WUKO Hooklift Truck: Eko-Trans in Krakow

Eko-Trans keeps their hooklift busy shuffling containers around the Kraków metro area. The first job is servicing a permanent account at a facility which tests concrete samples. These boxes are routinely heavy and make for entertaining lifting and dumping. Next take a ride in the cab through Kraków's “aleje”, with some satisfying engine notes and a squeeky clutch for your listening pleasure, to a 6-way switch at a construction site. Be sure to turn on closed captioning for an explanation of the controls. The Renault Manager chassis should look familiar to the North American viewer by way of the lighter duty Mack badged version sold stateside as the Mid-Liner throughout the 80s and 90s.

Mounted to the back of the 1989 Renault Manager is a WUKO hooklift unit. Founded in 1955, WUKO is a staple of the Polish waste industry, long producing a variety of equipment not limited to garbage trucks but encompassing all aspects of municipal machinery. The firm was privatized in the late 90s and continues to churn out equipment to this day. Their hooklift units are well regarded, and stand out as being cheap to buy and repair. Otherwise there isn't anything particularly unique about the WUKO build as far as I know, just the standard sliding jib setup. The up close shots in the second half of the video should give some insight to the basic structure and operation of the various frames, sub frames, etc. to those unfamiliar with the hooklift concept.

The KP standard bins are by far the most common large (relatively speaking) waste containers in Poland. Ditto for the truck, these 2 axle hooklifts are Poland's answer to the de facto standard North American 22 foot roll off hoist and matching dumpsters. With a footprint measuring roughly 12 feet by 6 feet, these KP containers lend themselves to Europe's characteristically tighter quarters and smaller waste volumes. Height of the sides varies with total container volume; 7m (KP-7) and 10m (KP-10) sizes are most common.

When it comes to actually moving and dumping the container, the KP standard gives you options. For hooklift service there's a loop on the front, rails on the bottom, and ground rollers at the rear. Lifting lugs on the sides allow for service by skip lifts / load luggers. Additionally an appropriately equipped rear loader can service KP containers in the British “Skip Eater” tradition. The containers compatible with rear loaders will have a top hinged tailgate as opposed to barn doors. A common configuration in an apartment setting is a KP-10 with a rigid cover w/ small lidded openings for residential waste, periodically serviced by a packer truck.

The KP standard affords the Polish hauler incredible versatility. Eko-Trans was able to trial a skip lift type truck for their operation with minimal risk. (Dissatisfied with the switch, the truck now sits idle in the yard.) Similarly another hauler soon to be featured on the channel successfully made the switch from hooklift to skip lift with zero modifications to the existing 40 unit strong container fleet. Hooklifts and skip lifts each have their own advantages and disadvantages when it comes to placing containers, a company could conceivably run both types of trucks and dispatch them appropriately.

Thanks to everyone at Eko-Trans and both drivers. Filmed September 2nd and 7th, 2015
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