Case Studies

Sanoh UK Manufacturing’s new shredding technology will pay for itself in less than 18 months, due to the cost savings it will achieve for the wider business.

Automotive specialist Sanoh invested in an UNTHA RS40 shredder to tackle the surplus metal it generates during the production of brake and fuel pipes for the automotive industry. These component parts must be formed into specific shapes to suit the ergonomics of different vehicles, which naturally creates extremely obscure ‘offcuts’.

With the metal collected in skips for off-site recycling – at a cost of £120 per week – this practice already ensured a robust environmental approach for Sanoh. But the diverse profile of the ‘waste’ meant that a large proportion of the skips were simply filled with fresh air.

By shredding the material to a <40mm particle size, Sanoh can now load each skip with approximately 5 times more material, which will reap rapid cost savings.

Achieving throughputs of up to 500kg, the flexible RS40 is also capable of shredding wooden pallets and crates that can similarly be volume-reduced to magnify the fiscal benefits of the investment. The machine can even be reconfigured to tackle plastic waste too, which all adds up to space-saving advantages across the site.

The business case for reducing the volume of waste is strong. I’m glad we now have this highly-configurable machinery in place.

When handling sensitive documentation, compliance is the over-riding factor for any responsible business. But, as security printing specialist Smith & Ouzman discovered, it is possible to turn a confidential waste destruction system into an efficient recycling operation too.

Eastbourne-based Smith & Ouzman has been providing bespoke security printing services since 1845. The independently-owned family business helps to produce an array of sensitive documentation including financial paperwork, ballot papers, examination certificates and local currency.

With such extensive experience in this specialist field, the organisation is no stranger to the stringent data protection laws that govern the sector – the robust destruction of confidential documents is as important as the compliant printing, storage and handling of these materials.

Committed to providing clients with utmost data protection reassurances, and dedicated to fulfilling industry obligations set out by the European DIN security standard, Smith & Ouzman has been shredding confidential waste on site for some time. In fact, for absolute peace of mind, all waste paper handled by the company is shredded, whether it contains sensitive information or not.

The RS40 is exceeding our expectations. The shredder takes everything in its stride and is certainly ‘man enough’ for this tough job.

Bath-headquartered Advetec has treated a variety of waste and effluent, since it was established in 2000. But keen to develop a more homogenous product for optimal digestion rates, the business reached out to UNTHA…

Engineering company Advetec is no stranger to the scientific bio-degradation of waste. But a partnership with UNTHA UK means the team has been able to roll out a sophisticated aerobic digestion solution for a selection of mixed waste streams.

Municipal waste shredding trials first led Advetec to invest in two UNTHA RS30s, which were shipped to the Caribbean and USA to process materials down to a defined <50mm specification.

UNTHA’s low maintenance two-shaft S25 shredder are now being supplied as part of Advetec’s rapid organic waste digestion innovation. The modular construct of the compact S25 shredder makes it the perfect addition to Advetec’s turnkey solution. The small footprint in-vessel system can achieve a 60-90% mass reduction of mixed organic waste streams, in less than 72 hours.

The UNTHA brand is synonymous – worldwide – with quality, and their exacting shred is exactly what we required to strengthen the homogeneity and optimisation of the Advetec XO process.

Long-standing waste management firm Crapper & Sons has further strengthened its resource agenda, having invested in a new shredding system to transform wood waste into a biomass fuel.

Having started out as a quarrying firm more than 60 years ago, Crapper & Sons owns a landfill site in Wiltshire, but 30 acres is actually dedicated to salvaging as much ‘waste’ as possible.

The family-run business was previously processing wood at its Wootton Bassett headquarters, using one high speed shredder fed by one slow speed shredder. But limited resistance to foreign objects within the waste stream, was resulting in unmanageable machine breakdowns and operational downtime.

The search for an alternative shredding system therefore began and research brought the team to UNTHA.

Following a materials audit, the manufacturer shipped an UNTHA XR3000C mobil-e shredder to Crappers’ site for a two-week trial. The technology alternated between handling C&I, wood and other problematic bulky wastes, to prove UNTHA’s application flexibility, and following reference visits to existing clients, Crappers invested in a mobile machine of their own. The XR3000C is now transforming 30 tonnes of wood waste per hour into a P63-specification biomass fuel, with less than 6% <10mm fines. The product is being sold to board mills and biomass plants across the country, and Crappers is also generating more than £3000 of revenue per week from the sale of clean metals extracted directly off the magnet belt.

The XR’s low noise and reduced energy consumption of course add to the benefits of the shredder, and its low dust, slower speed electric drive makes our woodyard a far safer place.

Organics recycling and renewable energy expert Eco Sustainable Solutions has overhauled its biomass shredding technology to decarbonise the organisation’s approach to alternative fuel production.

Converting over 300,000 tonnes of waste into saleable products per annum, Eco Sustainable Solutions is no stranger to the energy market.

However, having recently installed a new combined heat and power (CHP) plant to harness the value of the fuels from its Parley facility, the goal was to improve the net environmental gain of the closed loop operation.

Eco has therefore invested in the highest specification mobile UNTHA XR3000C unit, with 2 x 132kW drives.

The shredder can process Grade C wood waste to produce a P63 specification biomass fuel in a single step, at a rate of 25tph, or a pre-break output at 40tph.

With a hard-faced rotor, quick-change screen, wide sweep ram and specialist biomass cutting system, the machine will also achieve a low wear rate to minimise whole life costs.

This is traditionally an energy-hungry sector, with noisy, high wear and high maintenance equipment. But as we prepare to upscale our renewables agenda, it is important that we have the most costand environmentally-efficient technology in place to support our operations. We were impressed by not only the XR3000C mobil-e, but also the performance commitment and professional service of the UNTHA team. We’re looking forward to putting the shredder through its paces as our business evolves.

The shredder includes an in-built foreign object protection mechanism, which means unexpected contaminants ranging from teapots to crockery and even metal drums, can be processed safely and swiftly, without causing the machine damage.

UNTHA UK’s support from concept to installation – and beyond – has proven incredibly valuable as we’ve gathered traction.

We went to market looking for a robust shredder that meets all of our EU compliance and external ISO audit obligations. After conducting rigorous due diligence, we chose the UNTHA S25 technology. We chose this machine because reliability is key for our business. We pride ourselves on delivering on the promises we make to our customers, therefore we cannot afford costly breakdowns that will impact on our service levels as well as our operational margins.