Member Article

Volume reduction strategy reaps cost, space and environmental savings for automotive firm

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

The company 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 ‘offcuts’ of extremely obscure shapes.

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. Skips are now collected only once a month, with the resulting financial savings meaning the RS40 will have paid for itself in less than 18 months.

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 be reconfigured to tackle plastic waste too, which all adds up to space-saving advantages across the site.

Commenting on the shredder procurement, Sanoh UK Manufacturing Purchasing and Materials Manager Barry Channon said: “We have long had a strong environmental conscience so, unlike some organisations, we didn’t decide to invest in the equipment to make us more ‘green’. Instead we sought a smarter way to handle and store our waste, to ensure a tidier site plus more money on our bottom line. That’s before we’ve factored in any potential revenue yield from the sale of the recyclates we’ve homogenously shredded.”

The installation of the four shaft RS40 shredder follows a research process which began online. The deciding factor in opting for this machine was a successful trial using Sanoh’s own material, at UNTHA UK’s North Yorkshire shredder test centre last year.

Offering a concluding thought, Barry said: “The business case for reducing the volume of waste is strong. I’m glad we now have this highly-configurable machinery in place.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Katie Mallinson .