Grinding on the front-line

Komatsu - Grinding - materials

James Read, Bullmore Director, speaks with Waste Management Review about eliminating downtime with Komatsu Forest.

Every year, millions of tonnes of organic waste is disposed of in landfills, shortening landfill lifespans and contributing to greenhouse gas emissions.

Greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the decomposition of organic wastes in landfills have been identified as a significant source of emissions contributing to global climate change.

Significant environmental resources are also lost, prompting governments across Australia to set diversion targets. In Victoria, for instance, the state government is seeking to cut the volume of organic material sent to landfill by 50 per cent by 2030.

To achieve those targets, however, organics operators rely on support in the form of high-powered equipment, such as that offered by leading equipment manufacture and supplier Komatsu Forest.

In addition to Komatsu Forest’s own extensive range of forestry equipment, the company distributes Peterson Horizontal Grinders. The grinders are an ideal tool for quickly and effectively reducing green waste into mulch or compost products. This is a fact well known to James Read, Bullmore Director, who has been operating a 2710C Peterson Grinder for the last four years.   

Bullmore, a modern and progressive contracting company, has been operating since 2009. Read explains that the company started out in almond hull processing around Mildura, using highly modified grinders to process almond hulls for the stock feed industry.

That said, Bullmore has diversified in recent years – expanding into green and timbre waste processing after purchasing a second-hand Peterson Grinder from Komatsu Forest four years ago.

The 2010, 2710C Peterson Grinder is now Bullmore’s front-line machine, with in excessive of 7300 hours on it.

Since 1981, Peterson has specialised in the development and delivery of processing equipment that turns low-grade organic materials into high value products. Komatsu Forest has been a dealer for Peterson products since 2010, selling their Horizontal Grinders, Disc and Drum Chippers and Flails into the Australian market.

“I started talking to Komatsu Forest five years ago when I was looking for a grinder. I then took a trip to the US and had a look at the machines being built at the Peterson factory,” Read says.

“I then made the decision to buy an older machine and since then have worked very closely with Komatsu Forest to keep the machine going.”

The 2710C is designed for operators requiring high production and frequent moves between jobs. At 26,762 kilograms, it is among the lightest of Peterson’s grinder series.

The 2710C is powerful, with a choice of a Caterpillar C13 Tier III, 475 horsepower engine, or a C15 Tier III, 580 horsepower engine. Heavy duty and mobile, the 2710C’s large feed opening can readily reduce a wide range of materials.

Peterson’s three-stage grinding process provides a consistent product and better fracturing of material, while its patented impact release system airbags provide uniform grinding.

“Like any high impact machine, you have breakdowns and damage from contamination like steel – it doesn’t matter what machine you have. But because Komatsu Forest understand forestry, and that if one machine goes down another five go down, they understand the importance of time frames,” Read says.

He explains that prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and its associated effect on global supply chains, he could ring the Komatsu Forest team on a Thursday and get parts flown out of the US by the following Monday.

Komatsu Forest is one of the world’s largest manufacturers and distributors of forest machines. It operates in all important forestry markets and has a comprehensive range of machines, services, servicing and spare parts for modern forestry.

“Komatsu Forest understands the need to get machines up and going, and I couldn’t get that with any other brand of machine in Australia,” Read says.

“I hear from competitors that they have machines go down for months while they’re waiting on parts. I’ve never had that problem.”

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