Photo courtesy of Doosan
The Mediterranean Institute of Ecological Studies (IMEE), which operates a recyclable materials processing plant near Valencia, Spain, has added a new Doosan DX380LC-7 crawler excavator to its machinery fleet, according to that equipment producer.
Doosan says IMEE is authorized by a local community organization known as Generalitat Valenciana to provide a discarded construction materials treatment service in the region.
The facilities at IMEE include a transfer station, a recycling plant, a further treatment plant and an inert landfill. At the transfer station, or separation warehouse, recyclables such as plastics, cardboard, metal and wood are removed.
The remaining inert waste is then passed through to a triage cabin, from where soil and aggregates are placed on a conveyor belt toward screening and processing machinery that converts it into marketable materials for use in the construction and roadbuilding.
“We are growing between 20 to 30 percent every year, so we needed a new excavator to work in our facilities and Doosan proved to be the best for the size of excavator to meet our needs, with a lower fuel consumption and a quality design,” IMEE Managing Director Nacho Llácer says.
He continues, “We need to load, unload, excavate and transport stockpiles to the crusher to recycle, collect the waste that arrives at our facilities (with an average of 140 trucks per day and about 2,000 metric tons of material per day) and carry out various jobs at the plant.”
Feedback from employees has been good, Llácer says, adding, "Our operators are very happy with the new excavator. They appreciate the ease of operation and the additional comfort that comes from a new machine. The visibility, the cab and the safety are outstanding elements, as well as the robustness.”
Doosan says the 44-ton DX380LC-7 model offers greater productivity, high performance and lower fuel consumption because of its D-Ecopower technology. Also included are a 360-degree camera system and what Doosan calls “large side mirrors, powerful work lights, and non-slip steps, platforms and safety rails on the upper structure.”
IMEE also owns a Doosan DX170W-5 wheeled excavator, which replaced a machine from another brand several years ago.
Llácer says of the older machine, “The DX170W-5 is ideal for its size and power. We equip it with a clamp to sort and separate various materials into groups. In addition to handling work in the waste area, the Doosan DX170W-5 excavator literally rips the plastic out of the big bags, separating the content from the container, which allows us to quickly and conveniently divide and select materials and soil or rubble. It also transports and stacks the containers we use.”
The combination of machines and techniques is effective for IMEE, Llácer says. “The different types of components used in construction generate waste that must be classified for later recovery, identifying what can be recovered for reuse. Thanks to the sorting process, we manage to recover 95 percent of the waste products for subsequent recycling. The lack of adequate centers like ours for construction waste creates a serious problem for our environment and is currently a huge setback.”
Regarding working with Doosan and its Valencia-based distributor Ximo Magallo & CIA, Llácer adds, “The qualities of machines today are intrinsic, such as new technologies, rear view cameras and ergonomic seats. However, I personally highly value the role of a good salesperson who not only sells a machine, but also advises you and helps you with decision-making when selecting the best products for your projects, including post sales, which is also extremely important. There are sellers who are simple order takers, who leave a catalogue on the table, but are not even experts in their product. Selling is not offering; selling is talking, listening to the needs and offering solutions to the client. A person who only distributes flyers will hardly know how to solve a problem when you have it. Therefore, it is vital for me that the manufacturers train their teams properly and prioritize the training centers.”
He says of Ximo Magallo & CIA and Doosan training business unit Centrocar, “Their team is really efficient in this sense, and they also offer a very good technical service and are fast. They solve all my problems, which strengthens my confidence in them.”