to customers and the service team.
‘Our service technicians wear smart glasses
with integrated video cameras, microphones
and speakers,’ says Cominetti. ‘Now, when a
service technician is on site and wearing the
smart glasses we can actively see what he or
she is repairing. Our engineers at head office
can send useful and relevant information
directly to them in real time using the display
integrated in their glasses. We can also talk
them throughout.’
AS LONG AS THERE’S A CONNECTION
The new smart glasses are a real revolution.
‘No need to wait for a technician to drive or fly
in from afar before a repair can take place,’
says Cominetti. ‘The yard’s technician can sim-
ply put on the smart glasses and be talked
through the required repair or service proce-
dure step by step by our own experienced
engineers. As long as they have a stable inter-
net connection, it doesn’t matter if they are in
the Peruvian rainforest or on the edges of the
Iraqi desert.’
MAKING WAVES ACROSS THE GLOBE
In 2020 Zato sold its fifth Blue Devil to a cus-
tomer in eastern Australia and Australians in
particular have come to appreciate the rela-
tively low initial investment and total running
cost of a Blue Devil when compared to a ham-
mer mill. No foundations are required, the
rotary shear operates autonomously without
an external operator and operating costs are
considerably lower. Zato also pre manufactures
Blue Devils which means, in many cases, com-
panies can have one up and running around
two months after ordering.
The reality of the current situation is that collect-
ed scrap is getting lighter and this trend is set to
continue. Processing light to medium gauge
scrap in a hammer mill has a relatively high cost
per tonne. Doing the same job with a shear baler
is less expensive than using a hammer mill but
the volumes and the density of the processed
scrap are lower and the product’s not as clean.
HELPING HAND AT KOREAN YARD
Hat Bit Jung, ceo of Daehan Steel & Recycling
in South Korea, found the Blue Devil to be the
perfect solution for his yard. ‘I am processing
around 25-35 tonnes per hour and the result is
a nice dense scrap which is relatively free of
contaminants,’ he says. ‘Because the Blue
Devil’s blades rotate slowly and with high
torque, very little dust is produced. I can even
process whole cars without the need to
remove engines, axles or gearboxes.’
Foundries in particular are very fond of receiv-
ing ‘Zato’ grade scrap that is free of dirt, is
dense and is easy to melt. Adding Zato grade
scrap reduces the loads required in the fur-
nace, thereby cutting energy costs.
NEW FRONTIER AMERICA
Zato is not resting on its laurels. Its ethic of
always doing things better means that continu-
ous improvements based on feedback from
international users is keeping its shears, shred-
ders and hammer mills amongst the top per-
forming recycling equipment on the market.
For 2021 Zato intends to further increase mar-
ket share in the Asian market as well as
expanding its activities in USA, Canada and
Latin America.
Another Blue Devil is being prepared for shipment.Inside the production hall.
Installation of the Blue Devil.
TeChnology experT
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