Looking for a machine to produce valuable products from their wood resource, the Volinis turned to the 460HP Rotochopper MC-266. The mobile diesel unit with on–board mulch colorizer was used to produce boiler fuel and some landscape mulch. Though he was happy with the reliability and productivity of the diesel unit, Joe still felt that the system could be smoother. “Grinding with a mobile diesel machine caused some materials handling issues for us,” says Joe. “We needed to grind the wood as we picked.”
Switching from Diesel to Electric
To achieve this end, Heartland traded the MC-266 in on a slightly smaller, lower horsepower electric unit, a 200 horsepower EC-256, which was installed directly into one of the bays beneath the picking line. This setup allowed the wood to fall directly into the grinder, with the finished product conveyed into a trailer for delivery to an animal bedding producer. “The EC256 has really brought our cost of production way down,” says Joe. “We grind about 2 semiloads per day, and with the electric unit the maintenance and energy costs are much less.”
Efficiency Matched with Versatility
In 2012, Heartland Recycling had an opportunity to get into the railroad tie recycling business. At first, they used a slow speed shredder but were disappointed with the slow production and uneven particle size, so they added a 500HP electric Rotochopper B-66 E. Unlike most Rotochopper electric units, Heartland’s machine is mobile, connected with quick-connect couplers, but still has the aggressiveness and throughput of a diesel B-66. Joe says,” The B-66 E grinds railroad ties to a fuel product without difficulty, which has allowed us to take advantage of new opportunities.”