Zato at IFAT 2026: from shredding to sorting

At IFAT 2026 in Munich, Zato will showcase two key steps in modern metal recycling: high torque shredding with its flagship Blue Devil twin-shaft machine ferrous cleaning line; and non-ferrous metal recovery through a Blue Sorter scrap cleaning and valorising line.

Visitors to its outdoor stand No. FS911/1 will witness both technologies in operation several times every day.

POWERING SCRAP PROCESSING

There is no subtler way to demonstrate what a twin-shaft pre-shredder is capable of than running it in front of an audience. That is exactly what Zato will do at IFAT 2026, with live demonstrations of its Blue Devil.

The Blue Devil is designed for the materials that bring conventional equipment to a halt: light mixed ferrous and non-ferrous, bulky industrial scrap. Its twin counter-rotating shafts generate the high torques needed to reduce this material into a homogeneous fraction.

The fractions are denser, more manageable and better suited to downstream processing in shredding plants as well as directly fed into steel furnaces.

Beyond sheer throughput, the machine addresses a safety concern well known to recyclers: the risk of explosive events from sealed containers and pressurised components entering a hammer mill.

By pre-shredding and depressurising potentially dangerous material before it reaches the main line, the Blue Devil reduces that risk significantly – a point that resonates strongly with operators managing both productivity and workforce safety.

Available with both diesel and electric drive options, the Blue Devil can be configured to fit all site requirements – a flexibility that has made it increasingly attractive to operators looking to boost performance in their yards without compromising on flexibility.

THE ECS METAL SEPARATION LINE

While the Blue Devil represents a powerful entry point of the recycling process, the scrap cleaning line on display at IFAT 2026 addresses the critical downstream phase: the transformation of raw shredded material into highpurity furnace-ready scrap.

The core of this cleaning line is the customengineered hybrid circuit magnetic drum. By combining neodymium and ferrite, Zato has developed a tailor-made solution that optimises magnetic flux depth and intensity.

This hybrid configuration is specifically calibrated to the exact distance at which the vibrating feeder presents the scrap to the drum. The result is a superior capture rate, ensuring that even the most challenging shaped ferrous pieces are efficiently recovered from the stream, maximising yield where standard drums often fail.

The system on show is the perfect technical evolution for any plant operating a Blue Devil shredder. Once the material is reduced in size, the Blue Sorter takes over to refine the output.

To further enhance this process, Zato has integrated an eddy current separator (ECS) as a high-performance add-on. From a technical standpoint, the ECS exploits electromagnetic induction to create a separation force.

By generating eddy (parasitic) currents within non-ferrous metals through a rapidly changing magnetic field, it produces repulsive forces that literally flick metals such as aluminium, copper and brass away from the inert waste stream.

This allows for the clean recovery and valorisation of materials that would otherwise be lost. Zato will present this technology integrated into a complete valorisation line.

Visitors evaluate how different materials can be enhanced in a modularised system, and what additional equipment is needed for further recovery. In an industry where the profitability of a plant often hinges on the purity of its output fractions, this system-level perspective is precisely what procurement engineers and plant managers are looking for.

LIVE SHREDDING DEMOS

Zato will occupy two exhibition areas at IFAT 2026. There will be an indoor stand in Hall B4, Booth 414, while an outdoor stand at FS911/1 will showcase live shredding demonstrations.

Founded in Italy with over two decades of experience in the design and manufacture of recycling equipment, Zato has built its reputation on customised solutions: machines and lines configured around the specific throughput targets, material mix and spatial constraints of each client.

In Munich, that philosophy will be on full display: not in a brochure but operating in the flesh.