The new home of recycling

Founded in 1948, Lindner has grown into a global powerhouse in the recycling industry. Built upon its core competency of size reduction through advanced shredding, the firm today offers a wide range of shredding solutions, processing systems and wash lines for plastics recycling.

From its base in Spittal, Austria, Lindner serves customers worldwide with sales and service centers in Germany, Singapore and the United States.

Demand for Lindner machinery has continued to grow as communities and corporations across the globe implement recycling and sustainability solutions. To keep pace with that demand, Lindner continues to make significant investments to serve its customers.

Defining advanced manufacturing

From its earliest days, Lindner has believed in continued development of the company through innovation and ongoing reinvestment. The newest iteration of that investment is the company’s groundbreaking advanced manufacturing hub in Spittal.

“As demand for Lindner equipment continued growing, we had to increase our manufacturing capacity,” Managing Director Michael Lackner says. “Rather than simply expand our existing facilities or add machining capacity, we sought to entirely rethink our manufacturing approach. This led to the creation of our new production facility.”

The new facility, like the industries Lindner serves, was designed with sustainability in mind. It features geothermal heating and cooling, electricity provided by an array of solar panels on the roof and a parking lot of grass reinforced by recycled plastic grids supplied by a Lindner customer.

The 150,000-square-foot facility features a dedicated assembly hall where each machine’s components come together and are assembled in a streamlined production line. Lindner team members use automated inventory control to order needed parts, and the necessary components are delivered to the line.

The assembly hall is, in turn, supplied by state-of-the-art robotic machining centers that produce internal components. Automated robotic welding centers complement the work of Lindner’s experienced tradesmen to create the welded rotor components and other parts for its shredders.

As these components enter the assembly hall, they are paired with the shredder’s external heavy fabrications, which increasingly are produced in-house.

“The utilization of state-of-the-art automation paired with highly experienced tradesman reduces the hours required to build a machine while enhancing quality,” Lackner says.

“By using ‘smart bins’ and other automated tools to manage parts, components and supplies, we also have greater visibility into existing inventory, enhancing our ability to manage supply chain requirements.”

Smart shredders

Lindner’s cutting-edge approach to advanced machining is complemented by its shredder automation systems, which ensure reliable performance for customers.

The advanced software behind Lindner shredders as well as the electrical cabinets with their unique FC (frequency converter) cores are engineered and produced in-house. The new advanced manufacturing hub features a dedicated hall where all control cabinets are hard-wired, tested and customized for each shredder or system.

As each shredder moves through the assembly hall, it eventually is paired with these panels, which control all the machine’s electrical and hydraulic functions as well as its HMI panels that allow customers to have easy control and management of the shredder.

Shred ready

As each machine reaches the end of its journey through the assembly hall, it moves into a separate testing facility.

Prior to shipment, each machine is put through an extensive testing protocol to ensure it meets each of Lindner’s exacting quality requirements. The machine is run through a number of dry cycle tests to ensure all movements and cycle requirements are met.

“Our team responsible for inspecting and testing machines is not involved in producing them,” Lackner says. “This ensures they are entirely focused on the quality and precision of each Lindner machine as it leaves the factory.”

Ongoing development

Lindner has continued to invest heavily in ongoing research and development (R&D). Today, the company invests, on average, some 8 percent of annual revenue each year—it’s a nonstop process.

Through a dedicated in-house R&D group, Lindner has developed a highly flexible modular design program. This allows the heart of the company’s shredders to be sized up or down, which leverages Lindner’s highly refined and field-proven designs.

This same approach has allowed Lindner Washtech, a business unit focused on developing and producing highly efficient wash lines for the plastics recycling sector, to grow and prosper.

It also is applied to the development program for Lindner’s mobile Urraco line and its application in construction and demolition and light metals shredding and preshredding applications.

Innovation and development are not limited to machinery design, however. They extend to sourcing the highest-quality materials and components. Lindner makes this ongoing investment to ensure that its customers receive the greatest possible return on their investment and trust in the company.

Ongoing commitment

As a 100 percent-family-owned company, Lindner is completely committed to ensuring its customers receive optimal performance every day.

“The quality, performance and reliability of our machines is increasingly recognized across the globe,” Lackner says. “This has created a tremendous demand—a demand that we are committed to meeting. To achieve this, our team has grown to more than 500 people globally. In the past year alone, we have added 100 team members.”

Through investing in its highly automated manufacturing hub, Lindner also knows it can compete with machinery built anywhere in the world. Advanced manufacturing combined with a deep commitment to its people ensure Lindner can meet—and exceed—the expectations of its customers for years to come.

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More information on other Lindner products can be found at www.lindner.com.