Getting Attached

Attachments allow C&D recyclers to perform a variety of tasks ranging from material handling to preliminary processing. The proper work tools can help to increase a C&D recycler’s productivity and profitability. But with so many options, choosing the right attachment can be daunting.

For instance, how many work tools does the average recycler need to operate efficiently? And what is the best tool to use for loading a particular material?

C&D Recycler speaks with some attachment manufacturers to get their recommendations on the best attachments for handling the common materials and tasks a C&D recycler faces.

"The number of tools is contingent upon the kinds of material coming in," Kevin Bakke, chairman of Genesis Equipment, Superior, Wis., says.

"There are many different attachments manufactured today that are utilized in different applications," Mike Duffy of Pemberton Inc., Longwood, Fla., says. "It really depends on the job they are trying to perform and at what stage of the job they are in."

Duffy adds, "On a daily basis they are confronted with the downsizing of products in preparation for tub grinders or crushers, as well as the loading and re-handling of the material. Certain materials need to be handled many different times in preparation for products being made or disposed of."

Bakke says the primary challenge for the C&D recycler is the separation of materials. "What comes into play there, typically, is the use of a grapple to separate your concrete from your wood and any other recyclables in order to segregate and stockpile the materials for the next step, be it a crusher or a concrete pulverizer," he adds. "I think it all begins with having an efficient tool, typically the use of a contractor-style grapple to separate and sort materials."

A contractor’s style grapple features a stationary lower jaw and an upper jaw that operates off of the bucket cylinder.

Bakke says that this type of grapple is popular with many C&D recyclers because it offers the operator "tremendous control and dexterity to pick and sort materials."

Uwe Kausch of Stanley/LaBounty, Two Harbors, Minn., says that a grapple is a simple tool with a variety of uses. "A grapple is basically like having a hand on the end of the excavator. The nice thing about it is that you can pick and place," he says.

Stanley/LaBounty offers a rotating grapple suitable for precise material handling applications, Kausch says. For example, a rotating grapple in the hands of a skilled operator could be used to remove timbers from a building without tearing the wood apart. "Typically, the non-rotating grapple is more common," Kausch says.

Lou Meurer, vice president of corporate development for Bodine Manufacturing, Smithville, Ontario, says while the bucket may be the workhorse among contractors, it’s not necessarily the optimal tool. "I would say that a grapple is [the optimal tool], because a grapple will pick up the same as a bucket will; but more so, a grapple can break things up, and it can also compact."

According to a time and motion study that Bodine conducted six years ago, grapples are six times faster than a bucket for demolishing and loading and four times faster than a bucket with a thumb, Meurer says.

In addition to a grapple, Meurer says a pulverizer is a necessary attachment for a C&D recycler.

Terry McKague, a Thornbury, Ontario-based regional manager for Breaker Technology Inc., Solon, Ohio, says that the trend toward recycling concrete onsite makes pulverizers or hydraulic breakers necessary work tools.

Bakke says, "Often times there’s a need for a concrete pulverizer or a concrete cracker to handle the primary processing of oversize concrete to downsize it in preparation to be feed to a concrete crusher."

He adds that recyclers can use a pulverizer or concrete cracker to bring the concrete down to a finished product, typically in the range of six-inch minus.

Kausch says that a pulverizer does two things. "It separates concrete from re-bar. It gets it down to about five-inch minus material, so that you can at least get dense loads if you are out on the jobsite. You can remove the steel right away. Also, by doing that, it’s a lot easier to crush for making a final grade, aggregate-type product," he says.

Pulverizers vary from universal processors, a work tool used in primary demolition, in two important ways. "A pulverizer is a fixed unit," Kausch says. "It uses the bucket cylinder on an excavator to actuate, so it doesn’t rotate." Universal processors also have more power because they have their own cylinders, he adds.

McKague says that most universal processors develop their maximum crushing or cutting force when the jaw is fully open. "This is advantageous for crushing concrete, but not for applications such as shearing steel," he says.

Pulverizers also can act as a grapple, sorting re-bar from concrete and loading the materials.

Another available option offered by NPK Construction Equipment, Solon, Ohio, is the Material Processor, which features interchangeable jaws. NPK’s Bill Papineau says, "The main unit remains attached to the excavator. But if they need to cut steel one day and maybe crush concrete the next day, rather than having to switch the whole unit, they can just switch the jaws."

The Material Processor features four jaw assemblies that act as a primary breaker, pulverizer, shear and a combination cutter.

Bakke says, "Many recyclers have found it profitable to use some version of a mobile shear that can be used to cut the re-bar and other structural steel at the C&D facility to prepared lengths so it can later be sold to a scrap yard or to a steel mill."

Shears also are used to cut beams and pipes during building demolition.

The MSD7R shear from Stanley/LaBounty can be mounted on a skid steer and used to gut a building for refurbishing, Kausch says. It’s designed for either a scrap yard or for demolishing an assembly line in an automotive plant, he says.

Simon Ward of A-Ward Attachments, Auckland, New Zealand, says his company is introducing an new re-bar multi-shear in the U.S. at the end of September. The shear is designed to "make light work of tangled re-bar," according to a product release from A-Ward.

The re-bar multi shear features three jaws that cut in sequence. "As the excavator bucket ram extends, it closes the three jaws. The first jaw is cutting as the second jaw starts to clamp the product about one foot farther along the product’s length," the release explains. "Once the first jaw has competed cutting, the second begins cutting." The process is repeated until all three jaws have cut in sequence.

The re-bar multi shear is designed for use with an excavator, and excavators are generally recommended for use with work tools, though skid steers are suitable for some applications.

McKague says, "A skid steer with a hydraulic breaker can be used to break up concrete slab floors. Whereas, an excavator would be able to hold a larger hydraulic breaker and be used to break up concrete footings, large concrete structures, where reach is involved or reach is a benefit."

He adds that skid steers have to be on grade and immediately in front of the piece that is being broken.

Genesis designs its work tools to be used with excavators weighing 30,000 pounds or greater. Bakke says that most demolition jobs typically use excavators of at least 70,000 pounds. "It’s generally heavy concrete or heavy steel that needs to be sheared, and it generally requires larger excavators to be able to truly achieve the production requirements," he adds.

Stanley/LaBounty also focuses on making attachments for excavators. Kausch says the skid steer is a great tool, but it is limited in terms of reach and rotation.

Ward, of A-Ward Attachments, says, "A skid steer basically moves product around. It’s a very handy work tool, but it’s not in the class of an excavator. I think that’s where a lot of people get in trouble, because they use a skid steer instead of an excavator."

McKague says, "There’s some sacrifice in having one tool do three or four applications. The specific job tools are performance driven tools. If you really want to get high performance," McKague adds, "you should buy a specific tool designed for the job."

The good news is that a C&D recycler should be able to get away with using just two or three attachments in order to operate efficiently.

Genesis offers a package that combines its concrete cracker, grapple and a linkage shear. "It’s kind of like a Swiss Army Knife, if you will, where the contractor just has one excavator," Bakke says. "It allows him to handle just about any kind of material, be it concrete, be it steel, be it re-bar or even wood."

Ward says that concrete recyclers should find pulverizers, steel shears and a bucket adequate, while wood recyclers would need a wood shear and a grapple.