SBI Group’s new shredding machine is extending the life of its landfill, piece by piece.
Family-owned SBI group, in operation for three generations, has transformed from supplying sand and top soil to landfill and waste management for the building and construction industry.
The independent drill and blast quarry operator started in the early 1970s and obtained a quarrying licence for its Cranbourne site in Victoria in the late 1980s, extracting the sedimentary rock that lay deep beneath the sand to supply the local construction industry.
Materials quarried at Cranbourne have been used for a number of large-scale state road projects including the EastLink, Western Port Highway, the Mornington Peninsula Freeway and, more recently, the Mordialloc Freeway.
In early 2020, the landfill side of the business became fully operational, with non-recyclable building and construction waste filling the original quarry, the largest inert landfill in Melbourne’s south east.
Paul Williamson, SBI Group Director, is always looking for ways to improve operations. When someone suggested he consider using an M&J Shredder at the landfill, he explored the idea with Paul Doran, Metso Business Development Manager of Tutt Bryant Equipment (TBE).
Doran proposed a hire to buy option, enabling SBI Group a chance to ensure the shredder performed as promised and test whether TBE could support the unit to suit SBI Group’s high activity.
A M&J 4000M shredder is now pre-shredding all of SBI Group’s inert waste, reducing the size of the material being handled, dramatically reducing the air voids in its landfill and increasing payloads for transporting recyclable products.
SBI Group says it has achieved adequate waste compaction with reduced effort, by less compacting hours or by using a smaller compactor providing greater in situ density.
The company says the higher compaction capability, combined with a process which recycles construction and demolition material that would traditionally end up in landfill, is extending the sustainable life of its landfill for many years.
Michael Lawlor, SBI Groups Operations Manager, was a big fan of a competitor shredder before receiving his M&J 4000M. He suggests, “the machine has performed very well, day in day out and never blocks up like other shredders. Not having any lost production time due to clearing blockages means the machine’s shredding availability is amazing.”
The focus on recycling has significantly grown in Melbourne in recent years and SBI Group says the addition of the M&J 4000M shredder was timely.
The company took delivery of its machine in September, 2020, purchasing the unit after several months of proving.
Williamson is so pleased with the shredder he has advised Tutt Bryant Equipment to “tell any prospective buyers to call me and I will tell them how good the unit is”.
Moeller & Jochumsen (M&J) iron foundry manufacture the M&J 4000M in Denmark. The foundry opened in 1857, producing the first waste shredder in 1988.
Known as ‘crawler units’ the M&J 4000M shredder can be moved during operation and is easy to load and transport. It’s robust and strong, with the added benefit of being easy to operate, efficient and easy to service, helping reduce running costs.
M&J waste recycling shredding technology is based on an aggressive knife design and open cut-ting table. The knives cut in both directions through the table and the shafts run asynchronously, which means they run in any direction required to optimise production.
The units are extremely resistant to wear caused by materials and waste normally considered un-shreddable, such as metal, reinforced concrete and rocks.
Tutt Bryant Equipment is providing technical support to SBI Group with its ongoing equipment, parts and service needs, as required.
For more information about SBI Group contact (03) 5996 4775 or info@sbigroup.com.au
For more information about the Metso range contact 0417 970 547, metso@tuttbryant.com.au or visit tuttbryant.com.au/brand/metso-mj-preshred/