Waste management company Riverridge Recycling has taken delivery of Ireland's first electrically-powered Fuchs MHL820 long-reach materials handler from distributors Blue Ireland.
The Northern Ireland-based company operates from four sites and the Fuchs materials handler has gone into operation at is state-of-the-art Materials Recovery Facility (MRF) in Coleraine.
Weighing 20 tonnes, it has a reach of up to 10.4m and is equipped with an Arden S1102B grab. With a total power output of 95kW, it is strong enough to handle very heavy loads while the four point hydraulically-operated outriggers provide stability for stationary operation.
The MHL820 is quick and agile around the working area and the electric cable feeding power to the machine has a generous range. The cab can be elevated hydraulically to provide a raised line-of-sight to the operator for safe operation.
Controls are almost identical to the diesel version, so operators can easily switch from one to the other without having to learn to work the machine afresh. The electric drive not only reduces operational costs but the exceptional ease of maintenance also allows good savings on running costs as well.
RiverRidge's MRF at Coleraine is capable of separating high value products to a high quality level for recycling or reuse as well as recovering and refining Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF) which is exported to Europe for use in waste-to-energy plants.
The company's new Fuchs machine is fully occupied handling a variety of waste delivered by RiverRidge's large and varied fleet of skips and specialist waste collection vehicles. It stockpiles the waste and feeds it into a Doppstadt DW 3060 for pre-shredding before it is fed into the MRF, which is housed in a tailor-made building.
Being used under cover, the zero emissions of the electrically powered machine, coupled with its extremely quiet operation and minimal heat output, are highly beneficial to the working environment.
As RiverRidge captures the landfill gases produced by the site to generate its own electricity, the running costs of their new materials handler are already low. But the operational saving on the new Fuchs machine over a conventionally powered materials handler will be around £20,000 per annum.
RiverRidge operations director Tony Kirkpatrick said: 'Our first experience with Blue Ireland earlier this year proved they provide a good service and their commitment to excellent spares availability and a first rate warranty cover were also major factors in making the purchasing decision.
'Additionally, their field service engineer is local to us so the response time is good should the need arise. Couple that with the proven build-quality, reliability and productivity of the plant and machinery Blue Ireland has to offer and our choice was comparatively easy'
