A Hyundai R210W-9A MH wheeled material handler excavator has helped a pallet recycling company in western France save time, cut costs and produce more.
Owned and operated by its founder Didier Burban; Burban Pallettes is based in Les Ormes, France and for 25 years has built a strong business, originally just focusing on the collection, sorting and repairing of used pallets. Today, Burban Pallettes also sell a range of different pallets made from the wood that’s collected and recycled.
A large wheeled excavator was needed for ‘ripping’ old pallets that were brought in. The machine also needed it to load the broken down material into a shredder, and once shredded, load that material into trucks to be taken away and recycled.
Burban worked with French Hyundai dealer AEB to find the right machine, eventually deciding on a R210W-9A MHfor the job.
The excavator has an operating weight of 25 tonnes and is powered by a 123kW Cummins QSB6.7 engine. A five-tooth grapple attachment collects the wood and lifts it on an 11-metre boom. Burban Pallettes is reporting that the excavator can load 0.7 cubic metres of material each time.
“We need this rotation of volume of 0.7 m3 to be able to load the truck and not lose any valuable time,” Burban Pallettes employee Chistophe Feve says.
The R210W-9A MH also has a hydraulically elevated cab, allowing for greater visibility.
“Without it, we can lose up to three tonnes of loading, and risk damaging the drop sides of the truck,” Feve says.
The operator’s cab also has full 360 degree visibility through safety glass windows, a heated mechanical suspension seat, air conditioning, radio, and sun visor. An LCD display inside the cab gives the operator real-time updates of the machine’s critical functions such as engine temperature, air filter blockages or low battery.
The R210W-9A MH is also fitted with Hi-Mate, Hyundai’s automated remote management system. With one press of the button, users are able to remotely evaluate machine performance, access diagnostic information and verify machine locations. It’s also possible to program a virtual ‘geo-fence’ to prevent the machine from leaving a specific area.
Burban Pallettes has humble beginnings. In 1989 Burban registered his company with the French Chamber of Commerce, bought a truck and began visiting industrial sites collecting old pallets for recycling. In the first year, Burban hired five employees.
“The second year I bought the company Orval,” Burban says. “Ten years from then I had 130 employees and a turnover of €12 million.”
Twenty-seven years later the company boasts a turnover of €60 million and has 400 employees at 14 sites spread across France.