The ultimate vehicle: 4,500 litres of fire-extinguishing water, 400 litres of foam, nine crew members on board, plus all the tools and hydraulic rescue equipment necessary to provide help as quickly as possible in the event of an accident on the motorway. Wilfried Thelen, head of the volunteer fire service in Aldenhoven near Aachen, and the members of his unit have high expectations of a fire-fighting vehicle. "Putting out fires, rescuing accident victims and clearing the road for traffic again: we have to do all that under intense stress while maintaining the utmost concentration," says Thelen.

"For that we need a real all-rounder that will operate fully automatic extinguishing and pump systems, transport as much extinguishing agent (water, foam) and as many crew members as possible and, at the same time, still have enough space for technical equipment. Rosenbauer offers us exactly the all-round performer we need." The AT (AT stands for "Aluminium Technology") is a "classic" among municipal emergency vehicles. "It is our first fire-fighting vehicle from this manufacturer," says Thelen. And it was a good investment. "Whereas previously we had to take two vehicles out, now one is enough."

The firefighters from Aldenhoven are particularly impressed by the fully automatic extinguishing and pump technology. "When I clap my hands, it has to work," says Thelen, summing up with a grin the demands on the technology. Even though it is not quite as simple as that, despite being so high-tech, it is important to keep the set-up and operating times as short as possible when deploying the fire-fighting equipment at the site of a fire or accident. "At the push of a button, the pump goes into automatic mode and no longer has to be monitored by our people during operation," says Thelen. "Anything that runs automatically is a help to our emergency service personnel. It means that we can concentrate all our efforts on firefighting and rescue."

"Automation with the aid of the rotary loading system is another milestone for us, enabling us to further customise the manufacture of our pumps and to be very flexible, producing exactly to customer requirements," says Michael Schöftner. "This allows us to work with smaller batch sizes and even, if required, to run a just-in-time production system." The entire system also takes individual delivery dates into account and can be adjusted dynamically according to what the priorities are. And this can be achieved with consistently high efficiency. "Here, we produce an average of 2,000 to 2,500 parts a month, at peak times even 4,000, and this with an error rate of no more than 0.4 per cent," says Michael Wizany. "The RLS 800 is the most productive machine we have," adds Schöftner, the head of production. The time saving in production alone is in the order of 30 to 50 per cent.

"We work a two-shift cycle on the Liebherr machine, but thanks to automation, we can continue production for up to four hours after the end of the shift. The next morning, the employee coming on shift simply takes off the parts that have been machined overnight and can set up new workpieces," explains production manager Michael Schöftner. There is no reason to fear that people will become superfluous. "Trained operators will always be needed. Their expertise in materials science and in assessing the status of the machine, the loading system and the components is essential." Michael Wizany, who has two-and-a-half years' experience in this field, realised a long time ago that "Automated systems will always need professionals to operate them. You always have to be on the ball. For me, that is what makes working with the latest technology so exciting."

Rosenbauer obviously has its finger firmly on the pulse of the industry here. Rosenbauer produces approximately 2,500 vehicles worldwide, which are deployed around the globe - in Europe and the USA, in Asia, in the Arab states and in South America. This means constantly having to meet different sets of requirements and standards. They manufacture around 2,000 versions of the pump alone – without automation, this wouldn't really be economically viable nowadays. Fitted with the appropriately configured peripherals and equipped with suction device, venting device, pump pressure regulator, foam premixing system, pipework and controls, the pump is then installed in the vehicle as a ready-to-install component.

The firefighters had already discussed beforehand all the details and special requirements in terms of vehicle and extinguishing technology with the experts at Rosenbauer. On the AT assembly line, everything they discussed goes straight into the "composition" of the Aldenhoven fire engine. At the various stations, 14 in all, the vehicle "grows" step by step. This process means that not all but very many vehicles are as unique as their customers.

Prior to the fitting-out of the vehicle, the Aldenhoven firefighters had discussed their operational needs right down to the last detail. One month sooner than expected, six men from the Aldenhoven volunteer fire service were finally able to turn out and collect their new vehicle from Rosenbauer's German branch plant in Luckenwalde. "Right from the beginning, our new, custom-built vehicle has been a perfect match for us," says Thelen happily. "It was clear from the very first callouts: This is exciting technology. We have already thought about what the next vehicle will be like."