Redditch Skip Hire are using the McCloskey R230 for a range of applications, from recycling wood to creating high-quality topsoil. We visit McCloskey Equipment customer to find out more.
Arriving at the South-Birmingham site, you discover how vast the location is, with several operations taking place at any one time across two main areas, one for aggregates, another for wood. Working across both areas are two McCloskey R230s, which have seen daily operations for more than three years.
We met Managing Director, Adam Wood, at the wood recycling side of the business where the first R230 was hard at work. “We usually shred and stockpile our waste wood here; the McCloskey is a very effective grading tool, it can be a challenge to keep up with it” opens Adam. “This way, we can keep the machine fed with enough material.”
It is instantly evident Adam is not exaggerating; the excavator grabs load after load and feeds it into the McCloskey’s large hopper. Significantly longer and wider, the R230 offers one of the largest loading areas in its class, with a lined, speed adjustable direct feed into the screen box. “We rarely have the hopper wings up as the screenbox is so quick and effective” commented Adam.
The High Energy screenbox offers an aggressive throw of up to 10mm to deliver uncompromising production levels for grading and sizing operations. Available with mesh or fingers, the R230 can operate as a stand-alone plant, producing finished product as it is here, or as a primary scalping component to the very largest of portable crushing and shredding spreads.
Adam continued “When McCloskey Equipment supplied our first machine, they recommended using mesh for our applications, and it has proven to be effective for both wood and aggregate. We can swap the mesh size quickly, but its rare we need to, especially in the summer. It’s a very versatile machine, but more importantly is the performance. We get great quality product first time, everytime, which increases our production rates and reduces our running costs.”
Feeding into the Heavy Duty High Energy screenbox, which measures 1.83m x 6.1m and is one of the highest product capacity in its class, the wood is quickly sorted into three stockpiles; the sub-6mm fine wood and mineral material is rapidly removed and stockpiled off the first of three conveyors. Next is a mid-size product, with the second conveyor full of quality product. Oversized product comes off the end of the mesh onto the tail conveyor, with all three offering good stockpiling heights.
We then went on to the aggregate side of the site where their second R230 was busy making quality top soil. Adam commented, “One of the advantages of the McCloskey is ease of operation and setup speed; we can fold up the machines up in just a few minutes and track them between sites, should we need to focus production on either side of the business. You can position the machine, fold it out and be working in a matter of minutes and this all contributes to our uptime and productivity. It really is a versatile, flexible machine that is easy to use and delivers great performance.”
Being fed with a mix of soil and aggregate, you can really see how effective the screenbox is, breaking up the material into three ready-to-use products. The fines belt was full of top-quality 10mm soil, with the mid-product conveyor steadily stockpiling a consistent size stone from the mix of material. Oversize material will travel the length of the screenbox to come off the tail conveyor clean, ready for further processing. The cleanliness of the material is evidence of the screenbox’s performance, maximising the usable material to be had from the feed.
Adam concluded, “We really are delighted with these machines. They replaced a Powerscreen 1800 when we needed a bigger deck and more production capacity, and the McCloskeys has certainly delivered. In three years, we’ve had barely any downtime and the quality of the product has always been great, we’ve never had a complaint about the product. We would definitely have another McCloskey machine, they continue to impress with productivity and quality.
“The aftersales service provided by McCloskey Equipment is second-to-none. Whether I’ve needed a scheduled service or a replacement wear part, McCloskey Equipment has always been prompt, maximising my machine uptime.”
