The ZR2400 rough shredder emerged as the clear winner of the trial conducted by the waste management company
FCC Austria provides extensive waste management solutions for industry, commerce and trade as well as for municipalities and private households. Shredding commercial, bulky and household waste is a challenge for any shredder. To cope with the demand, FCC Austria chose UNTHA’s 2-shaft ZR2400 shredder, a particularly robust model that saves up to 90,000 EUR in electricity per year. With this purchase, FCC Austria has invested in the third generation of UNTHA shredders.
For more than 30 years, FCC Austria has been processing commercial and industrial waste as well as municipal and household waste. 65,000 tonnes of waste per year are handled by the company, largely for thermal processing in the Zistersdorf combustion plant. Based on this long-standing experience, the company knew exactly what it wanted from its new shredder: “Our shredders run in continuous operation and process difficult materials with a high non-shreddable content. We therefore expect a lot of our shredders. What we were looking for was an energy-efficient, 2-shaft shredder, preferably with an electromechanical drive, a throughput of 50 tonnes per hour, a high level of resistance towards non-shreddables, and a low maintenance profile”, says Johann Handler, Head of Alternative Fuels Production at the FCC site in Wiener Neustadt and Machine Purchasing Project Leader.
For FCC Austria, the UNTHA ZR2400 is the winner
The reason for the purchase was the need to replace an existing single-shaft shredder from a competitor. Due to its limited throughput and high susceptibility towards non-shreddables, the unit no longer fulfilled everyday requirements. Prior to the purchasing decision, four models by different manufacturers were tested over a period of several weeks, with a focus on cutting power, throughput, susceptibility towards non-shreddables, reactivation in case of non-shreddable input, and low maintenance requirements. At the end of this trial phase, there was a clear winner: “The UNTHA ZR2400 fulfils our requirement profile to the letter and represents the state-of-the-art. The service aspect has also convinced us: from the trial phase to planning and handling, all the way to commissioning, there were no issues whatsoever. We were extremely happy with the way the project was handled by UNTHA”, says Franz Aschenbrenner, head of operations at the FCC Austria site in Himberg. The company was particularly impressed with the shredder’s energy efficiency, which results from the synchronous motors and yields a power saving of up to 100 kWh per operating hour compared to the competition. The machine runs approx. 3,600 hours per year, in two-shift operation. With the price of electricity at an average of 25 cents/kWh, the annual saving amounts to an impressive 90,000 Euro. The option of removing non-shreddables via doors on the feed-in side as well as the back of the unit and the easy access for service activities were also decisive factors. Another benefit is the low height, suitable for feed-in using a wheel loader.
Strong customer focus
FCC Austria has been working with UNTHA pre-shredders for 20 years. The purchase of the ZR2400 in July 2022 marks the arrival of the third generation of machines by the Austrian premium manufacturer at FCC Austria. UNTHA stands for reliable shredding solutions, comprehensive customer service and innovative strength. “It is obvious that UNTHA takes great care to reflect the customer experiences in the further development of its products”, says Johann Handler. Developing new shredders is a continuous process and is not only based on extensive research, but also on customer feedback. This is why personal communication is crucial: “The long-standing partnership with FCC Austria and its employees is precious to UNTHA. Feedback on how our machines handle the daily operational challenges as well as close communication with the customer help us develop our shredders on an ongoing basis and adapt them to real-life customer requirements”, says Christian Lanner, Head of Technology & Innovation at UNTHA.
About FCC Austria Abfall Service AG
FCC Austria provides comprehensive, integrated waste management solutions for municipalities, industry, commercial enterprises and private households. The company is part of the Spanish FCC group, Europe’s largest provider of environmental services, with a focus on waste management in Central and South-Eastern Europe. The central location in Himberg near Vienna employs roughly 200 people.
