HAMMEL Recyclingtechnik GmbH – 25 years (R)evolution

How did it all start and what is the success story of HAMMEL Recyclingtechnik GmbH? Working together in only one small production hall, which contained offices, the storage and assembly as well as the painting process, only ten people started with the development, construction, marketing and sales of the HAMMEL shredders. Manufacturing took place during the day and in the night shift painting was on its turn. The area had to be used optimally. It quickly became clear that the capacity of the small hall was exhausted. Soon more production and storage halls and of course manpower was added. The office space was expanded and connected to by the impressive self-constructed red bridge.

The demand for mobile shredders grew steadily. The customers needed machines, for example, to shred and transport wood logs and roots as result of storms in the forest. That was the birth of the well-known slow-speed HAMMEL shredder type VB 650 D on hook lift with a 300 HP engine. That machine was the predecessor of today‘s VB 750 and its primarily application was in root wood shredding and in volume reduction of bulky waste wood. This type of shredder has been a flagship throughout 25 years of company history and has been continuously adapted and developed to meet customer needs. The range of input material has expanded over the time. At present the bestseller HAMMEL shredder type VB 750 processes different types of wood, waste, aluminium profiles and aluminium bales.

What distinguishes the HAMMEL Recyclingtechnik company: Two-shaft principle – multifunctionality

Due to the “Original” two-shaft principle, which is known worldwide, even large-volume pieces of input material have an optimally infeed and can be shredded easily by the shredding shafts. The interlocking knives are designed to shred multifunctionally the following material: old and fresh wood, root stocks, railway sleepers, bulky, commercial and household waste as well as car bodies, old tires and aluminium.  The company is therefore responding to the market needs of customers who nowadays do not only have to shred a specific material, but they have to work universally.

The „Original“ from a single source

The high-performance product range has grown over the past 25 years and includes not only mobile and stationary primary shredders of the type VB 450/650/750/850, the RED GIANT VB 950 and the largest mobile primary crusher, the VB 1500, but also secondary shredders of the types NZS 700 and NZS 1000. The range is complemented with sorting and separation technology, designed by HAMMEL. If different machines are combined, the customer can receive a complete system fully adapted to his individual requirements.

The “Original” HAMMEL shredders are planned and manufactured in Bad Salzungen/Germany. The latest technical improvements, practical experience, economic benefits and low-maintenance as well as simple user operation give the basis for every HAMMEL machine.

The interlocking 2-shaft principle and the slow-running shredders have often been copied around the world over the years. There are currently numerous manufacturers of shredders and spare parts manufacturers on the market who supposedly do the same thing as HAMMEL-Recyclingtechnik GmbH. Each customer can of course make their own experience. However, customers are welcome to convince themselves of the „Original“. The company organizes the so-called „HAMMEL-Demo Days“ several times a year. During these events the complete product range is shown in demonstrations with a wide variety of materials on the specially created test site with observation tower. The customers can take a look “inside” and get an impression how the shredders and the tool shafts are manufactured.

Innovations

The HAMMEL company has been dealing with the issue of scrap processing for over 15 years. HAMMEL was the first to develop a mobile shredder with the modified shredding shafts, which were able to process entire car bodies and light mixed scrap. In this sector the HAMMEL shredder type VB 950 DK, the RED GIANT lives up to its name. The most popular machine in this application is equipped with a powerful 760 HP engine and it shreds any large-volume material such as wood, garbage and metal scrap.

The market demands not only the shredding but also the separation of valuable raw materials. The HAMMEL company developed the world‘s first mobile scrap processing plant, which run all over the world. This innovative processing plant gives the possibility to shred and sort mixed scrap and car bodies into separate clean end products. The other important advantage is the possibility to change the location without any problem as the whole equipment is mobile.

Current customer needs and environmental requirements flow into the development work. This means the conversion of all product models that are diesel-powered to the latest emission level „Stage 5“.

The latest (r) evolution has just been presented, the HAMMEL shredder type VB 750 DK as a „long version“ (see title picture). 2000 mm long shredding shafts process bulky input material such as chipboard and bulky waste without any problems, even with wheel loader. The lightweight neodymium magnet is installed in a modified position on the discharge belt and enables more optimal metal separation. With the new CAT C9.3 – stage 5 motor (380 HP) and the use of the latest generation of hydraulics, the shredder achieves even more throughput. The machine is currently being tested in a wide variety of materials.

International tasks

HAMMEL is active in almost every country in the world through a strong sales and service network, which guarantees customer proximity. It is important to support customers on site during the whole process beginning with consultation and proceeding with sale to after-sale.

Due to globalization and the fluctuating raw material markets, HAMMEL Recyclingtechnik GmbH sees itself well positioned with its diversified product range to continue to operate successfully on the worldwide market and to provide answers and solutions to global questions.