Waste electric and electronic equipment (WEEE) specialist Polska Korporacja Recyklingu – based in Lublin (Poland) – has taken delivery of its fourth Untha shredder, to support the company with its continued growth.
A medium-sized RS60 four shaft shredder is the latest machine to be added to the company’s fleet. Working alongside an Untha RS50, the technology will process up to 500 tonnes of redundant electric appliances and scrap per week, down to a refined particle.
Elsewhere on Polska Korporacja Recyklingu’s site, a 22 tonne RS150 – the largest four shaft shredder in Untha’s fleet – and a comparatively compact Untha RS40, have been supplied by German engineering partner URT, to reprocess 60.pcs of used refrigerators per hour.
Collectively, the four machines can now collectively tackle a wide range of WEEE, to liberate the recyclable materials including steel, aluminium alloys, copper and plastics, that would otherwise remain ‘locked’ inside.
Shredded down to a homogenous particle size as little as 15mm in some cases, these high value resources then pass through a range of downstream separation equipment before being recycled, compliance tested and used within the remanufacturing process. Residual material is used for energy recovery.
It is estimated that these four machines will help Polska Korporacja Recyklingu handle up to 60,000 tonnes of WEEE in 2021.
“Our relationship with Untha began in 2015,” said Mr. Witold Champerek, vice president of the board at Polska Korporacja Recyklingu. “We were extremely diligent – carrying out in-depth market analysis, multi-directional tendering, material testing at the manufacturers’ plants and extensive pre-procurement dialogue. So when we needed additional four shaft shredders for our recycling facilities, Untha’s capabilities had already been proven.”
“These are robust, highly versatile machines which enable us to transform a range of difficult input materials into valuable recyclables, and we can adjust our output specifications thanks to the easy-to-configure cutters,” continued Mr. Witold. “The shredders have met our safety, throughput and cost-effectiveness expectations, but in terms of machine durability, uptime, ease of maintenance and energy efficiency, our expectations have actually been exceeded.
“The involvement of Untha Polska’s team throughout, has been superb – way before we signed the orders for our machines. They had answers to all of our questions and have had a huge impact on our process automation and throughputs.”
It is estimated that Untha’s energy efficiency, labour optimisation and ease of maintenance, has also achieved 15% cost savings.
“When it comes to the transformation of ‘waste’ materials, in Poland, this is a very inspirational company,” added Untha Polska’s country manager Ryszard Tomaszczyk. “The team has its own ‘Polskie Re-surowce’ research and development centre which continually pushes new recycling and resource management boundaries, and they’re committed to investing in innovative technologies and automated processes.
“We’re therefore delighted that Untha’s shredders play a part in their ground-breaking work. We too are passionate about efficient environmental excellence and I hope we can continue to support Polska Korporacja Recyklingu on their journey.”
Polska Korporacja Recyklingu runs a waste reclamation and recycling plant, the refrigerator recycling line, an alternative fuel production facility, a battery reprocessing line, and has plans to further expand in 2021.
