07/04/2002

revolution™ 2000 Secures Auto Waste

For most industries, the main issue associated with waste is the cost of site management and removal to landfill. To this the Ford Motor Company has to add secure product disposal, thereby ensuring that no redundant or faulty parts find their way into consumer circulation. For the company’s parts warehouse in Daventry this used to mean that each waste load had to be accompanied to the local landfill site for witness of deep burial.

The Daventry warehouse is Ford’s largest European parts distribution centre. Its main waste stream comprises redundant plastic components including bumpers, dashboards, panel trim, casing, and fascias. Prior to installation of the revolution™ waste processor from ET2 Limited, these components were thrown whole into 35 cubic yard containers. This was a very labour intensive exercise and the lightweight bulky items quickly filled the containers, requiring them to be frequently emptied. Such bulky waste required numerous containers to be stored on site; disposal therefore led to a large number of vehicle movements on site. In addition, during high winds the open containers could not retain the components, causing further problems.

ET2 specified a revolution™ 2000 processor from the dry series, complete with an integrated automatic bin-lift system. A single fully enclosed container has now replaced every three open bins previously used on site and subsequent processing achieves a 5:1 increase in bin weights thereby greatly reducing transportation costs.

revolution™ employs a screw mechanism which feeds Ford’s rejected components through a cutting plate, completely destroying them and preventing future use. With product security no longer an issue, the company has been able to dispense with the costly practice of accompanying waste to site and paying a premium for secure deep burial. The enclosed container also promotes a cleaner and safer site.

As Peter Baldwin of the Ford Motor Company explains, “The introduction of the revolution™ to our Daventry site has been a major success. The new technology has given us considerable cost savings and improved our product security and housekeeping. It has also freed-up valuable space and falls in line with our ISO 14000 development strategy. In the future, we plan to process our site’s general waste through the same plant for the same reasons.”

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