by Malcolm Bates
There is no escaping the fact that while waste and recycling is a global industry which must continue to expand for the good of the planet, the economic slowdown and reduction in consumer spending has made the next 12 months very hard to predict.
Volumes of waste and the demand for certain recycled commodities have certainly reduced the sales volumes of new equipment – although in the present doom and gloom, it should not be forgotten that new generations of trucks, plant and machinery are cleaner, cheaper to run, and more efficient than previous generations.
 New Sennebogen 310 has hydraulically rasied cab feature normally only found on 360 material handlers. It enables the driver to see inside bulk trailers while loading |
And, while the more hard-nosed employer might not see ‘more operator friendly’, ‘less polluting’ and ‘quieter’ as vital to retaining good staff during times of high unemployment, the fact is, those who expect drivers and operators to put up with old equipment now, will run the risk of being left behind when the global economy starts to pick up again. As it surely will.
In my discussions with manufacturers and equipment suppliers since our last Waste Management World Review Issue, it is quite clear that greater efficiency is the driving force for future survival. The need to enhance quality is certainly there too – now is not the time to consider cheap products to try to balance any reduction in available budgets. In fact, according to a senior executive at JCB, Matthew Taylor, one of the key reasons for continuing investment (at a time when many manufacturers are making cutbacks), is to ensure that new high-quality products can be built more efficiently, so as to be able to meet demand when the upturn comes.
Why? Because ironically, there is a danger that build quality and reliability can go down, when orders are plentiful. How tragic would it be for any key manufacturer to survive the recession only to incur self-inflicted damage at the very time when things are starting to improve? The message is: it is easy to lose track of your costs when you are busy. It is far better to plan more efficient systems now, before your business expands once more. It is a message that many on the operations side of our industry could learn from.
New developments
If JCB is one good example of a global manufacturer continuing to invest during tough times, Sennebogen - although more specialized - is another.
Sennebogen has now started production of a new, larger Multi-Handler – the 310, as first previewed in our Jan/Feb issue. It combines the attributes of a conventional telehandler, a big-wheeled loader and of course the added safety feature only normally found on 360s – a hydraulically-raised cabin.
I had a short drive of a demo machine a couple of months ago, but what is really interesting is that a new application has been found for it already ...
At the first Futuresource (actually pronounced Future Resource) exhibition in London back in June, discussions took place between engineers from UK Sennebogen dealer Hassells, and representatives of both Dennis Eagle and HN Schorling. As Huffermann (then subsequently HN Logistic, part of the Otto Group), HN Schorling is the manufacturer of the TFL (Transport for London) Multi-Modal waste collection system for London. While the whole pace of the Multi-Modal project seems to move at an agonisingly slow pace in London (often the case when politics are involved), interest elsewhere has been moving much faster.
A viable system, with transferable compaction body ‘pod’ units that can not only be moved by conventional hooklift-equipped truck/trailer rigs for onward disposal, but are also suitable for both water-born and rail transportation, represents an attractive option for a number of city authorities elsewhere the UK. Indeed, any system which can work within the UK’s restricted loading gauge and anti-truck prone legislation, could work just about anywhere in my view.
A system that can reduce prolonged, fuel-wasting, empty return running, and cut delays as expensive specialized collection vehicles are caught in traffic (not to mention overcome restrictions on driver’s hours-per-shift) are of increasing value to waste management organizations the world over – especially as real savings can be made. Particuarly where a project originally designed for one over-populated urban sprawl (London), could benefit operators in less-densely populated areas as well, to a point. The reason is a continued lack of suitable landfill space on the one hand, and the increasingly popular idea that waste and recyclable collection should be considered as the mirror image of new goods distribution. In other words, if containerization is a fundamental tool in delivering new goods, why can it not be just as useful in removing waste and recyclables?
A great back catalogue
HN Schorling designers have a back catalogue of clever design ideas for demountable, hooklift-compatible waste handling equipment (including front end loaders and side loader designs), so the rear end loading TFL design came from an experienced design team. Unfortunately for them, commercial investment has failed to keep pace with design innovation, but now the company is associated with Ros Roca (and is working with Ros Roca Group company Dennis Eagle), the prospects for the future at last look brighter.
But there was still one element missing. While many waste handling facilities (such as waste-to-energy plants) tend to have crane systems built-in, others in rural areas – or where recyclable materials are sorted – do not. For the Multi-Modal system to work, the laden and un-laden body pod has to be transferred quickly and safely between collection truck chassis and rail wagon, barge or long distance transportation truck/trailer rig. Typically, each can weigh 10 tonnes (11 tons) laden and this has to be removed and replaced by a fresh empty one within 10 minutes, or less.
A large forklift truck utilizing built-in fork cut-outs (or a port-type straddle carrier could be used, using top-mounted ISO twistlocks), but having a machine that could also undertake other handling duties such as loading bulk materials, or consolidating a stockpile when not transferring Multi-Modal pod units, is obviously better.
And what new generation of machine could do that? The answer, in case you haven’t guessed already, is the Sennebogen 310 Multi-Handler. The ability to load demountable Multi-Modal waste body units – and even stack un-laden units two high – represents a significant operational opportunity, in that it offers the waste authority a mobile, cost-effective alternative to expensive fixed plant.
Bringing organizations together
The fact that the key design and manufacturing staff worked for two companies based in Germany, but neither were aware the other had a product of mutual significance until an English language technical magazine, published in association with a professional organization based in Denmark (WMW and ISWA of course), and a potential customer located in Scotland, all had a meeting – this underlines how important global media can be. In this case, it involved manufacturers in Germany and customer interest in the UK. But it could just as easily have been in operators in Australia, the Pacific Rim or Mexico, and suppliers in Canada or Italy.
 Oshkosh Group CEO Chris Tecca and UK MD Jeff Rigg (pictured) look forward to a bright future after the arrival of viable hybrid options in the waste sector |
Indeed, the week after shaking hands with HRH The Duke of Edinburgh at the Futuresource waste and recycling exhibition and conference in London, I was having a conversation with a South African, an Australian and a Canadian, at the annual Dulevo International global dealer convention in Parma, Italy.
Here sweeper dust filtration was the topic of debate, although the advantages of hybrid diesel/electric power transmission, versus natural gas-fuel and hybrid electro-hydraulic systems, also came high on the agenda.
Both topics have been the subject of articles in Waste Management World over the last 12 months. My point? Such development is on-going, whatever the current financial climate. And it is quite clearly of interest to all waste industry professionals in whatever hemisphere they work. An effective means of communicating information is vital if new developments are to succeed.
Increasingly, as I hope this article illustrates, the future will be about a number of manufacturers, service providers – and even waste authorities and other non-corporately linked agencies – co-operating together. If the last year has been a case of financial restraint, let us hope the next twelve months are about a returning confidence. I for one, cannot wait.
Malcolm Bates is Transport Correspondent for Waste Management World
e-mail: wmw@pennwell.com
