Page 41 from: November 2013
41November 2013
and conferences around the globe and show
our products at exhibitions,’ Rivero recalls.
However, international sales really took off
when the company succeeded in building a
network of representatives. ‘Owing to the type
of equipment and plants we produce, we
appoint local agents who look for clients and
receive our technical and commercial support
with potential clients or with end users of our
equipment,’ he notes.
As far as its international business strategy is
concerned, ZB focuses on new, emerging mar-
kets as well as existing markets. ‘Currently, we
are introducing our latest pieces of technology
in the USA, Germany, the Netherlands and
Brazil,’ Rivero points out.
Major plant for São Paulo
‘Brazil is not the future; Brazil is reality,’ stress-
es Rivero. ‘Many people in the recycling busi-
ness talk about the tremendous opportunities
in the future. The fact is, it is happening already
and you have to be there now to take advantage.’
ZB is currently building a Euro 6 million
(US$ 8.2 million) construction and demolition
waste plant in São Paulo which, according to
Rivero, is ‘the biggest operation of its kind in
South America’. The project is seen as the starting
point for further business growth on the South
American continent. To this end, ZB’s office in
Panama – opened initially to help boost the com-
pany’s quarrying business in the construction of
the second Panama Canal – is now a major hub
for the South and Central American recycling
markets, including for Chile, Argentina, Peru,
Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela.
Mobile monsters
The ZB Group has set its sights on further
growth. In 2014, earnings are expected to climb
to more than Euro 20 million (approaching
US$ 39 million), mainly thanks to increased sales
of mobile shredding technology. Mobile shred-
ders are increasingly assuming the heavy duties
of ‘even the giant stationary machines’, according
to Rivero. ‘In fact, our latest Thor series of mobile
shredders is the answer to a big and growing
need in the global recycling market.’ Meaning
‘The God of the Hammer’, the Thor is now being
promoted worldwide. With ‘this monster’, ZB
claims to have delivered ‘the first mobile shred-
der equipped with a hammer mill’.
Rivero argues: ‘Mobile shredding is the solution
everywhere, and there are many advantages
compared to stationary shredding. First, you
save a lot of money; in general, where a station-
ary unit takes an investment of around Euro 4
million, our mobile alternative costs around a
third less at Euro 2.5 million.’ And he continues:
‘You don’t need licences, there is less expense
on civil works, you don’t need an electric trans-
former and you save energy costs. Also, you are
able to move the unit from one yard to another.’
Sales prospects for the Thor series of mobile unit
are ‘promising’, Rivero confirms. Several
Thor 1721 and 2121
machines are in pro-
duction already, with
10 to 12 units produced
for delivery in 2014 and
up to 20 units expected
to be sold in 2015.
www.zbgroup.es
Fresh departure into battery processing
ZB Group has taken on a new and interesting project, having developed a processing line
for car battery recycling. Based in the province of A Coruña in the north west of Spain,
the Euro 4 million (US$ 5.5 million) Ingaroil plant is capable of handling up to 50 000
batteries per month. This fully-automatic operation is currently in its start-up phase and
is expected to reach maximum production at some point next year.
According to ZB’s international sales
manager Ignacio Rivero, developing
technology for battery processing
was – and remains – a major chal-
lenge. ‘There is growing demand for
battery recycling technology world-
wide and we want to be involved
now to develop know-how in order
to be well prepared by the time new
markets worldwide are picking up
on a larger scale,’ he states.
According to Rivero, there is rapidly
growing demand for battery recy-
cling technology in Mexico, India
and Brazil, adding that ZB ‘defi-
nitely wants to serve those markets’.
Part of the Euro 4 million Ingaroil battery
recycling in Spain’s A Coruña province.
Ignacio Rivero: ‘Brazil is reality’.
RI-9-ZB featurexx.indd 41 08-11-13 15:21
