Saturday, October 03 rd, 2015
Cat 938K Waste Handlers and Komptech Crambo 5200 in action
When Derbyshire County Council (DCC) and UK sustainability specialists SITA UK approached Finning at the planning stage of their joint waste management venture in Arkwright, North Derbyshire, the challenge was as stark as it was demanding: Provide the complete mobile plant solution.
Adamant that they were able to provide the answer, Finning combined both Caterpillar® and Komptech resources in the same package for the first time. By incorporating low carbon sustainability, on-going consultancy and service support within the same agreement, a first of its kind solution was created.
Unveiled in May this year, the solution has come in the form of an expansive, state of the art, enclosed green waste management plant, completed after months of meticulous cooperative planning from DCC, SITA UK and Finning.
Why was this innovative investment so important? Joan Dixon, Derbyshire County Council cabinet member for jobs, economy and transport explained: “Sending waste to landfill is expensive. The county council is facing budget cuts of £157million by 2018 and with landfill tax currently set at £80 per tonne, it’s a cost we just can’t afford.”
With this in mind, the site’s initial operational target is ambitious: process 40,000 tonnes of green waste into compost within its first year, saving the council £3.2m in landfill expense. Arkwright is a landmark facility, with the potential to be a flagship for council waste management across the UK.
At the heart of this operation are Finning sourced mobile machines, best able to handle this demanding workload and supported throughout their lifecycle by trusted engineers. Dean Turner, Account Manager for Finning Caterpillar stated: “With the Arkwright site being a new build facility, it was a clean sheet of paper, new development and new design. There was a clear opportunity for Finning to spec from day one of the consultancy process. With myself working in partnership with Julian Lamb (Komptech Sales Manager for Finning) we were able to identify the equipment needs from both a Caterpillar and Komptech perspective.
“A good example of this is the combination of machines selected to work at the front end of the composting process (where the green waste is shredded). The Cat 938K Waste Handlers were the ideal compliment for Komptech’s Crambo 5200, with the 938K high tip bucket enabling all waste materials to be processed through the Crambo shredding chamber. The ability for Julian and I to work together on the same contract has been key to ensuring the full compatibility of machines within processes such as this.”
The support, facilitating Arkwright’s workload from both a sustainable and operational viewpoint, has been instrumental in Finning’s offering. Minimising machine pollutants in the enclosed facility is essential to maintaining a safe working environment for the SITA UK employees, Julian Lamb explains how this was achieved: “With Caterpillar engines present in both the Cat and Komptech machines, all mobile equipment on site has a 35% pollutant reduction on previous models and meet EU Stage IIIA emissions standards. For example, the Komptech Crambo 5,200 shreds 80-90 tonnes of waste per hour, whilst only using approximately 45 litres of fuel in compliance with the Komptech Green Efficiency model. This allowed SITA UK to have confidence that the plant’s carbon footprint is kept to a minimum, whilst maintaining high productivity and keeping the workforce safe.”
The UK wide network of Finning support branches proved invaluable within this package. Julian continued: “With a team of fully trained Finning Caterpillar engineers based just down the road in Chesterfield, we have quick access to the site, enabling us to monitor, service and offer emergency support for the entire fleet of machines at Arkwright. With the seasonal nature of the green waste industry, this monitoring support is especially important during the summer months when uptime operations are at their peak. Being an enclosed facility, incoming waste storage is at a premium.
If there is an issue with a machine, we know that we have the resource to identify and resolve the problem as quickly as possible, keeping operational downtime to a minimum.”
Julian closed by stating: “This is a long term investment, with the initial agreement between SITA UK and Derbyshire County Council being 20 years. Providing the joint solution of Caterpillar and Komptech machines within the same contract, our aim is to be at the heart of this operation for many years to come.”
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