EQUIPMENT SPOTLIGHT | MAY 2024 Material Handlers

by MARY M. THORNTON

Vital to the success of the recycling industry, material handlers play an important role in the flow of materials throughout recycling, construction and demolition processes, to ensure minimal downtime and maximum productivity. Important stages in these processes involve extracting then placing scrap into stockpiles, then moving it into trucks and containers or other processing equipment.

Bobcat offers a wide range of excavators with more than a hundred compatible attachment configurations to help customers tackle their toughest C&D jobs. The company offers 13 compact excavators ranging in class size from 1 to 8 metric tons – with zero, reduced and conventional tail swing. Two larger excavators are also available—the 14 metric ton E145 with reduced tail swing and the 16 metric ton E165 with conventional tail swing.

Bobcat Company

Bobcat excavator features “ensure operators are comfortable and effective, which translates to cost efficiency and improved productivity. Specifically, our compact excavator engines are designed to maximize efficiency without a DPF (diesel particulate filter), which saves owners the time and money associated with long-term DPF maintenance. With a wide range of attachment capabilities and the ability to access difficult areas more effectively than other types of equipment, compact excavators excel in helping operators tackle the most challenging jobsites. Our three and four ton excavators are popular due to their balanced combination of power and maneuverability. The machines provide an effective mix of digging depth and reach and lifting capacity, making them suitable for a wide range of construction and demolition applications,” explained Mike Fitzgerald, marketing manager.

Legislation and policies involving carbon emissions, noise restrictions and state pollution regulations are driving opportunities for electric equipment. “To support the changing needs of our customers, we offer the Bobcat E10e and E19e battery-electric compact excavators, as they can tackle tough jobs on environmentally sensitive worksites or indoors, where exhaust is restricted. With labor-saving, quieter performance, operator comfort is enhanced using these machines, which are optimal for urban environments where noise restrictions can limit work hours,” said Fitzgerald.

Develon employees and dealers have worked with customers in the recycling industry for years to provide reliable and durable material handlers and attachments. The firm’s material handlers available in North America include the DX210WMH-5, DX225MH-5, DX250WMH-5, and DX300MH-5 and all feature a 1,500 hour, 12 month standard warranty. Built specifically for scrap and solid waste handlers, recyclers and other bulk material-handling settings, the material handlers are designed for the recycling industry with straight booms to improve reach and lift height, and droop nose arms for enhanced grapple clearance. The standard 225 and 300 models feature a fixed cab riser for enhanced operator visibility and durable steel tracks (triple grousers), while the 210 and 250 are wheeled models with solid tires. An optional hydraulic cab riser is available and enables better cab access for operators at ground level, then raise the cab when handling and loading material. Commonly used in recycling applications when paired with a shear attachment, a craw- ler excavator can cut large pieces of metal items like beams and pipes, into smaller pieces. The excavator’s hydraulic system powers cutting blades of the shear attachment.

Develon

Jacob Sherman, dealer and product marketing manager, North America, noted, “As safety is a top priority at Develon, our material handler rearview cameras are standard and an around view monitor (AVM) camera system is available, providing up to 360 degrees of visibility. When installed, the AVM includes a separate monitor for placement inside the machine’s cab. An object detection system is also available, which alerts operators when an object is too close to the machine.”

When choosing how to best configure a material handler, Sherman advised the buyer should first decide if a tracked or wheel machine is most appropriate for the intended use because wheel machines work better on paved surfaces like concrete and asphalt, while tracked models excel at working in the dirt. The attachments most likely to be paired with a material handler should also be considered. Oange-peel and rotating grapples are commonly used and when using a magnet attachment, a generator must also be installed. With an uptick in fine sorting, precise machinery and attachments can help to ensure the material is sorted as efficiently as possible.

“Kobelco Construction Machinery USA offers industry-leading crawler excavators that include zero tail swing, compact, standard, long-reach, and demolition models. As a long-term innovation leader and manufacturer of efficient scrap processing and handling machines, Kobelco’s SK260DLC-11 machine incorporates an elevated cabin, which provides operators with a superior view to accurately and efficiently load scrap info bins, high sided trucks, or stockpiles, while reducing the chance of accidents. The Kobelco range of scrap handlers are based on a steel track undercarriage. This improves durability and reduces the downtime associated with wheeled machines and tires. Our machines incorporate heavy duty upper frames specially designed to withstand the enormous pressure typically involved with repetitive cycling operation. Thick plates and upper frame, heavy-duty engineering helps to ensure that a Kobelco material handler range will minimize downtime and protect against impact from the materials so common in demanding environments,” remarked Jordan Lumpkins, marketing manager.

Kobelco Construction Machinery USA

Robust safety features of the Kobelco SK260DLC-11 reduce the chance of attachment and cabin contact, via advanced sensors, which monitor boom and arm position. This allows an alert system to protect the machine and operator by automatically ceasing operation when any risk to the cabin is detected. A front window and overhead cabin guard on all machines further improves safety to the operator and others, due to an external loudspeaker that allows for communication with those outside of the machine. “We are committed to producing quality machines with advanced productivity-boosting features, more standard equipment, and innovative technologies. When it comes to superior performance, efficiency, safety and overall added value, Kobelco products are ‘Built Like No Other’”, Lumpkins stated.

According to Constantino Lannes, president, Sennebogen, “Whether building up or tearing down, construction and demolition projects require the ultimate in safety, durability, and versatility. We’ve manufactured more than 45,000 machines in the past 35 years and backed by 70 years as a leader in material handlers, our purpose-built machines deliver. On construction projects, the proven engineering in our machines provides high lift capacity with low energy costs and hydraulic controls provide fast, smooth handling to maximize loading cycles. On demolition sites, long reach and responsive shears, hammers, grabs and hooks produce precise teardowns. Sennebogen’s compact, transportable material handlers increase efficiency to consolidate piles, load trucks and feed onsite processing equipment.”

Sennebogen

Lannes claims the firm’s Vario tool quick-change system transforms the 830 into a multi-functional demolition machine. Magnets and mag-grab attachments are used to recover rebar and metals, and so can generate recycling revenue. The magnet can also separate metal to deliver cleaner material like concrete, which may also be recycled. Sennebogen’s construction lift 870 R-HDD machine is built to quickly and safely tear down buildings up to 10 stories tall. On a Seattle tunneling project, that machine made it possible for the operator to meet strict environmental and timeline requirements. The company owner said the 870’s hydraulic boom gave his operators more control over the bucket than if a cable crane or excavator had been used. The hydraulically elevating Maxcab tilts up to 30 degrees, allowing operators to safely work at heights. One user reported, “Having a bird’s-eye view is especially helpful for moving bulky material into trailers. The high perch lets you see how well you’re loading the material, allowing you to be more accurate and build the load evenly.”

A customer in Maryland added two Sennebogen 818s and doubled their volume. Averaging 70 tons of construction and demolition debris to receive, process and ship hourly, the recycling facility can’t spare a minute for downtime. “One 818 sits on top of the debris pile and feeds the shredder. While the shredder is processing, the loader pre-sorts oversized items from the stream. Another 818 sits at the other end of the stream, loading out residual material” the customer explained.

Published in the April 2024 Edition of American Recycler News