B&M’s Kobelco keeps its cool

April 21, 2020

North West based B&M Waste Services see investment in equipment as “paramount” for long term growth in a highly competitive industry. Their latest investments see the addition of a new Kobelco SK140SRLC-5 excavator fitted with an NPK DG16 selector grab, both supplied by recycling machinery specialists Molson Green.

B&M Waste Services are an award-winning waste management company providing local and national waste collection, recycling and disposal services. As a family-owned business, they pride themselves on providing a great service and a high level of professionalism to their customers. B&M have moved their business forward over the years to what stands today as arguably one of the most respected waste management providers in the country. With their head office on the Wirral, they have expanded to a total of five sites, enabling their national coverage. Other sites include Leeds, Manchester, Sheffield and Preston, with each site benefiting from investment in the right equipment to get their respective tasks done.

One thing that is clear when you meet the team at B&M is that they are proud to hold onto the values that they believe a family run business should hold. With every element of the business coming across as a thing of personal value to the team, it is easy to see how they have grown their business as well as a reputation of consistently meeting their customers’ demands.

During a recent visit to their busy Wirral HQ we got the first glimpse of their new distinctively blue sorting machine – the impressive Kobelco SK140. The primary function of this machine is to pick out any large bulky items of recyclable material such as metal, cardboard and plastic from the freshly tipped waste prior to loading their static processing plant.

The first thing that you notice about the Kobelco (apart from its colour) is its compact but solid appearance. As with all excavators, the SK140 features air intakes and outlets on the rear panels that are used to circulate air around the engine bay and cool the engine. What makes the SK140 different to most is that the intakes and outlets are positioned much higher than other excavators on the market. In looks this creates a feel of substance to the profile of Kobelco thanks to an almost uninterrupted solid panel, but in truth it means much more than that. This is the first indication of a key feature of the SK140 that makes it work particularly well in waste applications… the iNDr (integrated Noise and Dust reduction) system.

What is the iNDr system?

As is often the case, the most effective solution is the simplest. A creation of the Kobelco design team from their factory in Hiroshima, Japan, the iNDr system does exactly what it says. It delivers in two key aspects:

Reducing dust in the engine bay, often a cause of overheating along with a host of other issues.
Reducing engine noise.

In order to prevent dust entering the engine, the iNDr system features a mesh dust filter on the intake side that shields the engine compartment from dust. External air feeds through the patented iNDr filter system to trap dust preventing it from entering the engine compartment. This creates a virtually dust-free air-flow, which improves the efficiency of the cooling system and further enhances engine reliability. The mesh filter is easy to remove and clean, so operators can include this on their daily checks to ensure the excavator is running at optimal performance.

How the Kobelco engineers have been able to reduce engine noise is even simpler. By raising the air intakes and outlets, the sound waves generated by the engine is allowed to reverberate around the insulated engine bay for longer before escaping. This not only reduces the engine noise levels the operator is exposed to, but also creates a quieter working environment around the machine. In addition, these lower noise pollution levels create a safer working environment.

Tailor made for the job.

B&M have gone to extra lengths with this SK140 and also had a Desert Engineering hydraulic reversable fan fitted to further assist in keeping the engine cool when working in the demanding indoor waste processing environment.

Other additional specifications to make this a true “waste spec” excavator include an additional camera fitted to the excavator arm looking down to the grab giving the operator a closer view of the material being sorted to increase accuracy, bolt on rubber blocks to prevent damage to the concrete floor of the shed and a handrail to increase safety of the maintenance team during the machine’ 500 hour servicing intervals. All of these options have been selected during the purchasing process following the advice of the experts at Molson Green.

Tell it how it is.

B&M Waste Services Operations Manager, Craig Wilson said: “For us, it is really important that the operators are happy, because as we all know – a happy operator, is a productive one. The feedback so far has been how smooth and precise the machine is, along with how comfortable it is to operate. This level of control allows the driver to get it right first time more often than not… from my point of view, that means efficiency! The addition of a camera looking at the grab has also gone down really well. Despite the fact that the Kobelco has a shorter reach than the Sennebogen 817e that we have previously purchased from Molson Green, this additional visibility again allows the operator to have a higher level of accuracy and certainty of what they are picking. Andy and the team at Molson have been great throughout the process. From the outset they have been easy to talk to and, most importantly, they have listened to what we have had to say. It sounds like something simple, but so many think they know it all and don’t listen anymore, so it has been great to work with a company that do listen”. Molson Sales Manager, Andrew Wilkinson said; “We have worked hard to build a strong relationship with Craig and all the team at B&M and after delivering their first Sennebogen we really appreciated the opportunity to offer an excavator solution for a different site with different requirements. The ability to understand a customer’s requirements and call upon our vast range of options in the Molson Group’s range allows us to pick the right solution, rather than just what we have in stock as some of our competitors do”.