Hygiene paper specialist WEPA Group is no stranger to all-things sustainability. In fact, strong environmental credentials have pulsed through the heart of this family-owned tissue business since its foundation in 1948.

This goes some way to explaining why the site in Bridgend – part of a European organisation – is a long-standing UNTHA customer.

With a robust future fibre strategy, WEPA uses UNTHA’s shredding technology to process paper, logs and rolls, so that the material can be baled – with ease – for conversion and use in the manufacturing process.

There are now five, four-shaft UNTHA shredders within WEPA’s operation, working consistently to volume reduce the material down to a homogenous particle. Keen to optimise the ongoing service life of the machines – including throughputs, running costs and uptime – WEPA approached the UNTHA UK team to explore the maintenance options available.

The aftersales team recommended a phased cutter refurbishment programme for the three machines with the highest number of operating hours to date. The cutting sets will be sent – one by one – to UNTHA UK’s Yorkshire HQ for reconditioning, while the other shredders continue to do their job in Bridgend.

“One set has already been refurbished and restored, and the uplift in the shredder’s capacity is significant,” commented WEPA’s converting mechanical engineer, Kevin Llewellyn. “UNTHA’s engineers have also devised a maintenance schedule for our own team – including tips on what to do on a weekly, bi-monthly and bi-annual basis – and we’ll now have a full UNTHA service once a year.”

Keen to encourage other customers to think about the value of cutter refurbishments, service coordinator Julie Cassidy said: “All of our shredders – and their component parts – are purposefully engineered for their longevity. Our flexible cutter refurbishment programmes mean customers can further prolong the useful life of the cutting discs – this isn’t just better for the environment, but it can be up to 50% more cost effective than buying new.

“If anyone would like to talk to us about this service – or other shredder optimisation advice – they are more than welcome to contact us.”

For more information about UNTHA UK’s cutter refurbishment solutions, why not explore one of our many guides:

• Refurbishing your small-medium RS cutters
• Refurbishing your UNTHA RS100 cutters
• Have you seen our state-of-the-art new cutter reconditioning service?