Envirowales recycling plant chooses Yale and Briggs

Customer: Envirowales

Application: Recycling

Brand: Yale

Products: 3-12 tonne forklifts

Based in Ebbw Vale, Envirowales recycles lead acid batteries to produce lead alloys, sodium sulphate and polypropylene and has invested £58million to create the most modern facility in Europe. Utilising the best available techniques and operating to the highest environmental standards, the company is setting the pace with an impressive recycling efficiency rate of more than 95%.

Situation

The partnership with Briggs began in 2012, when Envirowales switched from a mixed fleet to Yale equipment. Briggs customised the company’s materials handling resource to meet key needs by specifying a fleet of trucks that can perform multiple tasks and is built to excel in the plant’s harsh operating environment.

Solution

Now, Envirowales has invested in 11 counterbalance diesel forklifts, ranging from 3-tonne machines, with rotator attachments, to replace its Yale machines on a like-for-like basis while also adding extra capacity. We have supplied the equipment, valued at £350,000, on a 48-month rental contract with full maintenance support from its skilled engineering team.

To maintain performance and minimise the likelihood of machine breakdown the new Yale forklifts have been modified to cope with the demanding environment. Options to help expel dust from the engines include a more open chassis design, vented hooding and lint screen position in from of the radiator that can be removed and washed.

Action

The new machines will be in use for up to 1,500 hours a year, which would ordinarily warrant three services a year, however due to the extreme nature of their application, best practice warrants four services a year. By taking a proactive approach and allocating a day a week to preventative maintenance Briggs is keeping the trucks dust free and improving uptime.

Result

During the past five years Envirowales had realized operational cost savings of around £300,000, as the Briggs solution has helped the company to reduce damage associated with the demanding application’s harsh conditions plus operator misuse and unplanned maintenance.

Craig Williams, Logistics Manager, said; “Materials handling plays a vital role in our recycling operation and we’ve been extremely impressed with the performance of our Yale fleet, in particular how well it stands up to working in an acidic environment with airborne metallic dust.”