Stationary crane OBX-V
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BREITSAMER, GERMANY: Stationary crane OBX-V

Lower costs, less noise, less effort – Breitsamer buys recycling crane from Baljer & Zembrod

More space, dust-free, more comfortable, quieter and, last but not least, air-conditioned – the cab, the crane operators' workplace, has improved significantly at the waste management company Breitsamer. This was due to the acquisition of a new stationary crane by the Munich-based family business: the OBX-V from Baljer & Zembrod. ‘The drivers all feel much more comfortable in the new cab,’ says the plant manager. ‘The new machine is definitely a significant improvement over its predecessor – we are very satisfied with it.’

Besides the optimisations in the cab, the crane from Baljer & Zembrod also impresses thanks to additional advantages over many other material handlers. For Breitsamer's two managing directors, Johann and Thomas Breitsamer, the most important criteria were fuel consumption and operating costs. The previous system, a mobile diesel machine, consumed around 3,000 litres of diesel per month. ‘At a price per litre of 1.20 euros, we were spending 3,600 euros on fuel alone,’ says Thomas Breitsamer. ‘In addition, there were annual maintenance costs of about 7,000 euros.’

The new stationary crane, on the other hand, is powered by electricity, with a connected load of only 55 kW. ‘That's exceptionally low,’ says Thomas Breitsamer. ‘Most roughly equivalent material handlers have a connected load of 100 kW.’ With electricity costing around 20 cents per kWh, the resulting lower energy consumption means that Breitsamer's propulsion costs have fallen by two thirds – a saving of some EUR 29,000 per year. The maintenance costs are also significantly lower – down from EUR 7,000 to around EUR 4,000 annually.

The low energy consumption is achieved by the use of new technology that requires less power because the crane is permanently installed. Unlike its predecessor, the OBX-V does not require constant refuelling and therefore does not need to be moved to the filling station. This meant it could be permanently anchored to the ground. Baljer Zembrod's cranes are usually cast in the ground with a foundation bracket or delivered with a ‘semi-mobile’ crane base that does not require anchoring in the ground.

At Breitsamer, however, neither option was possible because either the machines would have encountered groundwater or the crane would have been too tall for the ‘semi-mobile’ base. As a result, the managers came up with a new approach and dowelled the system to a 50 cm-thick base plate. A corridor was created around the crane with metre-high walls, which allow the drivers to comfortably access their workstation while protecting the crane from the waste. As a result, material can be stored in close proximity to the crane, which saves space since a refuelling path is no longer needed.

Since mid-February 2015, the green recycling crane has been operating in the yard at the Munich-based disposal company. From the comfort of the cab, the operators use the swivel arm to move around 80 to 90 tonnes of material per hour, including construction, production, commercial and industrial waste, which is fed into two shredders and one dosing hopper with a bag opener. The swivel arm has a range of 14.5 metres. Thomas Breitsamer has monitored the new equipment for several months: ‘Despite the significantly lower power requirements, we achieve about the same performance as with the previous system. ‘In addition, the new crane is ready for operation in the morning and needs no start-up time.’

Another innovation is primarily of benefit to the crane operators: an electrically controlled joystick. ‘Some of them had to get used to it at first,’ recalls Thomas Breitsamer, before adding with a smile: ‘But after a short adjustment period, everyone now gets on with it really well, and it's even fun to use.’

About Breitsamer Entsorgung Recycling GmbH:
The waste management company Breitsamer was founded in Munich in 1972 and remains a family-owned business to this day. The recycling specialist offers services in the areas of recyclable material sorting, construction site management, commercial, industrial and private disposal as well as hazardous waste and dangerous goods transport. Breitsamer employs around 120 people, has 43 vehicles and an intake and processing capacity of around 140,000 tonnes per year. (www.breitsamer.com)

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