An innovative partnership

Kunststof Recycling Nederland (KRN), which is based in Veghel, has been processing plastic scrap since 2003. During that time, the company has employed a range of equipment supplied by Bano Recycling of Italy.

Sustainably recycling plastics

Founded by Rudy Vogels, the company processes a wide variety of rigid plastic scrap, including large, bulky materials. “We specialize in the recycling of hard plastics, like old garbage containers, garden furniture, car bumpers, etc., and waste products from the horticultural industry,” Vogels says.

The company also processes mixed rigid plastics that are collected through community programs and at waste sorting facilities.

Vogels says KRN uses robots to sort this incoming material by polymer type and by color prior to shredding, grinding and washing the plastics.

“Our company makes sure that plastic waste is processed in a sustainable manner,” he adds.

KRN sustainably processes bulky plastics with the help of a MAC-S 35-90 Hydro Mobile shredder on tracks from Bano. The slow-speed, single-shaft shredder features a rotor that measures nearly 138 inches long by more than 35 inches in diameter (3,500 millimeters by 900 millimeters), allowing it to downsize a variety of bulky end-of-life plastic products. KRN says the MAC-S 35-90 Hydro Mobile shredder helps the company reduce large, voluminous products on-site, saving transportation costs and reducing associated carbon dioxide emissions. Equipped with a 60-millimeter screen, the shredder produces a particle size of 2.3 inches in a single processing step.

The MAC-S 35-90 Hydro Mobile shredder KRN purchased in 2020 replaced another mobile Bano unit the company purchased in 2012. The newer unit is larger than its predecessor, increasing KRN’s processing capacity, Vogels says, while also improving throughout and lowering engine emissions. The tracked unit can be transported easily, he adds.

In addition to deploying the unit at customers’ sites, Vogels says KRN uses the tracked shredder at its facility in Veghel, where it is placed near material to be processed, reducing the need to transport plastic scrap throughout the yard.

Laura Minotto, sales project manager at Bano, says the MAC-S 35-90 Hydro Mobile shredder features the largest diesel motor that Bano supplies in a mobile version.

She adds that the machine has been well-received, particularly by plastics processors.

Coming back for more

KRN first purchased equipment from Bano in 2004, Minotto says.

Since then, Vogels says KRN has owned eight pieces of equipment from Bano. It currently operates six machines from the company in addition to the MAC-S 35-90 Hydro Mobile:

• a UNIMAC 22-70 with a 160-kilowatt engine and a mechanical transmission that was purchased in 2004;
• a MAC-S 28-70 Hydro with a 250-kilowatt engine on a trailer that was purchased in 2011;
• a MAC-S 28-70 Hydro with a 200-kilowatt engine that was purchased in 2013;
• a MAC-S 28-70 with a 250-kilowatt engine and mechanical transmission that was purchased in 2014;
• a MAC 130-50 Hydro with a 75-kilowatt engine that was purchased in 2018; and
• a MAC-S H 22-70 with a 200-kilowatt engine and mechanical transmission that was purchased in 2018.

Bano’s MAC-S shredders offer a sliding hopper bottom for safe, quick and comfortable maintenance; interchangeable and reversible blades and counter-blades for quick and economic blade replacement; interchangeable blade supports and counter-blades; a pusher to increase production; an Active Protection system for bearings; interchangeable screens in various sizes; a patented rotor design; and an anti-vibrating support system.

Minotto says, “We can offer a wide range of speed and torque thanks to the transmission configuration we define for every customer and application.”

She explains, “We supply the machine with a specific transmission with variable speed and variable torque. The customer can work in automatic mode, leaving the machine to set the speed and torque accordingly, or he can set a specific speed.”

Vogel says KRN keeps purchasing Bano equipment because the companies have a good relationship. “They listen to us,” he says, adding that Bano develops machines to meet KRN’s needs.

This willingness to adapt Bano’s equipment to its customers’ needs is something that Bano prides itself on, Minotto says.

“Every time he was searching for a new solution to be able to get control of the market or to continue to be the leader in the market, he called us,” Minotto says of Vogels.

In addition to Bano’s adaptability, Vogels mentions the company’s support as a factor in the longevity of the relationship. “The service and support are good,” he says, noting that Bano’s support desk is quick to respond to KRN’s requests.

KRN aspires to innovate and to do so sensibly. With the help of equipment from Bano, the plastics recycling company has been able to meet these objectives.