Retrofitting makes sense, say partners

Retrofitting frequency inverters onto existing shredders is at the heart of a successful collaboration underway between Lindemann Germany and Mitsubishi Electric.

The partners argue that innovation is crucial given the economic challenges facing the European metal recycling industry. In particular, shredders and the associated downstream systems have high energy requirements.

‘The integration of low-maintenance frequency inverters on three-phase asynchronous motors in existing systems opens up completely new possibilities,’ say Lindemann and Mitsubishi in a joint press release.

‘Retrofitting leads to massive savings in energy, wear and maintenance costs, which increases both productivity and availability and thus significantly improves overall system efficiency.’

‘Big win‘

Recognising new standards in intelligent drive solutions and control technology for sustainable metal recycling, the partners have implemented several projects.

‘The partnership is a big win, not only for our two companies but for the entire industry,’ says Stefan Knauf, division manager of factory automation at Mitsubishi Electric. ‘The enormous opportunities offered by the metal recycling market underline the importance of this collaboration,’ adds Lindemann ceo Carl Gustaf Göransson.

In 2022, 45.8% of the almost 37 million tonnes of crude steel produced in Germany was made from recycled steel.