallaghan, says that the manufacturer
works closely with customers to
understand their speci c needs and exceed
their expectations. “As a result we have
experienced an increase in demand for our
water service units and toilet service units
in the last 18 months, with orders for more
than 140 units,” he notes.
Recent business includes contracts
with Delta Air Lines and United Ground
Express to produce a Vacuum Toilet
Service Unit for the North American
market last year, utilising an Isuzu
NPR-HD chassis and petrol engine. e
manufacturer also enhanced the chassis
range for Europe and the Rest of World,
introducing the MAN TGE model.
Vestergaard’s electric chassis for
toilet and water applications was
unveiled at InterAirport last October
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