Page 65 from: March 2013

65March 2013

could handle the stress and strain of infeed

materials such as whole automobiles, logs and

lighter bales in a more moderate price range,

so we went to work to design our 60×85 shred-

der.’ A smaller shredder can process up to 8000

tonnes per month of scrap. These machines

have been sold not only in the USA, but also to

Canada, Mexico, Brazil, the Republic of Korea,

New Zealand and Australia for both ferrous and

non-ferrous applications.

The driver behind the popularity of the small-

er shredder is the value of the non-ferrous met-

als recovered. Anthony explains: ‘For years, the

smaller yards were feeding the large shredder

operations and only realising the price differ-

ence between what they were paying for the

material and the buying price on the other end.

‘Team concept’
With the ever-improving technology in down-

stream systems to separate and recover non-

ferrous metals, the smaller yards saw the return

on investment for a complete shredding system,

thus bypassing the larger shredder operator and

going direct for their upgraded product, ferrous

and non-ferrous.’ And he adds: ‘When we know

the type of material and tonnage, we can deter-

mine what size machine the customer needs.

We have customers that can support a small

shredder with as little as 1500 tonnes a month.’

A complete shredding system can run to as lit-

tle as US$ 2.2 million. The system selection is

determined by what the customer wants to

process, as well as by the density.

‘With Hustler (see: www.hustler-conveyor.com)

as our subsidiary company,’ Anthony adds, ‘we

are a true single source for a complete system

including conveyors, magnetic separation, eddy

currents and non-ferrous separation. Having

the complete package in-house gives us a com-

petitive advantage.’

American Pulverizer has developed a ‘team

concept’ when working with a customer on a

new shredding system. Anthony describes it

thus: ‘We involve our controls people, our

hydraulics people, the motor manufacturer –

everyone who has a stake in the system is a part

of the team. We want the customer to know that

with the team concept they can meet the

experts that they will be dealing with in each

area. Our goal is to be able to answer every

question the customer may have at that first

meeting. Once we get the system rolling, this

allows for open communication between all the

players and the customer is not locked in to just

one or two people when there is a question.’

‘Kick-off’ meeting
Recognising that most small- to mid-size oper-

ations have never dealt with a project as big as

a shredder system, Anthony says, American

Pulverizer holds a ‘kick-off ’ meeting. ‘Since

they typically don’t have an in-house person to

run the project, we become their partner,’ he

notes. ‘We meet all of their contractors and go

through expectations and who is going to do

what, so the lines of communication are open.

Rather than going through us, they are free to

contact the major suppliers directly. It’s all wide

open and easy to access. By the time we’re ready

to put the equipment in, the team has devel-

oped a checklist to make sure that everybody

and everything is ready for the installation.

When the customer is ready, we come in and

three or four days later the shredder is running.’

American Pulverizer is also highly active in

aluminium processing equipment, much of

which is outside the USA. ‘Shredding will clean

up contaminated aluminium products such as

irony aluminium, aluminium transmissions

and engines,’ notes Chris Griesedieck. ‘The

company has also developed aluminium bever-

age container recycling systems which have the

flexibility to process siding and sheet, as well as

UBC material.’

Although shredder inquiries have slowed a lit-

tle, Paul Griesedieck – who runs Hustler Con-

veyor – says that an increasing number of cus-

tomers are upgrading components in their

non-ferrous systems to recover more metals

from the fluff. Eddy currents, metal sorters and

separators are non-ferrous money-makers for

shredder operators, he considers.

International sales up
On the feasibility horizon for American Pulver-

izer is a lighter, portable automobile shredder.

‘We’ve been asked to look into such a machine,’

Chris Griesedieck says. ‘I think it’s possible,’ he

adds with caution, ‘but it’s not going to be a

high-throughput machine. We’re studying it.’

The company has a portable, high-torque

shredder designed for use at demolition clean-

up sites and landfills. One has been used in Iraq

to process military material.

Although American Pulverizer’s overall equip-

ment sales to the scrap industry may be down

slightly in 2013, Chris Griesedieck expects inter-

national sales to be up. ‘Our international busi-

ness has grown tremendously,’ he notes. ‘Twen-

ty years ago, our international scrap sales were

10% while today they are approaching 25%, and

we expect international growth to continue.’

American Pulverizer and Hustler have 110

employees. Both companies have recently

expanded and upgraded their office, manufac-

turing and warehouse complexes. State-of-the-

art CAD (computer-aided design) and CNC

(computer numerically controlled) equipment

are the norm throughout both companies.

Ideas for equipment improvements and for new

equipment originate from customers and the

companies’ 12 engineers. ‘We listen to our cus-

tomers,’ Chris Griesedieck says. ‘Getting cus-

tomer feedback from our installations is very

important to us.’

‘We expect
international growth

to continue.’

American Pulverizer and the Hustler Conveyor Co. work together
closely in offering their customers completely integrated scrap

processing systems.

A spider rotor of a 98-inch diameter mill in the assembly hall. The
spiders and discs are capped with cast steel.

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