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Manufacturers give tips on how to keep your operation profitable to help you avoid giving employees IOUs on payday. By Lynn Tilton
There is a host of equipment ready to go to work to help you handle the materials you deal with. Not only are the manufacturers ready to talk about waste handling, but they’re prepared to help you decide which equipment to consider for maximizing income and minimizing mistakes. Grinders to the Rescue He continues, “Contractors should also consider the markets for finished products, as well as the support equipment and staff needed. Items that typically are forgotten are the daily requirements, such as fuel requirements and daily budgets.” Sure, you may have enough funds to get you going, but you need to have ready access to the money needed to handle long-term costs. “One might have ‘X’ dollars for starting up, but that’s just the beginning. Long-run costs need to be factored in as well in order for the contractor to be profitable and have a successful business. Independent, authorized Vermeer dealerships located throughout the world are available to discuss anticipated daily operating costs that factor in fuel, labor, and machinery costs. This interaction with the Vermeer dealer can provide the customer a general idea of what to expect once the machinery is onsite and operational. Another reason to have access to the dealers is they should have the trained staff that can provide operational training, service training, or preventive-maintenance programs to keep machinery running in top condition. If conditions change in job sites or materials processed, the dealership can provide tips that may help in these new conditions instead of owners trying to go it alone.” Rieckhoff plainly states that machinery is the lifeblood of the operation. Taking care of the grinders and support equipment will help the contractor take care of his business. So what maintenance issues should a contractor address? Rieckhoff says it is vital to first read the maintenance and service manuals included with the equipment at the time of purchase, including the details on maintenance intervals and how to properly service the equipment.
What about broken or missing parts? “There is no advantage to operating a grinder with worn parts, such as hammers and cutters. Worn parts will have a direct effect on machine productivity. As tooling wears or dulls, production efficiency starts to drop off.” Postponing such care, even just for a day or two, usually means a sacrifice in lost production and excessive wear to the rest of the machine. Tub or horizontal grinders are intended to process such organic material as woodwaste, and care should be taken when non-organic material—rocks in root balls, steel fence posts, or concrete—become part of the mix. Vermeer tub grinders come equipped with the Thrown Object Restraint System (TORS), a patented feature that helps limit the distance and quantity of thrown materials. Material selection, or pre-sorting of the material being ground, is one way to limit the amount of prohibited materials. This pre-sorting will also help reduce the amount and cost of damage to the patented duplex drum, cutter blocks, hammers, screens, and belts in the machine. Material placement is another area that needs to be addressed up front. Initially, contractors look at raw-material storage and room for it on the job site. Contractors must also look for room to store the finished product, and possibly areas for aging the material. On some job sites, material is ground once, left to age for 30 or 60 days, then processed a second or third time before being sold to the end customer. Storage of this aging material needs to be considered to prevent having to move it to make room on the site. Getting the right size of equipment also makes a difference. Take a good look at the material to be processed, both the diameter and length, to decide whether you need a horizontal grinder or a tub grinder. Each machine performs well in certain conditions, and you want to make sure you have the right machine for the right application. When it comes to markets for woodwaste, Rieckhoff sees wholesale nurseries and landscape outlets as a start. These markets need a steady supply of mulch or composted material. Try Buried Tires
Says CW Mill President Tim Wenger, “Each year there are about 300 million disposed tires that can be reused for other applications. In 2002, a customer insisted that he be able to grind tires as well as wood. Since then, 20% of our customers have a tire-grinding attachment as part of their equipment.” He adds that switching from wood to tire grinding takes just a half-day with this attachment package. The general strategy in making one type of tire-derived fuel (TDF) is to turn tires into 2- to 3-inch pieces. The first step is sending tires through the tub grinder with large screens or no screens at all; nearly 30% of the rubber is removed by a trommel with 3-inch screens. The second step is running the larger pieces through the grinder again, using the same-sized screen. The trommel screen again removes the oversized chips for additional processing. Wenger continues, “Our tire-grinding package can include a magnet to pull out the metal used for tire making. About 12% of a tire is high-carbon metal, which brings approximately $150 to $200 per ton. Our big grinders [1,000 horsepower] can handle approximately 2,200 tires per hour, which converts into around 25 tons of material. Smaller grinders [700 horsepower] can convert tires at approximately 10 tons per hour.” He notes that maintenance takes about an hour each day. The main wear items are the 26 bolts on the hammer tips on the hammermill in the bottom of the tub. “Grinding dirty tires can wear hammer tips almost twice as fast compared to grinding wood.” Operators typically check hammers and tips two times a day to keep the machine working at maximum efficiency. Uses of ground tires range from power plants to playing fields. A pound of burning rubber equals 16,000 Btus, a pound of coal equals 12,000 Btus, and a pound of wood equals between 6 and 8,000 Btus. “The heat of burning tire chips is so hot that they’re often mixed with wood or coal to bring down the Btus. Rubber mixed with low grades of coal improves the coal’s emissions.” Regarding the grinding operation, Wenger says there are high-speed and low-speed grinders. “We’re a high-speed supplier and our grinders rely on the impact of a hammer to rip the tire apart, while low-speed grinders operate with close-tolerance shredders to cut the tire.” The high-speed grinders are more efficient in dealing with buried dirty tires that are dug up to help reclaim landfills. He says these tires are like oil in the landfill, which is the theory of monofilling tires to recover their energy at a later date. The process is rather straightforward. One excavator operator removes the tires from the landfill while looking for rims on the tires. He then passes the tires to another excavator, who feeds them into the tub while also watching for rims. Wenger says tire-grinding attachments are available for use with the company’s horizontal grinders, but the tub grinder is the grinder of choice for dealing with dirty tires. Wenger points out that many states have issues with stockpiled tires. “Some may have an estimated 40 million stockpiled tires,” he says. Of the estimated 300 million disposed tires generated each year, some 50% are used for TDF at such places as cement kilns, pulp and paper mills, industrial and utility boilers, and even energy plants. About 16% are used in civil-engineering projects as tire-derived aggregate (TDA) at typically 2–12 inches in size. Common uses include lightweight fill and drainage layers for landfills and septic tank leach fields. Ground and crumb rubber for playgrounds and fields uses about 12%. Land disposal consists of around 14%, with the remaining 8% exported for use in rubber-stamping and agriculture. To learn more about recycled tires, check out the Rubber Manufacturers Association’s Web site at www.rma.org. “‘Small 1’ tire chips are frozen with liquid nitrogen, then reground into 8- to 40-mesh crumb,” Wenger says. “Tire crumbs can sell for $350 to $400 per ton, and an athletic field uses 100 to 125 tons of processed crumbs. Highways can last five to 10 years longer with rubberized asphalt, which makes ground tires affordable for surfaces that deal with live tires. Anything made of carbon can be converted to diesel fuel, because tires are 65% carbon. I’m told it’s common in Japan and Europe, where the price of fuel makes rubber cost-effective for making diesel fuel.” Wenger concludes, “Since the customer called, it’s become a good part of our business.” Getting a Grasp “In 1975, our founder, Marcel Cayouette, developed the first reliable continuous-rotation grapple in North America,” says Bourdon. “Since the company is based in the midst of the forest area in Canada, our first line answered the need for everything from trunk handling to limb processing.” The company has developed other lines to deal with other products, but a major component still involves wood handling. This year, for instance, it will introduce two to three new grapples for handling woodwaste and other products safe to put in the grinder. “For experienced operators, it does not take much time to become proficient in also using the grapple for removing any solid material they want to keep out of the grinder, then using the grapple to crush branches into a more compact load before hoisting them into a tub grinder,” says Bourdon. When dealing with just wood products, an operator quickly gains the expertise needed to help make an operation profitable. For companies dealing with many different kinds of products, the learning curve depends on the complexity of use. As is the case with other manufacturers, the goal is to help users of its products maximize profitability. The goal is to make the wood easier to handle for the grinder. This helps the grinder work at maximum processing rates, which helps users of green products stay in the green themselves.
An important element is safety for both operator and machine. A major way to maximize safety is to match the grapple to the size of the machine using it. Bourdon cautions, “If the grapple is too large for the machine you can lose reliability and compromise safety for the operator.” Swinging overweight products can shorten the life of moving parts, increasing part-replacement rates. Overweight loads cause decreased control of the load being handled. This can lead to injuries on those working on the ground. In the extreme, too much weight can tip the machine over and possibly injure the operator. Bourdon reports a way to boost net weight is to check the market for grapple weights. He adds that versatility of equipment helps make waste handling profitable because companies seeking to deal with a number of waste elements, including wood, can find more uses for their machinery. Bourdon comments that Rotobec’s line of power attachments includes dangling rotators for conventional material-handling tasks and rotators that can be positioned to different angles by a hydraulic cylinder. “They can be equipped with bucket- or rake-style jaws on which width, configuration, and amount of prongs can vary. They perform very well in tub-grinder feeding and many other applications.” Looking back on his 25 years with Rotobec, Bourdon comments, “Our grapples are designed to solve problems to help ensure profitability of the operation, regardless of the material they’re handling.” Sorting Diverse Products
He notes that while his firm is a family-owned business founded by his great-grandfather and now celebrating its 60th year, he got a degree in industrial engineering and worked elsewhere before returning 23 years ago. He has been president for seven years. “A number of different grinders can be used for wood products,” he says. “Our machinery is used as finish grinders.” Lyman emphasizes that separating wood into different categories can make a real difference for staying in the green. “By grading and sorting the wood, you can separate it so you have clean wood, virgin wood, and contaminated wood. Clean wood has a high value when sold for making particleboard, chipboard, plywood, and OSB [oriented strand board]. It’s also good for boiler fuel.” Virgin wood, that which has never been used as a manufactured product, can be used for chipboard or as mulch. “The third grade is contaminated or treated wood, which you send to the landfill. But even this fraction can be more profitable, providing the company processes that class of wood so the landfill receives it somewhat like a mulch. This makes it easy for landfill equipment to compress, saving landfill space.” Another factor is to have the waste material brought to the machine. Lyman points out that with a fixed site of operation, grinders can be run by electric motors instead of diesel engines. “Electrical grinders are much cleaner, quieter, free of exhaust, and cheaper to operate. You don’t have the fuel and maintenance costs associated with diesel-driven machines. Electric-driven machines can handle 60 to 80 tons per hour 24/7/365 for 30 years.” Lyman adds that the company’s horizontal grinders go up to 1,200 horsepower and can be used for accepting trees when contractors begin their plans for building subdivisions. At the same time, he emphasizes that users need to work with the manufacturer to be sure of the right configuration in horizontal- or vertical-feed machines to ensure maximum performance. This includes the correct in-feed and discharge to minimize handling by the purchaser. “That reduces the chance for injury, reduces cost of operation, and improves net income. Conveyors with automatic feeding and handling are much safer and operate at lower costs compared to loaders. “The right options used in conjunction with horizontal grinders help expand the flow of materials that a C&D facility can receive and process,” Lyman concludes. “Anything users can do to handle a wide range of products and process them effectively, the greater the chance for a profitable operation.”
Get Closer to the Product Then there is working with wood in other markets. He notes that the rising cost of fuel has led to the building of more wood-fired plants. Ethanol-producing plants need wood to help them achieve the required Btus for their own efficient operation. “One of the biggest revenue producers in processing is greenwaste into mulch and compost,” Morey says. “Having a highly maneuverable horizontal grinder makes it possible for users to get into tight places to help keep the trips from source to machine as short as possible. This, in turn, helps companies achieve maximum efficiencies of their machines. “We offer four models of horizontal grinders, which can handle 65 to 250 tons per hour. The largest machine, the Model 5680 Beast Recycler, is designed more for stationary use yet can be moved if needed. The other three, Models 2680, 3680, and 4680, are ideal where users must have mobility. Our units are designed to cut and chip the material so dealing with wood, including pallets and house-demolition waste, takes less energy.” The key to profitability when dealing with such things as pallets and housing demolition—wood heavy with contaminants—is first to conduct a rough grind followed by a finer grind, which can be done before moving the material out of the machine. Any metal can be removed with a magnetic-head pulley in the discharge conveyor, collected, and sold to metal recyclers. Having the right-size machine with the right-size opening is essential to reducing long-term operating expenses. Being able to match the production requirement of material for different markets can be accomplished with the screens built into the machine. Another market to consider is recycling shingles for use in hot-mix asphalt and as an additive to cement production. Morey explains, “New-shingle waste is often used for hot-mix asphalt, while shingle tear-off is being used in the production of cement.” When it comes to safety, Morey reports that the company’s grinder models help keep accidents to a minimum. “The material is ground in the grinding chamber, and maintaining the machine should be without accident, since the Beast grindings are not thrown from the machine,” he explains. “Remote controls also help by keeping operators away from the machine. Users that keep up with maintenance and operate their grinder correctly, whatever the model, find our models to be very safe machines.” Morey says that a popular application by municipalities of Bandit’s Beast Recyclers, whether city-owned or contracted out, is simply recycling as much of the material as possible to remove it from the wastestream and grind as much as possible to extend the life of the landfill. “If it can reduce landfill space, in the long-term it saves the city and county money,” he comments. “Furthermore, grinders help deal with the waste caused by natural disasters such as hurricanes.” Other Profit Helpers Trommel screening helps keep productivity at a maximum. Perhaps one of the largest manufacturers of this equipment is McCloskey International Ltd. in Petersborough, ON, which has been making machines for 86 years. Its line of trommels supplies a host of operations, with at least seven models that suit the recycling industry. This line can handle topsoil, compost, stockpiling oversized materials, sticky materials, and other materials. Serious wood chipping also can help in maximizing profits for those operations that include chipping or grinding wood. Morbark Inc., located in Winn, MI, has a host of products that deal with stumps as well as lighter wood. Its offerings for the solid waste industry include tub and horizontal grinders. The company has been working with wood handling equipment for the past half-century. The grinders are designed to handle stumps, logs, clearing debris, greenwaste, and storm debris. Another grapple developer, Northshore Manufacturing in Two Harbors, MI, has been developing waste-handling equipment that can help ensure users keep working in the green. It does this by building custom articles of equipment suited to the specific needs of users. One area is dealing with scrap, and the company’s stationary pedestal-mount cranes can feed shredders, balers, and shears. Its range of grapples includes four-tine (orange peel), car, demolition, and clamshell versions. The company notes that while grapples are a strong part of its profitability, its focus is on the waste/scrap industry. A variety of products, including grapples, buckets, rakes, forks, concrete crushers, and mobile shears for loaders and developers, are offered by Pemberton Inc. in Longwood, FL. Pemberton’s attachments are used where loaders and excavators are needed for bulk loading, sorting, and processing applications. If an operation has a wide variety in its material handling and processing, one method for a profitable operation is to get with a company that offers a variety of equipment under one roof. That is another strategy for ensuring the user gets the right equipment for a particular operation. Journalist and frequent contributor Lynn Tilton specializes in waste and transport issues. MSW - May/June 2007
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