Things to Consider Before Purchasing a New Shredder, Grinder or Chipper

By P.J. Heller

     When it comes to equipment for mulch producers, there’s good news and bad news. The good: There are numerous companies offering a wide range of horizontal grinders, tub grinders, shredders and other equipment and accessories to serve the ndustry.The bad: There are numerous companies offering a wide range of horizontal grinders, tub grinders, shredders and other equipment and accessories to serve the industry.

     For mulch producers, the dilemma is having to sift through the brochures, Web sites and other materials to try to determine what equipment will best suit their needs. Horizontal or tub grinder? What capacity? Will the machine be able to handle future business growth? What about biomass applications?

     “Don’t try to reinvent the wheel,” advises Bob DeSousa, general manager at West Salem Machinery. “Look at what’s been successful and is utilized in the industry.”

     The other issue he stresses is a machine’s strength and durability.“Look at component sizes in a given machine, whether it be shaft diameters, bearing sizes, hammer weights, machine weights,” he says. “In the mulch industry you’re bringing in a wide range of materials that you do not control until it hits your plant floor. So it’s not a matter of ‘if’ there’s going to be something in that raw material pile that you didn’t anticipate, it’s just a matter of when and how often.”

     “There’s a variety of factors that go into selecting equipment,” says Todd Dunderdale, director of sales at Komptech USA. “You’ve got to take a look at your incoming feedstock. What is your desired output? And it comes down to cost per ton. What is your operating cost, complete totally loaded operating cost? You can’t know what to sell it for it you don’t know what it costs to produce.”

     “Buy the most substantial grinder with the most horsepower that you can afford rather the undersizing your needs,” advises Brian Bergman, operations manager at CW Mill Equipment Co. He admits that “at the end of the day, it will come down to your budget.”

     Todd Roorda, environment solutions specialist with Vermeer Corp., agrees that budget constraints often influence buying decisions, but opting for the most substantial machine available should be the goal. “You could probably make yourself some mulch with a backyard wood chipper but if you’re going to be in the business, that wood chipper may not last you very long and it won’t be able to keep up,” he says.

     Ultimately, the end product that you are trying to produce (i.e. fuel pellets, wood chips or mulch) will determine the type of equipment you will need to purchase, whether it be grinding, chipping or shredding equipment. Although the demand for landscape mulch continues to be strong, manufacturers have recognized a shift in the market to an increased demand for biofuel. In response to this trend, many manufacturers have introduced new machines and attachments to meet market demand.

     The following companies, listed in alphabetical order, are among those that manufacture equipment for both mulch and biofuel production.

CW Mill Equipment Co.
     CW Mill makes no bones about the capabilities of the grinders that it manufactures, describing them as “monsters.” Little wonder then that the company markets its line of diesel and electric powered grinders under the HogZilla name.

     “HogZilla grinders are monster grinders for solid waste reduction, wood recycling, land clearing, construction demolition, mulch production, tire processing or any other tough grinding application,” the company boasts.

     CW Mill, based in Sabetha, Kans., was started in 1974, with the HogZilla brand launched in the late 1980s to serve the needs of the wood products industry. Today, the company manufactures four series of tub and horizontal grinders, ranging from mid-size models with about 400 horsepower to the most popular 1,050 horsepower machines and beyond.

     “Because of the requirement to grind wood, you want a well built machine and as much horsepower as you can afford,” says Brian Bergman, operations manager. “Mulch producers are dealing in volume. It takes a pretty serious machine to service them.”

     Bergman says it is false economy for mulch producers to skimp on the purchase of a grinder.

     “If they buy a newer light duty machine because it seems more affordable, they may be paying more for it over the long haul than if they had purchased a heavy duty machine, even a used machine, which would be more substantial to handle the work,” he says. “They should buy the most substantial grinder with the most horsepower that they can afford rather than buy an undersized unit.”

     HogZilla grinders include self-propelled track drive and self-loading units.“We’re widely known for our torque converter drive that provides more production capability and better protection for the grinder,” Bergman notes.

     The torque converter drive — widely used in the rock crushing industry —allows the engine to always perform at peak efficiency with multiplied torque, Bergman explains. The converter carries a five year, 6,000 hour warranty.

     The company says the drive allows users to get “more production generating torque from the same engine burning the same fuel.”

     In addition, it says, the HogZilla grinder/engine governor control system provides fuel savings by matching optimum power (fuel consumption) with changing load requirements to prevent unnecessary fuel consumption.

CW Mill Equipment Co.
14 Commerce Drive
Sabetha, KS 66534
Phone: (800) 743-3491
www.hogzilla.com

DuraTech Industries International
     When farmer and rancher Joe Anderson couldn’t find an affordable and suitably sized hay grinder for his livestock herd, he set out to solve the problem himself.

     From that simple effort in 1966 has emerged DuraTech Industries International, a major manufacturer of agricultural and industrial machinery.

     The company’s line of industrial equipment includes heavy-duty tub and horizontal grinders, ranging from a 9-foot, 325-horsepower tub grinder to its most recent offering, a 950-horsepower horizontal grinder with a 64-inch wide, 12,100 pound hammermill. Between those models are a range of mid-size grinders. Both trailer and track-mounted units are offered.

     Marketing manager Al Goehring says part of the success of DuraTech grinders is due to their unique features, notably self-cleaning screens rather than more conventional reversing fans.

     “All DuraTech grinders have enclosed engine compartments with self-cleaning rotary screens on the air intake,” he says. “Having the engine compartment enclosed and the air intake pre-screened helps keep the engine compartment clean and keeps the radiator and oil coolers clean, so there’s a much less maintenance on the machine. It reduces the dirt and buildup on the engine for cleanup as well the chance of a fire, since you don’t have much of a buildup on the manifolds that are hot.”

     The enclosed engine compartment also helps reduce the engine noise.“It basically forces all the sound down and then that’s absorbed by the ground,” he notes.

     DuraTech was also a pioneer in developing oscillating stacking conveyors, Goehring says.
     The company, based in Jamestown, N.D., is pursuing the “emerging” biofuels market, according to Goehring.

     “It’s not there yet and there’s a lot to be learned there,” he says. “We are very interested in pursuing that market.”

     Goehring says it’s important for mulch producers to match a machine to their operation.

     “If you oversize your machine or undersize it, you’re not going to have the efficiency built in,” he advises.

     “It’s nice to sell a big grinder but it may not meet a customer’s requirements,” he says. “You might be able to get your grinding done in a hurry, but it’s not going to be economical and provide a return on investment. It’s not going to be a good fit.”

DuraTech Industries International, Inc.
P.O. Box 1940
Jamestown, ND 58401
Phone: (701) 252-4601
www.duratechindustries.net

Komptech USA Inc.
     With its corporate roots in Europe, Komptech USA describes itself as the complete “one-stop shop” for the waste industry.

     “We have the largest product line of anyone in the industry,” contends Todd Dunderdale, director of sales. “We do windrow turners, star screens, trommel screens, shakers, spreaders, mixers, chippers, shredders, grinders. Anything that involves waste we can handle.

     “I would like people to think we are the one-stop shop when it comes to the waste industry,” he says.

     Komptech was founded in 1987 in Austria by Josef Heissenberger and Rudolf Pretzler as an engineering office for agricultural machinery. The U.S. sales organization in Lafayette, Colo., was opened in 2007.

     The company manufactures both chippers and shredders designed for the mulch market. Its Crambo Forest shreds wood down to mulch size; a screen deck under the shaft sifts dirt, needles and rock to produce a clean product in a single pass. That feature can be especially important to mulch producers who are working with forest slash, Dunderdale says.

     In essence, he says, the Crambo Forest can be used in the field rather than requiring several machines to accomplish the job.

     The Crambo unit is available in mobile or stationary configurations. Both are dual shaft shredders. Slow-running screws with shredding tools minimize fine particle and noise and dust emissions, and build up resistance to contamination, according to the company. Particle size is adjustable by simply exchanging screen baskets. A hydraulic drive with load-dependent speed control ensures maximum utilization of motor output.

     Dunderdale says that the Crambo units are ideally suited for mulch producers. “Over the years people have gotten so conditioned to seeing mulch as a chip,” he says. “Actually mulch as a shred works very well because it allows better aeration in the root system.”

     The company’s Chippo series is designed for whole log chipping.

     Dunderdale says that rather than focus on high-speed grinders for the forestry business, Komptech views the market as a waste application.

     “We have a variety of different machines to handle a variety of waste streams,” he says. “It’s a different approach. The American approach is to throw a big engine in it and go out and use one machine to do everything, even though it’s not designed to do that. In Europe, there’s more attention to detail and design and specifically to design a machine for each application.”

Komptech USA Inc.
1724 Majestic Drive #104
Lafayette, CO 80026
Phone: (720) 890-9090
www.komptechusa.com

Morbark, Inc
     The motto of Morbark, Inc., — “building equipment that creates opportunities” — pretty much sums up the company’s success in serving the wood products industry.

     “The one thing that we focus on is matching solutions to our customer’s problems,” explains Chris Edmonds, assistant regional manager for the Western U.S. “We look to help the customer maximize opportunities with our machines.”

     To help mulch producers who may be affected by the slumping housing market, for example, Morbark has introduced its Quick Switch grinder-to-chipper conversion kit. The kit allows a Morbark horizontal grinder owner to easily convert the machine from a hammermill to a full chipping drum in order to produce high-quality wood chips.

     Two configurations of the kit are available, one a 12 knife for making standard size chips, the other a 16 knife for making sawdust. The changeover takes about three to four hours.

     “Our Quick Switch allows grinder owners the opportunity to diversify their product offering without having to purchase a second machine,” Edmonds notes.

     “It helps open up another revenue stream for mulch producers,” adds marketing manager Tim Adams.

     “This is a tremendous innovation for our customers,” says John Foote, vice president of sales and marketing. “The Quick Switch’s ability to change from grinding to chipping and back creates opportunities for horizontal grinder owners by giving them new markets to supplement their grinding operations.

     “It is an ideal solution for anyone involved in, or wanting to be involved in, supplying biomass fuel,” he notes.

     The kit is just the latest in a long line of grinding, chipping and sawmill products — including five different sizes of horizontal grinders and six different sizes of tub grinders — manufactured by the Winn, Mich., company. The company has been serving the composting, mulch, forestry, recycling, tree care, biomass and sawmill markets since 1957.

     “The best machine for our customer has nothing to do with grinding,” Edmonds says. “It has to do with his business model, which one fits his level of business, his location, the contracts he has in hand and the product to be ground.

     “We work with out customers to find out their exact requirements,” he says. “We have multiple sizes of machines to fit their particular needs. We’re looking out for his success. If they’re successful, we’re successful. We want to make sure they have the right piece of equipment.”

Morbark, Inc.
8507 S. Winn Road
P.O. Box 1000
Winn, MI 48896
Phone (800) 831-0042
www.morbark.com

Peterson Pacific Corp.
     Unable to find equipment suitable for their land clearing and construction needs led to the founding of Peterson Pacific Corp.

     “We were working on a lot of sites that had a big waste wood issue . . .” recalls Cody Peterson, son of the company founder and now product manager at the firm. “In reviewing the technology that was out there for grinding that type of material, it wasn’t that good so we saw a niche in the market for developing wood recycling equipment. We saw that there was a need for a different type of machinery, so we came out with a completely different style machine.”

     The rest, as they say, is history.

     Today, the Eugene, Ore., company manufactures whole tree chippers and debarkers, horizontal grinders and blower trucks and trailers. Its first wood recycling machine was introduced in 1990, nine years after the company was founded.

     The company manufactures four basic size horizontal grinders all of which are available as track mounted or rubber tire units. Each of the four model lines is available in both diesel and electric configuration. Its largest unit can process large stumps which typically would require a tub grinder, according to the company. The grinders range from 475 horsepower up to 950 horsepower.

     The grinders feature an innovative latching impact release system, which minimizes damage from contaminants such as metal in the feed material, according to Cody Peterson. The anvil and first grate open on a severe impact, allowing the contaminant to be ejected, and then re-latch to permit continuous grinding.

     The machines also offer a quick-change multiple grate system, allowing users to easily customize grate configurations to produce a wide variety of finished materials. Grates are removed through an access door on the side wall.

     The grinders also feature the company’s adaptive feed system which varies the feed speed to the engine.

     “Rather than start-stop, you have a continuous flow,” Peterson explains. “In a mulch application, any time you unload the chamber and reload the chamber, you get some oversize product that comes through. Having that consistent flow means a more consistent end product for the customer.”

     Peterson adds that the company’s focus is on manufacturing high-quality grinders of 450 horsepower or greater.

     “We would have a hard time producing a Chrysler and a Mercedes in the same facility,” he says.

Peterson Pacific Corp.
29408 Airport Road
P.O. Box 40490
Eugene, OR 97402-9541
Phone: (541) 689-6520
www.petersoncorp.com

Screen USA, Inc.
     Best known for its wide range of screening equipment — including trommel, shaker, star and box screens — Screen USA recently introduced a small horizontal grinder specifically geared for small volume applications.

     The company’s Hammerhead grinder is being marketed to composters, landscapers, landscape supply houses, utility companies and mulch manufacturers.

     “It’s not a stump grinder,” explains Rick Cohen, owner and president of the Smyrna, Ga., company. “It’s strictly for brush and wood 9 to 10 inches and smaller.”

     Screen USA, which started in 1973, has built its reputation on manufacturing niche products for the screening industry, and Cohen says the Hammerhead grinder is a niche product for the grinding industry.

     It is the first grinder offered by the company.

     “We’re trying to cater to customers who have been asking for a horizontal grinder but did not need the huge $400,000 to $500,000 grinders,” he says.

     The grinder comes standard with a Flexxaire reversing radiator fan to help prevent overheating and clogging. It also features a variable speed feeder that is wide enough — 4-feet, 5-inches — to handle pallets. A radio remote control is standard.

     Cohen notes that the unit is extremely portable and with its electric braking axles can be pulled behind a one ton truck.

     “You can take it out and set it up in five minutes and be ready to go,” he says.

     While other manufacturers boast of machines having 500 and 1,000 horsepower motors, the Hammerhead only has a 140 horsepower engine.

     “It’s small for the industry,” Cohen admits, “but it’s all you need for what it’s designed to do.

     “We don’t have a lot of competition because everybody is making larger grinders,” he says. “We decided to design a smaller one with a price tag that landscapers and composters can not only afford to buy, but to operate.”Cohen notes that the grinder follows in the company tradition of developing innovative niche products.

     “We do not believe in making something that everybody and their brother makes,” he says. “Our whole theory of business is to make niche items — to come up with unique items, unique sizes — and to improve upon something so that we have a better machine than everyone else.”

Screen USA, Inc.
1772 Corn Road
Smyrna, GA 30080
Phone: (770) 433-2440
www.screenusa.net

Vermeer Corporation
     A modified farm wagon with a hoist that was invented more than 60 years ago by Gary Vermeer has spawned an agricultural, construction, environmental and industrial equipment manufacturing company.

     Among the Pella, Iowa company’s numerous products are horizontal and tub grinders designed for mulch producers.

     Horizontal grinders, ranging from 250 to 1,050 horsepower, are available as conventional towed models or self-propelled track mounted units. The extra-long feed tables on the trailer-mounted grinders allow for loading of long material without additional cutting.

     A relatively new addition to the horizontal grinders is a product called the fuel chip attachment (FCA), which will allow the machines to produce wood chips for the biomass market.

     “The attachment allows customers to add it to the grinder to meet new markets,” explains Todd Roorda, environmental solutions specialist at Vermeer.

     “Each biomass end-user requires that their chips meet stringent specifications in terms of size, shape and quality,” Roorda says. “This is important as an improperly sized or low-quality chip may adversely affect the efficiency of the furnace and overall facility operation. Our attachment provides the flexibility needed to produce chips that meet varied specifications and helps create new opportunities for our customers.”

     In addition to the horizontal grinders, Vermeer offers tub grinders, in 440 and 100 horsepower configurations. They feature high-capacity discharge systems, one-pass grinding and are available with loader and non-loader options.

     Both horizontal and tub grinders incorporate Vermeer’s duplex drum system, which the company says offers a 35 percent increase in rotational inertia with a 10 percent weight reduction. It also offers an operator the ability to change out any individual hammer within minutes without removing other hammers. The hammers also reverse for nearly double the life span, and the drum skin adds life by protecting them from wear and tear, the company says.

     To provide customer service, the company touts its nationwide dealer network.

     “We recognize at Vermeer that the sale is only half of the relationship with a customer,” Roorda says. “It’s the service that has to follow after the sale that keeps the customer happy in the long run.”

Vermeer Corporation
1210 Vermeer Road East
Pella, Iowa 50219
Phone: 641-621-7996
www.vermeer.com

West Salem Machinery
     With a 60-year history of wood reduction and screening, family-owned West Salem Machinery Co., prides itself on catering to the specific grinding needs of its customers.

     Founded in 1947 to originally serve sawmills, panel plants, pulp paper mills and the wood products industry, the company has expanded its offerings over the past two decades to meet applications including mulch, compost, recycling and construction demolition reduction.

     “We can go in and offer a turn-key engineered system as opposed to just supplying one component, the grinder,” notes Bob DeSouza, general manager of the Salem, Ore., company.

     Rather than take a “cookie-cutter approach” with only a handful of machines, West Salem Machinery boasts some 40 different models of reduction equipment, all of which feature a plethora of options such as different rotor systems and hammer types. The company primarily offers fixed-site electric equipment.

     “We’re not a one-size-fits-all company,” DeSousa says. “We look at the application first and then go back and actually not only just configure the system, but configure the actual grinder to optimize its performance on a species of wood or a size of wood. It’s a solution that caters to the customer’s specific requirements.

     “We factor in not just the capacity of the material but the species, the piece size, the fiber geometry,” he notes. “We have a test lab so customers can send us samples and we will do grinds and sieve analysis to show exactly what we can give them. When we do get the job, everybody knows exactly what it is that the customer wants and what the customer is going to receive.”

      One of the machines recently developed — a 48-inch diameter with an 88-inch wide rotored hammermill —is believed to be one of the largest hammermills currently offered. It is designed “to satisfy some of these higher capacity fine-grind applications,” DeSousa says.

     In addition to the mulch industry, West Salem has a long history of manufacturing equipment for wood-fired energy plants. With the advent of new biomass plants, the company has invested heavily in the testing and development of equipment specific to those emerging fuel products, he says.

     For mulch producers looking for grinders, DeSousa recommends looking at equipment manufacturers with experience and machinery that is durable and reliable.

     “There’s no substitute for strength and durability built into a machine,” he says.

West Salem Machinery Co.
665 Murlark Ave. NW
P.O. Box 5288
Salem, OR 97304
Phone: (800) 722-3530
www.westsalem.com