Striking a Match

When puzzle pieces don’t match up, the picture cannot be completed. It’s a similar case when processing attachments don’t match up to a demolition contractor or scrap recycler’s base machine.

However, in the case of processing demolition material, the consequences are more severe: If the job cannot be completed, the recycler will lose valuable time and money.

Recyclers and demo contractors can affix multiple attachments, including grapples, shears, concrete pulverizers and universal processors, to their carriers to work on a variety of tasks. It’s imperative for these attachments to match the carriers and the job applications if the user wants the equipment to perform at its highest production level.

When searching for attachments, buyers may not be completely aware of all the options available to them. In this case, Tom Witt, director of marketing for Breaker Technology Inc. (BTI), Solon, Ohio, advises buyers to investigate these options through local dealers, manufacturers and the Internet. "This gives recyclers the advantage of exploring alternate methods that may be far more productive, safer and less costly in the long run," Witt says.

When it comes time to purchase, manufacturers say recyclers should take into consideration their research as well as their business needs and the manufacturers’ and dealers’ reputations. According to Rich Elliott, hydraulic applications manager, Atlas Copco Construction Tools, Westfield, Mass., some attachments will be more efficient than others, depending on the application, so a contractor or a scrap recycler should determine the types of jobs the attachment will be tackling and what kind of material it’ll be processing.

Adamo Demolition’s attachment fleet consists of shears, hydraulic and mechanical pulverizers, grapples and hydraulic breakers, according to John Adamo, CEO of the Detroit-based company.

When searching for the right tools, Adamo says one of the biggest things he looks for is durability. Price is also an important consideration, but not at the expense of quality. "We’ve tried in the past to use lesser priced attachments, but they don’t hold up as well in demo applications," Adamo says.

During the purchasing process, Poul Rosengaard, sales and marketing consultant for the Industrial & Work Tool Solutions North America commercial division of Caterpillar Inc., Peoria, Ill., also recommends looking at the productivity of the tool/machine combination, the dealer/manufacturer product support in case of unplanned downtime, the expected life of the carrier and tool and the residual value of the tool and carrier at the end of its life.

When matching attachments to carriers, demo contractors and scrap recyclers must keep in mind two things—the types of jobs they do and the types of carriers they use. "When sizing an attachment to a carrier, a recycler must first select an attachment to do the job, and then match it up to an appropriate carrier," says Uwe Kausch, product line manager of Stanley Labounty, Two Harbors, Minn.

Pat Wurtzel, vice president of demolition firm Bierlein Companies Inc., Midland Mich., adds that the proper matching of the attachment to the particular machine should be based upon the factory specifications of the particular excavator.

Regarding the excavator or hydraulic scrap handler, Curt Helmen, inside sales manager for Genesis Attachments, Superior, Wis., says that it also needs to be capable of handling both the attachment and the workload.

When matching up an attachment and a carrier, the recycler should also take into account the carrier’s lift capacity and reach, because the operator must be able to lift the tool over the distance needed and at the elevation required, Rosengaard says. "Recyclers should also be aware of the hydraulic oil flow, as well as make sure the forces brought to bear on the tool by the carrier do not exceed the structural strength of the tool," he adds.

Elliott adds that recyclers need to know whether the carrier is capable of supplying appropriate hydraulic flow to the attachment. "Some attachments require a bi-directional auxiliary circuit, and possibly a rotation circuit, while others may only require a single-direction auxiliary circuit," Elliott says.

Witt agrees that the carrier has to have the right weight and hydraulics to properly run the attachment, but he also says that the attachment needs to be properly installed and operating correctly before placing it into service.

By not considering what they need on the jobsite or the sizing relationship between the carrier and the attachment, recyclers can get into trouble.

A common mistake buyers make is selecting attachments that don’t fit their carriers. "The main problems that arise from mismatching include a lack of productivity and stability issues," Helmen says.

"If the attachment is too heavy for the carrier, the carrier will struggle to

Another mistake recyclers make is going with what is familiar instead of what their operations need to move forward. For example, Witt says recyclers often will purchase a hydraulic breaker to size material for the crusher instead of a pulverizer, which would be faster, size material for higher production rates and separate rebar from concrete.

Helmen agrees that a big mistake recyclers can make is purchasing hydraulic attachments when mechanical attachments would be more productive. With all the technological advancements being made with attachments today, buyers can benefit from investigating all the options available to them, Helmen adds.

Elliott says many recyclers also get into the habit of neglecting required maintenance. "By performing proper maintenance and service checks, you can prolong the attachment’s life cycle and turn it into a profitable piece of equipment, rather than just another tool that gets abused on the jobsite," Elliott says.

After finding an attachment, Mike Ramun, sales and marketing representative for Allied-Gator, Youngstown, Ohio, then suggests consulting with an attachment manufacturer to match it with the machine size that best fits the attachment. "When a buyer makes an informed decision in this order, the tool and the machine will be perfectly sized and should perform at optimal levels," says Ramun.

Because Adamo Demolition rotates tools off the job straight into its shop for preventative maintenance, it has grapples that are still in use that are 10 to 15 years old, Adamo says.

It’s also common for recyclers to purchase the least expensive equipment available, which isn’t always the wisest choice in the long-term, Kausch says. "If you’re going through the effort of investing in an excavator, training and paying an operator, make sure you have an attachment on the end of the machine that will do the job over the long haul," Kausch adds.

Buyers should also make sure that they don’t purchase an attachment that is designed for too specific an application. One manufacturer says that buyers will find that highly specialized machine/attachment arrangements can or will end up being used in applications they were never designed or intended for. Examples he gives include a high-reach or ultra-high-reach demolition boom being used on low- to mid-level demolition jobs and a bucket-and-thumb being used to sort and handle heavy demolition and scrap materials instead of a heavy-duty grapple.

Many manufacturers agree that if demo contractors do not specialize in a specific field, they should look into purchasing multi- or universal processors. "These attachments give owners the opportunity to change jaw sets from a pulverizer to shear to concrete demolition jaws," Witt says. "This will allow them to be extremely versatile when bidding jobs," he adds.

"Another common mistake made by some contractors is they find themselves making decisions based solely on a salesperson’s opinions and recommendations rather than understanding the products and forming their own educated opinions," Ramun says. "Contractors who take the initiative to become educated before selecting an attachment will be much more satisfied with the performance of their product," he states.

The author is an assistant editor for Recycling Today and can be contacted at kmorris@gie.net.