When a customer asked our opinion on which JCB would be perfect for his waste and recycling application we had a good long think here at Thorncliffs HQ to ensure we matched the right machine to the job.
Here are a few of the steps we take to help choose:
After talking through the steps above we can start to get a feel for the machine required. Here are some examples of machines we have helped customers choose and the reasons behind the decision.
A JCB 531-70 Construction machine into a recycling merchant. The requirement was for a machine to aid moving sand, soil (reclaimed) and other aggregates to a weighing system for sale in tonne bags. The machine needed to be capable of handling pallets also and operating on uneven ground. The useage was relatively low - under 300 hours a year. The site was relatively compact and had a bay system which could not take a larger machine. The 3 tonne capacity machine was chosen for its ability to tick all the boxes and retain a very good residual price upon resale. The customer did not require any of the bells and whistles that an Agri Super machine could offer.
A JCB 435s loading shovel into a waste operation moving waste material to be loaded into artic lorries and spreaders. Space was no issue for the machine as it works in large yards and open fields. The key driver was fast moving of material, large buckets (4-5 cubic metre) at a time. The loading shovel was coupled with a toe tip bucket to help load high spreaders and lorry bodies. This machine was looking to do between 1500 and 2000 hours a year which suits a loading shovel perfectly. We did recommend an auto greaser which was also fitted.
A JCB 35D Teletruk into a car salvage/ recycling business. The main points to take into account with this selection was the ability to lift heavy weights but in a compact size due to the site constraints. The ability to boom out and load lorries from one side was a massive plus point in this case. As was the ability to move whole cars and large parts with ease.
A JCB 541-70 Agri Super into a recycling sorting centre. This machine was selected because of its ability to boom out to go over large hoppers but also be a small enough machine to go into bays to move material for processing. The Agri Super model gave the operator what he required in air conditioning, variflow fast hydraulics and the larger engine horsepower. The machine was expected to do 1000 hours a year which matches a Loadall perfectly.
A JCB TM320s into a recycling sorting centre. This machine is similar to the one above in application it was going into, however the site was a bit smaller and the TM turning circle was seen as a huge advantage. The center position for the driver was also felt to be a better fit for the tightness of space it was working in. The hydraulic speed, telescopic boom and larger horsepower also fit the application well. This customer would be looking for the machine to do around 2000 hours a year which is what a TM is regularly doing in other applications so was no problem.
There are of course the option of WasteMaster machines which JCB offer, these come with more guarding round lights, windows and underneath. The machines also offer variflow fast hydraulics on a single lever joystick and have a good engine horsepower to help the machine work under load. A lot of the time these machines come with cameras to help with safety on site, but if this is a requirement we can fit these easily on any machine.
We can offer a range of services suitable to the waste and recyling sector. Please see below for a brief selection.