Kobelco Construction Machinery Europe B.V.
Highly efficient technologies for recovering raw materials from scrap and waste metal, vehicle recycling and selective demolition of buildings will be the focus of Japanese tracked excavator specialist Kobelco at this year‘s IFAT. Three carriers ranging from 3400 kg to 37 500 kg will be on show, two of them in collaboration with attachment manufacturer Mantovanibenne and its versatile MBI range of demolition and scrap shears, pulverisers and demolition and sorting grabs.
Today‘s mechanical processes in scrap and waste metal recycling call for powerful carriers that can be perfectly adapted to the wide range of applications in terms of their machine and drive concept and hydraulic equipment. Accordingly, the entire sector – from specialist dismantling or demolition companies, recyclers of all kinds to steelworks and their service providers – is an important international target industry for Kobelco, itself a subsidiary of the Japanese steel group Kobe Steel.
Specialists in the recycling of end-of-life vehicles, Kobelco‘s multi-dismantling excavators offer short process times with just one machine and high added value thanks to pure recyclable materials
© Kobelco
The industry is currently facing major challenges, first and foremost stricter environmental regulations, such as the new version of the German Clean Air Act (TA Luft), which has been in force for a good two years and largely restricts or even forbids cutting burning as a thermal separation process on construction sites and in other unprotected areas, e.g. scrap metal recycling centres. And the transformation efforts within the steel industry – away from CO2-intensive blast furnace production with a maximum of 20 – 30 % scrap addition to electric furnaces with their technical ability to use up to 100 % scrap – are also changing the market: the demand for high-quality secondary raw materials is growing enormously and can only be met in an economically viable way with correspondingly rationalised sorting and processing techniques.
Cutting instead of burning
In Munich, Kobelco will present the Kobelco SK350NLC-11E tracked excavator with the MBI SH600R scrap shear mounted directly on the boom. With an operating weight of around 37 500 kg for the basic machine and a transport-friendly NLC chassis of 2990 mm, the excavator in the latest Performance X design is suitable for short-term use on construction sites as well as for continuous operation in recycling yards or steel mills.
With the 6-tonne shear, steel structures, machine components, wagons, locomotives, etc. can be shredded and pre-sorted as required with a single machine. With a cutting force of over 9000 kN, the MBI shear can also cut heavy steel beams (Ø HEA: 700 mm/HEB: 360 mm) and pipes (Ø: approx. 500 mm), making it easier to batch unmixed and dimensionally accurate recycled steel prior to delivery or directly at the steelworks. In direct comparison to manual cutting torch shredding, the significantly more productive excavator-shear process is up to 60 % more economical – and with incomparably better conditions for personnel and the environment.
Specialist in end-of-life vehicles
The multi-dismantling excavators that Kobelco offers to vehicle recyclers also promise higher productivity and added value. Clamps on the undercarriage secure the ELV and provide various tools for easy loosening and cutting of individual components (e.g. wiring harnesses). The special dismantling shears allow quick disassembly of the bodies with professional separation of the recyclable and residual materials contained.
At IFAT, Kobelco will present the SK210-11E MD with the Kobelco KVE720PR 2-tonne shear. Compared to the basic machine, this model has a higher counterweight and a special protection package (cab grille, cylinder covers, body reinforcements, etc.). The manufacturer also offers the Kobelco SK140SRD-7 as a more manoeuvrable short-range option, also in the current ergonomically optimised Performance X generation.
Launched in the middle of last year, the Kobelco SK34SR-7 compact excavator sets the standard as a powerful 3.5 t carrier machine in selective demolition and building gutting
© Kobelco
Flexible efficiency in the tightest of spaces
At IFAT, Kobelco will demonstrate with the SK34SR-7 short-range excavator that modern demands for ergonomics, high efficiency and the necessary flexibility do not have to be mutually exclusive, even in the gutting and selective demolition of buildings. Once again in collaboration with Mantovanibenne, the 3.5 tonne machine will be demonstrated with the MBI SH25R demolition shear (380 kg), the MBI MCP300 pulveriser (150 kg) and the MBI MSG300R grapple (260 kg).
The fully hydraulic OilQuick quick coupler OQ45 allows quick tool changes without leaving the cab, while numerous pre-set modes and optional proportional control of the excavator‘s powerful hydraulics facilitate tool-specific feeding and precise tool application. Inside buildings and in dusty demolition work, the Kobelco Mini also scores with the iNDr cooling system, which ensures low ambient noise, safe dissipation of hot outlet air and high efficiency of the easily accessible filter elements.
Booth C5, 251/350
